There are 50 days until Arizona football kicks off its 2025 campaign, and in anticipation for this season, we have once again simulated the season for the Wildcats via EA Sports College Football 26.
Last year’s simulation was far off from the reality. Instead of going 9-5, like in the game, the Wildcats IRL went 4-8 overall and 2-7 in their first year in the Big 12 Conference.
One update from last year’s game is the integration of actual coaches. This includes head coach Brent Brennan, offensive coordinator Seth Doege and defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales.
In order to make the simulation as realistic as possible, the gameplay level was raised to the ‘Heisman’ level. This is out of the following levels: Freshman, Varsity, All-American and Heisman.
The schedule was not changed, however since Weber State is not in the game, it will be represented by “FCS West”. The depth chart is also unchanged, as it is pre-set by EA Sports and doesn’t include all of the players on the 2025 roster.
Nonconference play
Arizona began the season with a solid start against Hawaii, who had already lost to Stanford in week zero. Quarterback Noah Fifita threw for three touchdowns, with two going to Oregon transfer Kris Hutson.
Texas State transfer Ismail Mahdi ran for 112 yards on 11 carries in his Wildcats debut.
After a 24-13 win against the Rainbow Warriors, Arizona followed it up with a 42-0 rout of FCS West (Weber State). Fifita had 199 yards and three touchdowns.
Mahdi had another stellar game with 135 yards on 12 carries. However, it was junior Kedrick Reescano who found the endzone with both a rushing and receiving touchdown.
Tight end and Kansas transfer Keyan Burnett also found the endzone for his first touchdown of the season.
To end non-conference, number 24 Kansas State (2-1) came to town and returned the favor of blowouts to the Wildcats from Tucson. Winning 22-0, Kansas State completely shut down the Arizona offense.
The one bright spot for Arizona came from defensive lineman and Texas transfer Tiaoalii Savea who had two sacks. The Wildcats would head into their first bye week of the season trying to regroup before Big 12 play.
Surprising start to Big 12 competition
UA would travel to Ames to take on conference runner ups from last season, number 21 Iowa State (3-1). In what was a rainy and slippery night, Arizona upset the Cyclones 21-17.
Mahdi carried the Wildcats to victory with just 69 yards and two touchdowns. One of the touchdowns came from 59 yards out. Redshirt senior Dalton Johnson also had two fumble recoveries.
Arizona would return home to take on Oklahoma State (2-2), in a game that could’ve shifted momentum for either team. In a double overtime thriller, UA came out on top with a 32-30 win.
Sophomore kicker Michael Salgado-Medina hit a 46 yard field goal to send it into OT. Fifita found Hutson in the first overtime from 25 yards out, then found Burnett in the second overtime.
It was the Cowboys who failed their two point conversion in second overtime to give the Wildcats the win.
New Mexico transfer Luke Wysong also had his best game of the season against Oklahoma State. He had 115 yards on nine receptions.
Coming off a win like that can leave a bit of a hangover effect for some teams, and that was the case going into the game against number 15 BYU (4-1).
Unable to finish drives and no ability to run led to the Wildcats downfall.
Midseason slump
Bouncing back from the BYU loss, Arizona took care of business against Houston (3-3), beating the Cougars 21-10. Hutson started the game with an 85 yard punt return.
Redshirt senior wide receiver Jeremiah Patterson had two touchdown catches. Another redshirt senior Tre Smith had his best performance with 9 tackles and two sacks.
Arizona would head into its second and final bye week of the season with a record of 5-2.
With a road trip to Boulder, the Wildcats were in prime position to become bowl eligible. However, this would turn into a bad loss for Arizona.
Colorado was 2-6 on the season and 0-5 in conference but earned its first win against the Wildcats in a 27-17. Once again the offense could not produce for Arizona.
Small wins for UA included Salgado-Medina hitting a 51 yard field goal, and redshirt sophomore Jarra Anderson earning two sacks.
Still trying to become bowl eligible, Arizona returned home to take on Kansas (6-3). In a very close game, the Wildcats would fall 17-16.
Fifita found Burnett in the endzone as time expired. However, the decision to go for two and the win would prove costly.
Final push to a bowl game?
After a tough home loss, and still unable to become bowl eligible, Arizona took its longest trip of the season to Cincinnati (6-3). The Wildcats had control for the entire game and finally became bowl eligible, winning 28-17.
Fifita had a 54 yard touchdown run to put the game away. Junior linebacker Taye Brown also secured the first interception of the season.
Heading back home for the final home game of the season, as well as senior day, Arizona would take on number 22 Baylor (7-3). Fifita finished with 156 yards and two touchdowns going to Patterson and Hutson.
Following the 20-7 win the Wildcats headed up north to take on their rivals, and number 19 in the nation, the Arizona State Sun Devils (8-3). This was a game where the better team won in all aspects of the game.
In a slow burn 24-14 loss, the Wildcats finished the regular season with a 7-5 record, well exceeding preseason expectations.
Frisco Bowl and final stats
In Brennan’s second season virtually, he got the Wildcats into a bowl as Arizona was matched up against South Florida in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl.
It took a total team effort to earn a 17-10 win, the first bowl win for Brennan.
Fifita finished his final performance of the season with 117 yards and one touchdown. Mahdi got it done on the ground with 108 yards on just seven carries. Smith got the lone sack of the game.
Finishing the season with a 8-5 record, Arizona finished with the best defense in the nation. It allowed 3,088 on the season and only 236.8 per game.
On the other hand, the offense was the worst in the Big 12. It had 3,477 yards on the season, averaging 267.5 per game.
Here are some of the final individual stats for the virtual season:
- Fifita: 175-295 for 2,168 yards and 20 touchdowns, only three interceptions
- Mahdi: 140 carries for 920 yards and seven touchdowns
- Wysong: 50 catches for 678 yards and three touchdowns
- Hutson: 36 catches for 548 yards and eight touchdowns, also had the only punt return touchdown of the season
- Johnson: 55 tackles, and two fumble recoveries
- Smith: 39 tackles and 4.5 sacks
- Brown: Lone interception of the season
- Salgado-Medina: 8-13 of field goal attempts, and 31-31 on extra points
Other national finishes
Texas Tech beat ASU in the Big 12 title game, earning the No. 11 seed in the College Football Playoff. The Red Raiders lost to 6th-seeded Illinois.
The semifinals included all four spots being filled by Big 10 teams. Those games included Oregon taking on Penn State, and Ohio State taking on Illinois.
In the end, it was Ohio State beating Penn State to earn back to back national championships.
Arizona might not be expected to compete for a college football playoff spot, but the opportunity to improve on last season’s 4-8 record starts on Aug. 30 at home against Hawaii.