That close line matches how Utah's season has gone lately. The Utes are 9-0 and have won 5 straight, but 3 of those were one-score games: 27-24 at Colorado, 21-13 over Houston and 28-20 over BYU. The 49-25 win at Cincinnati is the outlier. Utah has spent most of the season grinding wins out, not running teams off the field.
Arizona has been a different team in Tucson. The Wildcats beat Cincinnati 34-7 and Iowa State 39-3 at Casino Del Sol Stadium, and the TCU comeback came there too. Their only loss in this stretch was 34-26 at Texas Tech. Cincinnati is the one opponent both teams have played. Utah won 49-25 on the road and Arizona won 34-7 at home, so both handled the Bearcats easily and neither result separates them.
The TCU ending cuts both ways. Fifita hit Quincy Craig for a 15-yard touchdown with 1:45 left, the 2-point try failed, and then Zuri Watson recovered an onside pooch kick at the Horned Frogs' 26. Michael Salgado-Medina won it with a 37-yard field goal. It shows a team that keeps playing to the end. It also shows a team that needed a fluky bounce to beat TCU at home, and Utah doesn't usually hand out those chances.
There's a scheduling wrinkle, too. Arizona played TCU on Friday night and Utah played BYU on Saturday, so the Wildcats get an extra day to recover and prepare. Saturday's forecast in Tucson is mild: low 70s, a light drizzle, about 10 mph of wind, nothing that should change how either team plays.
The stakes are simple. Utah is 6-0 in the Big 12, and the BYU win set it up well for both the conference title game and a playoff spot. At 4-2 in league play, Arizona can't knock Utah out of the race by itself. What it can do is give the Utes their first loss, put a mark on their playoff résumé and end a winning streak that dates back to last season.
