SAN DIEGO–The night overall was a disappointing one for Arizona fans, who saw their team fall behind 24-0 to SMU in the Holiday Bowl. But even before the game was played, those watching at home may have felt added stress thanks to something mentioned on the Fox broadcast during pregame. Sideline reporter Jenny Taft said […]
SAN DIEGO–The night overall was a disappointing one for Arizona fans, who saw their team fall behind 24-0 to SMU in the Holiday Bowl. But even before the game was played, those watching at home may have felt added stress thanks to something mentioned on the Fox broadcast during pregame.
Sideline reporter Jenny Taft said quarterback Noah Fifita declined to answer when asked if he was returning to the UA for his senior season.
After the 24-19 loss on Friday night, though, Fifita made sure to clear the air about his future.
“We’ve got unfinished business, I’m coming back,” Fifita said.
Fifita just completed one of the best seasons in school history as a redshirt junior. His three touchdown passes in the Holiday Bowl gave him 29 for the year, surpassing the school record previously held by Nick Foles, Anu Solomon and Willie Tuitama, and his 3,228 yards were 6th-most by a Wildcat.
He became just the third quarterback in school history to be named First-Team All-Conference, the first since the 1970s.
A starter in 34 consecutive games, Fifita will enter 2026 just outside the top 250 in FBS career passing yards with 9,183 while his school-record 73 TD passes are tied for 186th. Fifita needs 829 yards to surpass Foles’ 10,111 for another school record.
“I love this team, I love these coaches, and best believe when we get back in two weeks Team 123 is going to get to work to win a Big 12 title,” Fifita said.
While Fifita is confirmed to be back, Arizona will have no shortage of holes to fill. Thirteen players who started in the Holiday Bowl (seven on offense, six on defense) are out of eligibility, not to defensive backs Dalton Johnson, Genesis Smith and Treydan Stukes who opted out of the bowl game and won’t be back in 2026.
“We got work to do,” UA coach Brent Brennan said after the game. “How do we build on this season? We’re going to dive into the transfer portal. We’re going to attack recruiting. We’re going to attack developing this next group, Team 123, with the great players that we have coming back, the young players who we’re in the process of developing, and the exciting players that we’re going to add over the next month.”
Category: General Sports
