Noah Fifita can throw for 250 yards against BYU. He can complete passes underneath, extend drives and make a few throws that leave LaVell Edwards Stadium quiet. BYU can live with all of that.

What the Cougars cannot afford is allowing Fifita to play a clean football game. If there is one statistic that could determine whether BYU beats Arizona on Saturday, it may not be rushing yards, sacks or even third-down percentage. It is interceptions.

Because if recent history tells us anything, BYU has figured out how to make one of the Big 12’s most experienced quarterbacks eventually put the football in danger. Fifita has faced BYU twice as Arizona’s starting quarterback. BYU is 2-0 in those games. He has completed 51 of 97 passes for 494 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions, producing a passer rating of just 97.3. Those interceptions haven't simply padded the box score. They have changed games.

2024: BYU turned interceptions into a rout

Arizona actually moved the football reasonably well against BYU in Provo in 2024. The Wildcats accumulated 389 yards, held the ball for nearly 33 minutes and produced 25 first downs. The final score was still BYU 41, Arizona 19. Why? Turnovers.

Photo accompanying “Why Interceptions Will Decide BYU vs. Arizona”

Fifita threw three interceptions. Tanner Wall intercepted him at the BYU 1-yard line in the second quarter, wiping away what looked like an Arizona scoring opportunity. BYU responded by driving 99 yards for a touchdown. Then came perhaps the most damaging sequence.

On Arizona's first offensive play of the second half, Jakob Robinson intercepted a tipped Fifita pass. BYU turned the takeaway into a touchdown and a 21-7 lead. Later, Isaiah Glasker finished the afternoon by intercepting Fifita and returning it 21 yards for a touchdown. Fifita finished with 275 passing yards. BYU didn't care. Three interceptions were worth far more than 275 yards.

Then Glasker got him again

A year later in Tucson, Fifita was much better. Arizona led BYU 17-14 at halftime and opened the third quarter with a 14-play drive that marched 70 yards. The Wildcats reached the BYU 5-yard line with an opportunity to make it a two-score game.

On fourth down, Fifita threw again. Isaiah Glasker intercepted him again. Instead of Arizona potentially taking a 24-14 lead, BYU escaped without allowing a point.

That became enormous when the Cougars eventually erased a 24-14 fourth-quarter deficit and won 33-27 in double overtime. Fifita finished 25 of 45 for 219 yards and two touchdowns, but the one interception came at perhaps the most damaging place possible. So through two meetings, Glasker alone has intercepted Fifita twice — once for a touchdown and once essentially taking a touchdown away. That is quite a history entering meeting No. 3.

This Fifita is better

BYU shouldn't expect Fifita to simply hand the game away. His ball security improved dramatically last season. After throwing 12 interceptions in 430 attempts in 2024, Fifita cut that number to only six interceptions in 429 attempts in 2025, while throwing 29 touchdown passes.

His 2026 debut showed more of the same. Against Northern Arizona, Fifita completed 22 of 29 passes for 262 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. At one point, he completed 13 consecutive passes.

This isn't the quarterback who struggled through portions of 2024. He is experienced, accurate and comfortable in Arizona's offense. That makes BYU's secondary even more important.

BYU keeps finding the football

Turnovers haven't been a random part of BYU's defense over the last two seasons. They have become part of its identity. In 2024, BYU led the entire country with 22 interceptions. Twelve different Cougars recorded at least one.

In 2025, BYU followed with 17 more interceptions, ranking among the national leaders again. Then the 2026 defense opened the season against Utah Tech and immediately picked up where those teams left off. Three interceptions.

Therrian Alexander III intercepted Utah Tech on its first offensive play of the season. Evan Johnson added another interception in the second quarter, and Matthias Leach finished the night with a red-zone interception. BYU forced four total turnovers in the 63-7 victory. It is 42 interceptions by BYU since the beginning of the 2024 season.

Different defensive coordinator. Different personnel. Same problem for opposing quarterbacks.

BYU doesn't need three. It might need one.

Expecting BYU to intercept Fifita three times like it did in 2024 is unrealistic. It might not need to.

Photo accompanying “Why Interceptions Will Decide BYU vs. Arizona”

Arizona is good enough offensively that Saturday could be decided by a handful of possessions. Fifita can sustain drives. Kedrick Reescano gives Arizona a legitimate running threat. And unlike Utah Tech, Arizona has the personnel to punish BYU when coverage breaks down. That is precisely why one interception could be enormous.

A pick near midfield might give Bear Bachmeier and the BYU offense a short field. A red-zone interception could erase seven Arizona points. And a turnover late in a one-score game could decide the outcome entirely.

BYU has already shown the blueprint against Fifita. Don't worry about making his passing-yard total look ugly. Make him throw underneath. Disguise coverage. Rally to receivers. Pressure him without sacrificing the back end.

Then wait. Fifita has thrown only four interceptions in two games against BYU. But those four interceptions have played an outsized role in producing two Cougar victories. If BYU makes it three straight Saturday, there is a very good chance that somewhere along the way, a Cougar defensive back will be holding the football.