Arizona football returns to Tucson to host the Northern Illinois Huskies for the Wildcats' final nonconference home game of the season.
Northern Illinois (0-2) vs. Arizona (1-1)
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Casino Del Sol Stadium
TV: TNT, TruTV, HBO Max
Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM, 92.5-FM (Spanish)
Point spread, over/under (via Action Network): Arizona -34, 50.5 points
NIU Huskies
2026 record: 0-2 (0-0 Mountain West)
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WHEN NIU IS ON OFFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
WR | 0 | La'Don Bryant | 6-4 | 204 | R-So.
TE | 83 | Jason Fowler | 6-5 | 255 | R-So.
LT | 58 | Ross Liegel | 6-6 | 278 | R-So.
LG | 53 | Luke Skartvedt | 6-3 | 337 | R-Jr.
C | 63 | Landon Hron | 6-3 | 335 | R-Jr.
RG | 76 | Tyler Chambers | 6-5 | 300 | R-Fr.
RT | 66 | Lane Mahnesmith | 6-8 | 320 | R-So.
WR | 1 | DeAree Rogers | 5-11 | 200 | R-Sr.
WR | 9 | George Dimopoulos | 6-2 | 200 | Jr.
QB | 5 | Taron Dickens | 5-11 | 180 | R-Jr.
Sep 5, 2026; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Northern Illinois Huskies interim head coach Rob Harley looks on during the third quarter against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
RB | 45 | Telly Johnson | 5-11 | 214 | Jr.
WHEN NIU IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
DE | 90 | Kole Sneed | 6-2 | 255 | R-Jr.
DT | 11 | Amari Washington | 6-3 | 295 | R-Fr.
DT | 0 | Montrel Canion | 6-2 | 295 | R-Fr.
DE | 18 | Jay'shon Thomas | 6-4 | 246 | R-Jr.
LB | 44 | Jack Murray | 6-2 | 236 | Fr.
LB | 6 | Jashawn Nelson | 6-2 | 230 | R-Fr.
NB | 2 | Avery Jones | 6-0 | 195 | Sr.
CB | 5 | Yassine Falke | 6-3 | 190 | Jr.
SS | 14 | Malik Armstrong | 6-0 | 192 | R-Sr.
FS | 16 | Kyon Conyers | 5-11 | 195 | Jr.
CB | 29 | Romelo Walker | 6-1 | 184 | R-So.
NIU 2026 SCHEDULE
September
5 | at No. 22 Iowa | L, 40-0
12 | ILLINOIS STATE | L, 28-24
19 | at Arizona | 7:30 p.m. | TNT
26 | at Georgia State | 11 a.m. | ESPN+
October
10 | AIR FORCE | 4:30 p.m. | CBSSN
17 | at Wyoming | 12:30 p.m. | CW
24 | HAWAII | TBD | MW+
Sep 5, 2026; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Northern Illinois Huskies quarterback Jalen Macon (14) is tackled by Iowa Hawkeyes defensive lineman Bryce Hawthorne (96) during the first quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
31 | at UNLV | 7:30 p.m. | CBSSN
November
7 | at San Jose State | TBD | MW+
14 | NEVADA | TBD | MW+
21 | at North Dakota State | 2 p.m. | CW
28 | UTEP | TBD | MW+
Home games in Bold
NIU 2026 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]
Dickens | 31-41-2 | 289 | 1 | 36
Macon | 5-13-1 | 20 | 0 | 9
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | YPC | YPG]
Johnson | 30 | 99 | 1 | 3.3 | 49.5
Porter | 8 | 41 | 1 | 5.1 | 20.5
Cranford | 4 | 16 | 0 | 4.0 | 8
Little | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | 1
RECEIVING
[Name | Rec. | Yards | TDs | YPC | YPG]
Bryant | 6 | 89 | 0 | 14.8 | 44.5
Rogers | 12 | 77 | 1 | 6.4 | 38.5
McInerny | 3 | 55 | 0 | 18.3 | 27.5
Dimopoulos | 3 | 26 | 0 | 8.7 | 13
Fowler | 2 | 25 | 0 | 12.5 | 12.5
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
Murray | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Nelson | 18 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0
Conyers | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Jones | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0
Armstrong | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Arizona Wildcats
2026 Record: 1-1 (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 | 84 | Rodney Gallagher III | 5-10 | 180 | Sr.
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 | 14 | Cole Rusk | 6-5 | 245 | 6th
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
Arizona linebacker Taye Brown, left, comes out to celebrate with safety Quinn Olson on Olson’s pick late in the third quarter against NAU on Sept. 5, 2026.
DL | 95 | Leroy Palu | 6-3 | 295 | Sr.
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 | 12 | Dwight Bootle II | 5-9 | 175 | Sr.
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 | 7:30 p.m. | TNT
26 | at Washington State | 4:30 p.m. | CBS
October
3 | CINCINNATI
10 | at West Virginia
24 | IOWA STATE
31 | at No. 13 Texas Tech
November
6 | TCU* | 8:15 p.m. | ESPN
14 | No. 17 UTAH
21 | at Kansas State
Arizona head coach Brent Brennan and the Wildcats line up to congratulate running back Antwan Roberts on his lunging score in the third quarter against Northern Arizona on Sept. 5, 2026.
28 | ARIZONA STATE
Home games in Bold; *=Friday game
UA 2026 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]
Fifita | 46-61-1 | 509 | 3 | 43
Anderson | 5-8-1 | 52 | 0 | 17
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | YPC | YPG]
Reescano | 25 | 97 | 2 | 3.9 | 48.5
Fifita | 16 | 62 | 1 | 3.9 | 31
Roberts | 4 | 45 | 1 | 11.2 | 45
Craig | 8 | 30 | 0 | 3.8 | 15
RECEIVING
[Name | Rec. | Yards | TDs | YPC | YPG]
Richardson | 14 | 161 | 0 | 11.5 | 80.5
Rusk | 3 | 61 | 0 | 20.3 | 30.5
Spivey | 6 | 59 | 1 | 9.8 | 29.5
Phelps | 2 | 51 | 1 | 25.5 | 25.5
Gallagher | 7 | 43 | 0 | 6.1 | 21.5
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
Brown | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Blomstrom | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1
Hartzog | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Kennedy | 9 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0
Olson | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Arizona wide receiver Rodney Gallagher III is tackled by BYU defensive back Evan Johnson during the second quarter at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Sept. 12, 2026.
Head to Head
84 Rodney Gallagher III vs. 2 Avery Jones
The veteran slot receiver stepped in for the injured Giovanni Richardson in the Wildcats’ loss to BYU in Provo and had five catches for 26 yards. Gallagher’s last reception was on a fourth-and-4 play that resulted in the wide receiver getting tackled a yard shy of the first down. Richardson is expected to be out “for a little bit” with a “lower-extremity,” said Arizona head coach Brent Brennan. Gallagher and freshman Caleb “Jet” Smith are expected to be Arizona’s top two slot receivers against Northern Illinois.
Jones is in his first season at Northern Illinois after spending the last three seasons at Lafayette College, a private liberal arts school in Easton, Pennsylvania. The Baltimore, Maryland native hails from a wide receiver background, but switched to defensive back full-time in 2023. Jones had 47 tackles and three interceptions in his last season at Lafayette College. This season, the NIU nickel back has the fourth-most tackles for the Huskies and leads the team in sacks (two).
Arizona safety Malcolm Hartzog speaks with members of the press on media day at Davis Sports Center, Aug. 4, 2026.
15 Malcolm Hartzog vs. 0 La'Don Bryant
Arizona’s slot cornerback played a team-high 60 defensive snaps in the Wildcats’ loss to BYU last week and had four tackles. Hartzog, who has the most defensive snaps (101) at Arizona this season, had the second-best tackling grade (82) for Arizona’s defense behind free safety Quinn Olson against BYU, according to Pro Football Focus. After some miscommunication issues in the rebuilding defensive secondary that resulted in splash plays and a touchdown for BYU, UA’s defensive backs — led by Hartzog — should have a cleaner game on Saturday
The Savannah, Georgia native signed the Huskies’ 2024 recruiting class, a class that also included NIU starters in wide receiver George Dimopoulos, right tackle Lane Mahnesmith, left tackle Ross Liegel and leading rushers Telly Johnson and Elijah Porter. Bryant played in five games as a true freshman in 2024, including the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, where he had a reception for 28 yards in a 28-20 double-overtime win over Fresno State. Bryant leads NIU in receiving with six catches for 89 yards, but has yet to score a touchdown in his career.
The matchup
When NIU has the ball …
The Huskies have used two quarterbacks this season, but they’ll likely start Taron Dickens, the reigning SoCon Offensive Player of the Year. However, NIU has the worst offense in the Mountain West, averaging 214 yards of total offense this season. NIU and Wyoming are the only two Mountain West teams that aren’t averaging over 300 yards of offense this season. Dickens’ dual-threat abilities and the running back tandem of Johnson and Porter could lead to NIU trying to own time of possession and keep Arizona’s offense on the sideline.
When Arizona has the ball …
Arizona was shut out in the second half against BYU, and the Wildcats were outgained in every offensive category in the final two quarters in Provo. Excluding Richardson, Arizona’s receivers had a combined 10 catches for 87 yards at BYU. Arizona’s rushing attack had minus-2 yards rushing in the second half, and the UA offensive line drew five of the seven penalties at BYU. Against the third-worst defense in the Mountain West, Arizona’s offense should have a disciplined and clean performance.
College Football 27 prediction: Arizona 28, NIU 21
In our simulation of Arizona-NIU on EA Sports’ “College Football 27” video game, the Huskies set the tone with an early two-touchdown lead, but the Wildcats answered with four straight touchdowns, including a 68-yard catch-and-run on a screen pass from quarterback Noah Fifita to Gallagher.
Fifita completed 79% of his passes for 408 yards and two touchdowns. If the game results foreshadow Saturday night, then Fifita is passing Nick Foles for most career passing yards by an Arizona quarterback — and the Wildcats pick up their second win of the season before concluding nonconference play against Washington State in Pullman.
Contact Justin Spears, the Star's Arizona football beat reporter, at jspears@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @JustinESports
Justin Spears
Sports Reporter
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