Noah Fifita completed 17 passes in 22 attempts for 353 yards with a career record, tying five touchdown passes and no interceptions in just less than three complete quarters as Arizona beat Weber State 48-3 on Saturday night. The opening kickoff was delayed two hours because of lightning.
Arizona got off to a quick start with Fifita throwing a 31-yard TD pass to Javin Whatley 2:52 into the game. Fifita threw an 85-yard TD pass to Whatley 3:12 later to extend the Arizona lead to 14-0. Michael Salgado-Medina kicked two field goals and Fifita had two more TD passes as Arizona led 34-0 at halftime.
Arizona finished with 556 total yards while holding Weber State to 184. Weber State quarterback Jackson Gilkey completed 10 passes in 24 attempts for 68 yards with no TDs and two interceptions. Gilkey led Weber State with 40 yards rushing on nine carries.
Arizona raced to a 34-0 halftime lead. The first half ended with Arizona generating 382 total yards and holding Weber State to 82. Whatley had a great night with five receptions for 168 yards and two TDs. Ismail Mahdi led Arizona with nine carries for 51 yards and Quincy Craig had eight for 31.
Craig and Mahdi split first-half carries with Kedrick Reescano out with a foot injury. Arizona continued to dominate in the third quarter. Mahdi had a 27-yard TD reception on a screen pass on third down and 25 and Jay'Vion Cole added a 27-yard interception return for a score 36 seconds later.
Safety Genesis Smith had another strong game for Arizona with seven tackles and one interception and Taye Brown had six tackles. Arizona finished with six tackles for loss, two sacks and two interceptions. Arizona has forced seven turnovers without committing any in 2025.
Freshman Wesley Yarbrough closed the game for Arizona in the fourth quarter with seven carries for 37 yards. Five Arizona players received carries and 11 had receptions versus Weber State. Over 20 Arizona players received snaps on defense.
Arizona will take a huge step up on Friday against what should be an angry 1-2 Kansas State team. Kansas State was upset at home by Army on Saturday and began the 2025 season with a loss to Iowa State in Dublin, Ireland. Kansas State beat North Dakota 38-35 in week one.