TUCSON, Ariz. — The No. 14 Arizona Wildcats (9-3, 7-2 Pac-12 Conference) just finished their best regular season in nearly a decade by beating rival Arizona State to keep the Territorial Cup in Tucson for another year.
Now, they will look to get to 10 wins for the first time since 2014, when they travel to San Antonio to take on the No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners (10-2, 7-2 Big XII Conference) in the 2023 Valero Alamo Bowl.
The Wildcats will be looking for their first bowl victory in eight years, as Arizona's last postseason victory came in the 2015 New Mexico Bowl, a 45-37 win over New Mexico. Arizona lost their last bowl game, the 2017 Foster Farms Bowl, 38-35 to Purdue.
This will be the 22nd bowl appearance for the Wildcats. They are 9-12 all-time in bowl games.
The Alamo Bowl is the culmination of an incredible three-year turnaround led by head coach Jedd Fisch. In 2021, the Wildcats won just one game. Now, they are ending a six-year bowl drought and came just one win shy of playing in the Pac-12 Championship game.
The Wildcats won their final six games of the regular season, their longest winning streak since 1998. This is the seventh time in the history of Arizona football that the Wildcats have won at least nine games in a season.
This will be Arizona's second trip to the Alamo Bowl. Their first came in 2010 but didn't end well, as Arizona lost to the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 36-10.
The 2023 Wildcats are led by redshirt freshman quarterback Noah Fifita, a five-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week and a finalist for the Shaun Alexander Award, which is given to the top freshman in college football.
Fifita appeared in 11 games this season and took over as the Wildcats' QB on September 23 after an injury to Jaden de Laura. Fifita made his first start on September 30 against No. 7 Washington and got his first win on October 14 against No. 19 Washington State.
Fifita's best game this season came against Arizona State as he completed 73.2% of his passes for 527 yards (an Arizona and Territorial Cup record) and five touchdowns. In total this season, Fifita has completed 73.6% of his passes (217/295) for 2,515 yards and 23 touchdowns. Fifita only threw five interceptions.
Other Wildcats to Watch
- Sophomore running back Jonah Coleman
- 12 games played, 123 rushes, 851 yards, 5 touchdowns, 23 catches, 282 yards, 1 touchdown
- Senior wide receiver Jacob Cowing
- 12 games played, 83 catches, 696 yards, 11 touchdowns
- Sophomore wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan
- 12 games played, 80 catches, 1,242 yards, 10 touchdowns
- Junior safety Gunner Maldonado
- 12 games played, 72 tackles (50 solo), 1 tackle for loss, 1 interception, 1 pass broken up, 1 fumble recovery, 2 forced fumbles
- Sophomore linebacker Jacob Manu
- 12 games played, 106 tackles (42 solo), 9.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, 1 interception, 1 pass broken up, 10 quarterback hits
- Redshirt sophomore safety Dalton Johnson
- 12 games played, 73 tackles (46 solo), 6 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 interception, 1 pass broken up, 1 quarterback hit
Breaking down the Sooners
Oklahoma finished third in their final season in the Big XII before they move to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) along with rival Texas next season.
Oklahoma's top win of the season came in the Red River Showdown against the Longhorns as the Sooners handed Texas their only loss of the regular season, 34-30.
The Sooners' only other loss came against in-state rival Oklahoma State on November 4 and caused the Sooners to miss out on a rematch with Texas in the Big XII Championship game. Texas won the Big XII Championship and will play in the College Football Playoff.
The Sooners will be without starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the Alamo Bowl, as he entered the transfer portal on December 4. In 12 games, Gabriel completed 69.3% of his passes this season (266/384) for 3,660 yards, 30 touchdowns and six interceptions. He ran 93 times for 373 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Gabriel will be replaced by his backup, freshman Jackson Arnold.
Arnold was a five-star recruit, according to 247 Sports, out of Guyer High School in Denton, Texas. He played in six games this year, completing 18 of his 24 pass attempts for 202 yards and two touchdowns.
This will be the 57th bowl appearance in Oklahoma's history and 25th in a row, a school record. The Sooners are 32-24 all-time in bowls. They lost their last bowl game, the 2022 Cheez-It Bowl, 35-32, to Florida State.
This will also be the second time in three seasons that the Sooners will play in the Alamo Bowl. Oklahoma beat Oregon, 47-32, in the 2021 edition, which is Oklahoma's most recent bowl victory.
Other Sooners to Watch
- Redshirt freshman running back Gavin Sawchuk
- 11 games played, 105 rushes, 610 yards, 8 touchdowns, 11 catches, 52 yards
- Redshirt senior wide receiver Drake Stoops
- 12 games played, 78 catches, 880 yards, 10 touchdowns
- Redshirt freshman wide receiver Nic Anderson
- 12 games played, 31 catches, 725 yards, 9 touchdowns
- Junior wide receiver Jalil Farooq
- 12 games played, 41 catches, 637 yards, 2 touchdowns
- Junior linebacker Danny Stutsman
- 11 games played, 99 tackles (47 solo), 16 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 1 interception, 2 passes broken up, 1 quarterback hit, 1 fumble recovery, 2 forced fumbles
- Junior defensive back Billy Bowman Jr.
- 12 games played, 61 tackles (35 solo), 3 tackles for loss, 6 interceptions, 4 passes broken up,
- Sophomore linebacker Jaren Kanak
- 12 games played, 60 tackles (26 solo), 6 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 passes broken up, 5 quarterback hits, 1 forced fumble
- Junior defensive lineman Ethan Downs
- 12 games played, 28 tackles (14 solo), 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 1 interception, 6 quarterback hits
Game Information
The Valero Alamo Bowl will be played on Dec. 28 at 7:15 p.m. Arizona time at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Tickets for the game can be purchased on the Arizona Wildcats' website or the Alamo Bowl website.
For more information on tickets, email the McKale Center Ticket Office at catsinfo@arizona.edu or call (520) 621-2287.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made the State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers also play at the Footprint. Phoenix has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the Waste Management Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall; and Cactus League Spring Training.
12Sports on YouTube
Watch more of the latest sports videos on the 12News YouTube channel. Don’t forget to subscribe!