The Arizona Wildcats have navigated through a tough schedule and sit one win away from bowl eligibility. Tonight the Wildcats will face their fifth ranked team of the season when the No. 19 UCLA Bruins come to town. And it appears likely that Noah Fifita will make his fifth straight start over Jayden de Laura
Fifita, a redshirt freshman, has been very effective since taking the field to replace an injured de Laura. In four starts Fifita has thrown for 1,152 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 75 percent of his passes. He is 2-2 as the starter with losses against the USC Trojans and Washington Huskies in games where he performed admirably.
But it was the effort against the Washington State Cougars that likely won Fifita the job. He threw for 342 yards in 44-6 win.
De Laura hasn’t played poorly at all in his five starts. He has thrown for 1,069 yards with nine touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 69 percent of his passes. Arizona head coach Jeff Fisch said that both players are healthy and ready to go. It just looks like the Wildcats will stick with the hot hand.
DraftKings Sportsbook has Arizona as a 2.5-point underdog at home with the total set at 50.