Arizona turns to the bulk of its conference schedule, starting with Saturday's Big 12 home opener against the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Cincinnati (4-0) vs. Arizona (3-1)
When: 8 p.m., Saturday
Where: Casino Del Sol Stadium
TV: FOX
Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM, 92.5-FM (Spanish)
Point spread, over/under (via Action Network): Arizona -7.5, 50.5 points
Cincinnati Bearcats
2026 record: 4-0 (1-0 Big 12)
WHEN UC IS ON OFFENSE (PROJECTED):
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[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
WR | 11 | JV Gibson | 6-2 | 208 | 5th
TE | 87 | Gavin Grover | 6-6 | 255 | Jr.
LT | 74 | Joe Cotton | 6-6 | 320 | 5th
LG | 50 | Evan Tengesdahl | 6-3 | 325 | Sr.
C | 77 | Taran Tyo | 6-3 | 325 | 5th
RG | 66 | Xavier Lozowicki | 6-3 | 320 | Sr.
RT | 71 | Judea Milan | 6-4 | 300 | 5th
WR | 0 | Isaiah Johnson | 5-11 | 184 | Jr.
WR | 9 | Malachi Henry | 6-0 | 205 | Sr.
QB | 4 | JC French IV | 6-1 | 205 | 5th
RB | 6 | Gi'Bran Payne | 5-10 | 208 | 5th
Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Scott Satterfield runs onto the field with the rest of the team before the football game between Cincinnati Bearcats and Miami RedHawks at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, September 19, 2026.
WHEN UC IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
DT | 4 | Marquaze Parker | 6-3 | 270 | Jr.
NT | 95 | Josh Hough | 6-2 | 335 | 6th
DE | 91 | Drew Logan | 6-4 | 270 | 5th
LB | 17 | Brian Simms III | 6-3 | 240 | Sr.
LB | 9 | Damaine Wilson | 6-3 | 235 | Jr.
LB | 22 | Jonathan Thompson | 6-2 | 228 | 5th
LB | 3 | Antwan Peek Jr. | 6-1 | 223 | Sr.
CB | 8 | Kenny Worthy | 6-0 | 188 | Jr.
SS | 2 | MJ Cannon | 6-3 | 213 | 5th
FS | 18 | Jasper Beeler | 6-1 | 194 | 5th
CB | 0 | Jacob Finley | 6-0 | 190 | 5th
UC 2026 SCHEDULE
September
5 | BOSTON COLLEGE | W, 34-15
12 | WESTERN CAROLINA | W, 62-10
19 | MIAMI (OHIO) | W, 35-31
26 | KANSAS STATE | W, 31-26
October
3 | at Arizona | 8 p.m. | FOX
17 | at West Virginia
24 | No. 12 TEXAS TECH
Cincinnati Bearcats running back Cole Tabb reacts to scoring a touchdown in the third quarter against Kansas State in a home game on Sept. 26, 2026.
31 | No. 13 UTAH
November
7 | at No. 20 Houston
14 | at Iowa State
21 | COLORADO
28 | at No. 10 BYU
Home games in Bold
UC 2026 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]
French | 70-94-0 | 796 | 6 | 56
O'Brien | 5-5-0 | 18 | 0 | 9
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | YPC | YPG]
Payne | 51 | 368 | 2 | 7.2 | 92
Tabb | 28 | 311 | 6 | 11.1 | 77.8
French | 41 | 164 | 4 | 4.0 | 41
Perry | 12 | 97 | 1 | 8.1 | 24.3
RECEIVING
[Name | Rec. | Yards | TDs | YPC | YPG]
Gibson | 18 | 267 | 3 | 14.8 | 66.8
Henry | 5 | 134 | 1 | 26.8 | 33.5
Fenner | 8 | 102 | 0 | 12.8 | 25.5
Johnson | 15 | 82 | 0 | 5.5 | 20.5
Grover | 7 | 79 | 0 | 11.3 | 19.8
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
Miami (Ohio) wide receiver Scoop Smith makes a catch and is tackled by Cincinnati linebacker Antwan Peek Jr. (3) and cornerback Kenny Worthy (8) in the first half on Sept. 19, 2026.
Peek | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3
Thompson | 29 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 2
Wilson | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1
Coleman | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1
Beeler | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Arizona Wildcats
2026 Record: 3-1 (0-1 Big 12)
WHEN ARIZONA IS ON OFFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
WR | 12 | Tre Spivey III | 6-4 | 212 | Sr.
WR | 18 | Brandon Phelps | 6-3 | 207 | Jr.
LT | 73 | Matthew Lado | 6-6 | 320 | Jr.
LG | 59 | Rhino Tapa’atoutai | 6-5 | 320 | Sr.
C | 58 | Zach Henning | 6-4 | 310 | Sr.
RG | 63 | Alexander Doost | 6-7 | 335 | Sr.
RT | 71 | Tristan Bounds | 6-8 | 320 | 6th
TE | 87 | Tyler Powell | 6-7 | 245 | 5th
WR | 11 | Chris Hunter | 6-1 | 195 | 5th
QB | 1 | Noah Fifita | 5-10 | 190 | 5th
RB | 3 | Kedrick Reescano | 6-0 | 215 | Sr.
WHEN ARIZONA IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
DL | 3 | Tre Smith | 6-5 | 265 | 6th
DL | 95 | Leroy Palu | 6-3 | 295 | Sr.
Arizona linebacker Dash Fifita bows to his brother, quarterback Noah Fifita, after Noah set the school's all-time career passing record in the fourth quarter against Northern Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Tucson.
DL | 99 | Mays Pese | 6-3 | 290 | So.
LB | 7 | Chase Kennedy | 6-3 | 235 | 5th
LB | 6 | Taye Brown | 6-2 | 230 | Sr.
LB | 48 | Cooper Blomstrom | 6-2 | 245 | Sr.
NB | 15 | Malcolm Hartzog Jr. | 5-8 | 190 | 5th
CB | 8 | Jay’Vion Cole | 5-10 | 190 | 5th
CB | 9 | Tyrese Boss | 5-11 | 185 | Jr.
BS | 23 | Lee Molette III | 6-1 | 195 | 5th
FS | 35 | Quinn Olson | 6-3 | 205 | Jr.
UA 2026 SCHEDULE
September
5 | NORTHERN ARIZONA | W, 35-7
12 | at No. 15 BYU | L, 28-17
19 | NORTHERN ILLINOIS | W, 42-17
26 | at Washington State | W, 34-24
October
3 | CINCINNATI | 8 p.m. | FOX
10 | at West Virginia | 9 a.m. | TNT
24 | IOWA STATE
31 | at No. 12 Texas Tech
November
6 | TCU*
14 | No. 13 UTAH
21 | at Kansas State
28 | ARIZONA STATE
Home games in Bold; *=Friday game
UA 2026 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]
Fifita | 99-131-2 | 1,131 | 11 | 44
Anderson | 6-11-2 | 84 | 0 | 32
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | YPC | YPG]
Reescano | 40 | 161 | 2 | 4.0 | 40.3
Fifita | 33 | 86 | 2 | 2.6 | 21.5
Roberts | 11 | 75 | 1 | 6.8 | 25
Mahdi | 12 | 72 | 0 | 6.0 | 36
RECEIVING
[Name | Rec. | Yards | TDs | YPC | YPG]
Spivey | 19 | 278 | 4 | 14.6 | 69.5
Richardson | 14 | 161 | 0 | 11.5 | 80.5
Hunter | 11 | 135 | 1 | 12.3 | 33.8
Mizell | 9 | 109 | 2 | 12.1 | 27.3
Phelps | 6 | 102 | 1 | 17.0 | 25.5
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
Blomstrom | 25 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 1
Brown | 23 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0
Hartzog | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Molette | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Cole | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Arizona tight end Tyler Powell celebrates after hauling in a touchdown catch on fourth down against Northern Illinois on Sept. 19, 2026.
Head to Head
87 Tyler Powell vs. 46 Antwan Peek Jr.
Arizona will be without its top two pass-catching tight ends in Cole Rusk and Shane King, who both missed the Washington State game last week. Powell, who caught his first-career touchdown in Arizona's last home game against NIU, played 74 offensive snaps against Washington State. With Rusk out and King questionable, Powell will likely carry the load at tight end on Saturday.
Peek, the son of former Cincinnati and NFL linebacker Antwan Peek, leads the Bearcats in tackles and forced fumbles this season. Peek leads the Big 12 in forced fumbles (three) this season, with all three in the last two games. The Bearcats lead the Big 12 in forced fumbles (seven). Peek has nine stops, four quarterback hurries and a sack as a linebacker-safety hybrid.
Arizona defensive lineman Tre Smith storms in to pressure Northern Arizona quarterback Ty Pennington into a bad throw in the third quarter on Sept. 5, 2026.
3 Tre Smith vs. 74 Joe Cotton
Smith is coming off one of his most memorable performances as a Wildcat. Last week against Washington State, Smith recovered a fumble forced by linebacker Everett Roussaw and blocked a field goal, becoming the first Wildcat to do that in three years. Smith could improve his NFL Draft stock with a standout performance against Cotton and Cincinnati’s talented offensive line. Smith and Cotton are potential participants in the Senior Bowl.
Since transferring from South Dakota a year ago, Cotton has transformed into one of the top offensive tackles in the Big 12. In 17 games for the Bearcats between last season and this season, the tackle hasn't allowed a sack. The preseason All-Big 12 left tackle and left guard Evan Tengesdahl are arguably the top tackle-guard tandem in the conference.
The matchup
Cincinnati Bearcats running back Gi'bran Payne carries the ball after making a catch against Kansas State on Sept. 26, 2026.
When Cincinnati has the ball …
Cincinnati doesn't commit a ton of turnovers, and it's averaging 270 rushing yards per game. Cincinnati quarterback JC French IV has yet to throw an interception this season and has a 74.5% completion rate and six passing touchdowns. The one-two punch of Gi'Bran Payne and Cole Tabb at running back allows French to be effective on play-action passes.
When Arizona has the ball …
The Wildcats have the second-best passing offense in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma State, averaging 303.8 yards per game. Arizona faces a Cincinnati team that is second-to-last in passing defense in the Big 12 this season. After rushing for nearly 100 yards in the fourth quarter at Washington State, UA faces a defense that has given up the most rushing touchdowns this season.
College Football 27 prediction: Arizona 42, Cincinnati 14
Arizona clobbered Cincinnati in our preview of the game on College Football 27. The Wildcats had 503 yards of total offense, and Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita completed 32 of 42 passes for 469 yards and six touchdowns on a 76% completion rate. Powell had eight catches for 124 yards and a touchdown, while wide receiver Tre Spivey had eight catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
Contact Justin Spears, the Star's Arizona football beat reporter, at jspears@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @JustinESports
Justin Spears
Sports Reporter
Cats Stats: UA-Cincinnati pits strength vs. strength; win that battle, win the game
