For the first time since conference alignment in 2024, Washington State is hosting a former Pac-12 program that isn’t in-state rival Washington. In so many ways, Saturday is going to feel like one of the good ol’ days – Cats vs. Cougars in Pullman. As Brent Brennan gets his team ready for what used to be the longest road trip in the Pac-12 – which feels easy nowadays in comparison to games at UCF and West Virginia – check out our 2026 Preview & Predictions as Arizona prepares for Washington State.
Offense:
Noah Fifita, Arizona’s new all-time passing yards leader and defending Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, is coming off one of the best games of his career after completing 31-of-34 passes for 325 yards and five total touchdowns. The receiver room stepped up big in the absence of Giovanni Richardson, with 11 different players hauling in a reception. In short, if Wazzu crowds the line of scrimmage, the Wildcats will have no problem moving the ball through the air.
The run game is a bit of a different story. Through three games this season, Arizona is averaging 123.3 rushing yards per game. For context, the Wildcats are averaging 306 passing yards per game. Kedrick Reescano and Quincy Craig have combined as the UA’s top rushing duo, but neither have really jumped off the page 25 percent of the way through the season.
Offensive coordinator Seth Doege doesn’t disagree, but also thinks Arizona has the right pieces and game plan in place to start seeing that improvement.
“We should be better at running the football. And it starts with me. I don’t think it has anything to do with our personnel or our plan. I think I’ve got to do a better job adjusting and calling better runs in games.”
Fortunately for the Wildcats, the Cougars haven’t exactly excelled at stopping the run this season. Through three games, Wazzu has allowed 543 rushing yards, or 181 yards per game, and four touchdowns. PFF.com shows the same story. Against Washington and Kansas State, the Cougars earned run defense grades of 58.7 and 62.9, respectively.
Arizona is going to have to play against what Washington State gives it, but the numbers suggest this could be a bounce back game for the rushing attack, just like the last time the Wildcats played in Pullman, when Jonah Coleman and DJ Williams rushed for nearly 200 yards and five touchdowns in a 44-6 route of the Cougars.
In order to have success, Arizona will need to keep a handful of defenders in check. The first is linebacker Isaiah Hung. The freshman linebacker is second on the team in tackles with 11 total and has the third-highest defensive PFF grade at 76.3. He’s strong in the run game and can also drop back into coverage, making things difficult in both dimensions for the offense.
Safety Jalen Thomas isn’t the surest tackler, but he makes up for it with his ability to turn quarterbacks over. He’s responsible for both of Washington State’s interceptions this year and has one of the best coverage PFF grades among players with min. 100 snaps alongside Hung.
Bottom line, Arizona should be able to move the ball effectively this weekend. Noah Fifita and the offense will just need to look to Paul Revere, er, Seth Doege, to decide if that’ll be land or air.
Defense:
One of the hallmarks of Danny Gonzales’ defenses over the past two seasons has been slow starts. Against NAU and Northern Illinois, there’s time to recover. Against Big 12 competition, not so much. Washington State is an interesting in between matchup – a former Power 5 school that still has the toughness and mentality of a conference foe, just without the same talent and resources as a couple years ago. That’s a long winded way of saying Arizona needs to use this weekend as its last tune-up game before Big 12 play resumes, but cannot take the Cougars lightly.
The biggest concerns for Arizona’s defense right now are its inability to get off the field on third down and the lack of production turning offenses over. Danny G is aware of both.
“16-of-41 at 39 percent, that’s not elite defense. Last year at this point, we were 9-of-40 on third down. The ones that bother me though, are we’ve given up 11 third downs of seven yards or greater. That’s like the ultimate sin on defense and football.”
Gonzales also noted that last season Arizona had eight takeaways through three games. This year, the Wildcats have one, a Quinn Olson interception in the season-opener against NAU.
Wazzu quarterback Caden Pinnick isn’t an elite passer, but his dual-threat ability makes him dangerous. He’s only thrown for 403 yards and has more interceptions (3) than touchdowns (2) this season, but also has 166 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Athletic quarterbacks were the Wildcats’ Achilles heel last season and the defense was limited up front last week without Chase Kennedy and Mays Pese. Arizona will have to be incredibly focused on Pinnick the passer and rusher on Saturday.
Through the air, wide receivers Daniel Blood and Darrius Clemons pose the biggest threat offensively. Both have 100+ receiving yards on the season and have been Pinnick’s most consistent threats. The 5’11 Blood sees most of his action in the slot, where he uses his speed and quickness to his advantage, while Clemons, who’s 6’3 and 217 pounds, does most of his damage outside.
Malcolm Hartzog Jr., Jay’Vion Cole, and Lee Molette III should be able to handle the receiver tandem, but Arizona will also be without Daylen Austin, who suffered a season-ending injury against Northern Illinois.
Special Teams:
Have you ever heard the, “if I had a nickel for every time _____ happened, I’d only have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird it happened twice” joke? That’s how Arizona’s season has been facing opponents with special teams touchdowns this season. Three of Arizona’s four opponents have special teams touchdowns in the week prior to facing the Wildcats: NAU in Week 0, BYU in Week 1, and now Washington State in Week 3.
Last week, the Cougars had not one, but two, punt returns for touchdowns in the 48-7 win over Duquesne. Jaylen Thomas housed one for 47 yards, then Tank Hawkins Jr. said “hold my beer” and returned another for 65. Both happened in the last six minutes of the game.
Overall, Arizona has not had any glaring issues on special teams from an execution perspective. The big focus will be on the play-calling. What does Michael Salgado-Medina’s range look like and where does the staff feel comfortable letting him take the field? If the punt team takes the field, how deep into plus territory will that happen? And so on.
Score Prediction:
For one beautiful afternoon, it’s going to feel like the good ol’ days! Perfect football weather, a familiar opponent, and a Pac-12 logo on the field. I think Arizona was disappointed with how it started last week’s game and will want to prove it can start hotter and more efficient than it did a week ago. Pinnick will have his moments and it certainly won’t be flawless, but Arizona should win this game. After opening as a 13.5-point favorite, a 10-point spread feels more realistic to me, but there could be some upside here.
Look for Arizona to take down Washington State 27-14 in the Palouse on Saturday.