si
In a quick turnaround for Week 10, the Arizona Wildcats, under the guidance of Brent Brennan, are set to welcome the TCU Horned Frogs to Tucson for a Friday evening clash. The Wildcats, standing at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in Big 12 play, are looking to bounce back from a narrow 34-26 defeat at Texas Tech on Halloween. In that game, Arizona held a halftime lead but faltered in the second half, echoing a similar pattern from their Week 2 loss at BYU.
Arizona is currently part of a four-way tie for third place in the Big 12 standings, alongside Houston, Baylor, and Oklahoma State. The two teams ahead of them, Texas Tech and BYU, both hold head-to-head tiebreakers over the Wildcats, making every remaining game crucial.
Key Analysis
One of the critical factors for Arizona on Friday will be the performance of quarterback Noah Fifita, who had an uncharacteristically off night against the Red Raiders. Fifita overthrew Tyler Powell on a pivotal fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter and struggled thereafter, preventing the Wildcats from mounting a comeback. While Fifita rarely has two subpar games in a row, he faces a formidable challenge against a TCU defense that leads the Big 12 by allowing only 14.1 points per game. The Horned Frogs have not surrendered more than 21 points in any game this season, a threshold Arizona has exceeded seven times, with their only failure coming against BYU in Week 2.
Despite their defensive prowess, the Horned Frogs have not fully capitalized, holding a 4-4 overall record and a 2-3 mark in conference play. TCU began the season 0-2 with a road loss to UCF and a home defeat to BYU, but they have won two of their last three games, including a road victory over Baylor and a home win against Kansas, with a 24-20 loss to West Virginia sandwiched in between.
For Arizona, the stakes are high. Ranked No. 22 in the first College Football Playoff Rankings of the season, the Wildcats have little margin for error with four regular-season games remaining. After facing TCU, they will host No. 3 Utah, which has a significant rivalry game against BYU on Saturday. A win over the Utes would dramatically bolster Arizona's resume. If the Wildcats can also defeat Kansas State and rival Arizona State to finish 10-2, they would at least enter the CFP conversation and could secure a spot in the Big 12 title game.
Here are the details for watching, streaming, and listening to the Arizona vs. TCU matchup:
- Date: Friday, November 6
- Game time: 8:15 PM MST
- Location: Casino Del Sol Stadium (Tucson, AZ)
- Radio: Wildcats Radio 1290 AM
- Streaming: Fubo
- TV: ESPN
Andy Patton is a college basketball writer with deep ties to both Gonzaga and Arizona. A Gonzaga alumnus who graduated in 2013, he has hosted the Locked On Zags podcast covering Gonzaga basketball since 2021 and has co-hosted the Locked On College Basketball podcast since 2022. His years covering the Bulldogs have also given him extensive familiarity with Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, who spent more than two decades on Mark Few's staff at Gonzaga before taking over the Wildcats in 2021. Andy has worked in sports media since 2017, with experience covering nearly every major sport. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for USA TODAY from 2017-21, where he also spent time covering the USC Trojans and Oregon Ducks, and previously served as lead writer for College Sports Wire. He has also covered the NBA, NHL, and MLB for various TEGNA outlets, including KREM in Spokane, 12News in Phoenix, and KING 5 in Seattle. Andy now lives in Spokane, Washington, with his wife, daughter, and dog. Follow AndyPattonCBB.