BYU and Arizona spent opening weekend flattening FCS opponents. Saturday afternoon is where the useful evidence begins.
The Cougars host the Wildcats at 1:30 p.m. Mountain on FOX in the first Big 12 game of 2026 for both teams. BYU enters 1-0 after beating Utah Tech 63-7. Arizona is also 1-0 after a 35-7 win over Northern Arizona.
Those scores did not test either team for four quarters. They did reveal a matchup worth carrying into Saturday: Arizona produced five sacks and 11 tackles for loss, while BYU allowed only one tackle for loss and one sack. Bear Bachmeier’s protection has a much harder assignment now.
BYU-Arizona watch information
| Game detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Matchup | Arizona at BYU |
| Date | Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026 |
| Kickoff | 1:30 p.m. MDT |
| Venue | LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, Utah |
| TV | FOX |
| Online | FOX Sports live or the FOX Sports app; TV-provider authentication may be required |
| BYU radio | BYU Radio, SiriusXM 166, or KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM |
| Live stats | StatBroadcast |
BYU and Arizona list the same kickoff. Arizona presents it as 12:30 p.m. MST because Arizona does not observe daylight saving time; that is the same moment as 1:30 p.m. MDT in Provo.
FOX lists Connor Onion on play-by-play, Robert Griffin III as analyst and Alexa Landestoy on the sideline, according to Arizona’s official preview. The site’s Arizona game center will keep the event details and postgame result on one permanent page.
Arizona’s five sacks meet BYU’s clean pocket
The sharpest opening-week comparison is not 63 points against 35. It is what happened around the quarterbacks.
Arizona held Northern Arizona to minus-7 rushing yards, recorded five sacks and made 11 tackles for loss. The Wildcats did allow two sacks for 12 yards, but Noah Fifita still completed 22 of 29 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns. Arizona finished with 514 yards and 28 first downs.
BYU’s offense gave Utah Tech only one sack and one tackle for loss. The Cougars ran for 308 yards, averaged 7.7 yards across 68 offensive plays and converted nine of 11 third downs. Bachmeier and the offensive line were rarely forced to play behind schedule.
That does not make Saturday a simple sack-count contest. Northern Arizona’s minus-7 rushing total includes sack yardage, and BYU’s 308 yards came against a Utah Tech front that could not hold up. Each line is one game against an overmatched opponent.
Saturday will show whether Paki Finau, Sonny Makasini, Bruce Mitchell, Kyle Sfarcioc and Andrew Gentry can keep Arizona from turning second-and-medium into third-and-long.
The same five remain atop BYU’s official depth chart. That continuity is useful because Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales can threaten protections from several levels. BYU does not need to abandon the run or turn Bachmeier into a stationary passer. It needs to keep the down-and-distance menu open enough for Walker Lyons, Roger Saleapaga II and the backs to punish pressure.
Our Utah Tech result analysis treated BYU’s 9-of-11 third-down line as one of the few opener numbers with a chance to travel. Arizona’s backfield production will test it immediately.
BYU got takeaways without living in the backfield
BYU’s defense reached the same seven-point allowance through a different route. The Cougars finished the opener with one sack and four tackles for loss, well short of Arizona’s disruption totals. They also intercepted three passes and recovered one fumble.
Utah Tech managed 184 total yards and 11 first downs. BYU did not need a parade of sacks because possessions kept ending with takeaways.
Fifita changes the problem. He has 9,445 career passing yards and 75 touchdown passes, according to Arizona. His 262-yard opener moved him to second on the school’s career passing list. He completed 13 consecutive attempts during the first half against Northern Arizona.
A quarterback with that experience can beat a late rush before it arrives. BYU’s one-sack opener therefore matters less than whether the front can affect Fifita without forcing the secondary to cover forever. Keanu Tanuvasa and Justin Kirkland have to compress the middle. The edge group has to keep Fifita from settling into the same quick rhythm he found last week.
Four takeaways made Utah Tech look comfortable on the scoreboard. They should not become the defensive plan. Interceptions are outcomes, not a substitute for winning early downs. If Arizona protects Fifita and stays out of obvious passing situations, BYU cannot count on another pass simply arriving at Evan Johnson, Therrian Alexander III or Faletau Satuala.
The new depth chart reshuffles two defensive jobs
BYU’s Arizona notes do not list safety Raider Damuni, who started atop the Utah Tech chart. The document supplies no diagnosis or return date, so his absence should remain exactly that: an official game-week depth-chart change, not an invitation to guess at medical details.
Tommy Prassas moves to the first strong-safety line, with Jarinn Kalama behind him. Crew Clark is now Cannon DeVries’ direct backup at nickel after Prassas occupied both the strong-safety and nickel columns last week.
The front also changed shape on paper. BYU labels two hybrid positions “BB” and “FB” on its chart. Tausili Akana moves from the first FB listing to the first BB spot. Nusi Taumoepeau moves from Isaiah Glasker’s second line at Sam to first at FB. Hunter Clegg, last week’s first BB name, now follows Akana.
| Defensive job | Utah Tech chart | Arizona chart |
|---|---|---|
| Strong safety | Raider Damuni | Tommy Prassas |
| Backup nickel | Tommy Prassas | Crew Clark |
| BB | Hunter Clegg | Tausili Akana |
| FB | Tausili Akana | Nusi Taumoepeau |
Those moves matter more against Fifita than they did against Utah Tech. Prassas and DeVries will have to sort routes and run fits without Damuni at the top of the strong-safety column. Akana and Taumoepeau carry more responsibility in the group trying to hurry an experienced passer.
The chart cannot tell us whether BYU will use the same alignment on the first third down or how many snaps any player will receive. It does show the staff’s public order for Arizona week. That is a firmer receipt than an injury rumor or a projected lineup.
DeVries earned the first return job
Cannon DeVries also moved to the front of BYU’s kick-return line after taking the second-half kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown against Utah Tech. Legend Glasker follows him, with Evan Johnson joined to Glasker by an “or.”
The promotion is the least surprising change on the page. DeVries added two punt returns for 73 yards and earned the Big 12 special teams player of the week award. Glasker won the conference’s newcomer award after scoring three touchdowns on three different kinds of touches.
Arizona punter Chase Ridley averaged 48 yards on three punts in his debut. That gives DeVries another field-position job even if Arizona avoids a returnable kickoff. The Cougars cannot expect a weekly special-teams touchdown, but they can keep making opponents choose between distance and return risk.
Last year’s overtime is context, not a script
BYU beat Arizona 33-27 in double overtime in Tucson last season. The Wildcats led 24-14 after a weather delay before BYU scored 10 fourth-quarter points. Bachmeier ran for the second-overtime touchdown, and BYU’s defense finished the game.
The schools have played 27 times, with BYU holding a 14-12-1 series lead. Kalani Sitake is 5-0 against Arizona; Brent Brennan is 0-3 against BYU across his head-coaching stops.
None of those records protects the Cougars on Saturday. Arizona returns its head coach, both coordinators and its starting quarterback from a nine-win team. BYU brings the home field and a cleaner opening offensive line, but it also brings a changed safety group and only one game of 2026 evidence.
Watch the pocket before the score. If BYU keeps Arizona’s five-sack opener from dictating the downs, the Cougars can use the run, both tight ends and Bachmeier’s movement. If Fifita gets the ball out cleanly while BYU waits for another four-turnover gift, the afternoon gets uncomfortable fast.
The football schedule has every remaining kickoff and network, while the results page keeps the season record and final scores together.
Sources and further reading
- BYU Athletics, Sept. 7: BYU-Arizona game-week hub for the official kickoff, FOX listing, radio options, live stats and game-notes link.
- BYU Athletics: official Arizona game notes, especially pages 8-10, for the current depth chart, opening-game team statistics and year-to-year context.
- Arizona Athletics, Sept. 7: Arizona clashes with BYU for independent watch confirmation, broadcast crew, series record, staff continuity and Arizona’s opening-game notes.
- Arizona Athletics: Northern Arizona box score for the Wildcats’ official opening-game team and individual statistics.
- WMT Statistics: BYU 63, Utah Tech 7 for finalized BYU opening-game team totals, takeaways, sacks, tackles for loss and situational statistics.
- BYU Athletics: official event record for the UTC start, venue, location, conference designation and scheduled status.
