Jason BatacaoArizona quarterback Noah Fifita might not remember the first game he attended, but his father, Les, certainly does. Les has a picture of it tucked away somewhere in his house. It was Oct. 18, 2003, when the Utes beat UNLV 28-10.
“I had him in one of those little holders where you hold him on your chest,” Les told The Salt Lake Tribune. “He was two to three months old, and it was at Rice-Eccles.
“He grew up watching my brother Steve.”
That’s right. As Steve Fifita was pummeling through offensive linemen and plugging gaps along Utah’s defensive line on college football Saturdays, his baby nephew watched from the stands of Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Born in 2003, Noah Fifita grew up wearing Ute red because his two uncles, Steve and Kelly Talavou, played for the program. As Noah grew older, he became a fan of Brian Johnson, the former Utah quarterback who led the Utes to an undefeated season in 2008.
He may have even envisioned doing the same thing one day at Utah.
On Saturday, though, Fifita will be looking to end the Utes’ perfect season when they visit No. 23 Arizona (5:30 p.m. MT, Fox).
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Arizona Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita (11), celebrates the Wildcats 23-10 win, in Big-12 football action between the Utah Utes and the Arizona Wildcats at Rice-Eccles Stadium, on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024.
That game will be only the fourth time Steve has rooted against his Utes.
“I’m a Ute fan every week except this week,” Steve told The Tribune. “The family ties are a lot stronger.”
Saturday will likely be the last time Noah Fifita takes on the Utes — which Utah fans will probably like to hear.
The Utes have not fared well against him, with Fifita winning both games he’s started against Utah.
In 2023, Fifita threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-18 win over Utah. The next year, Fifita ended the Utes’ perfect start to the season by throwing for 197 yards and a pair of TDs in a 23-10 win.
“Noah Fifita’s had our number for the last two times that we’ve played him,” Utah head coach Morgan Scalley said on Monday.
Is that Fifita’s revenge?
The Wildcat quarterback often attended Utah’s kids’ camps growing up and has pictures with both Morgan Scalley and former Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham.
One of Les’s favorite pictures is of a young Noah standing in Rice-Eccles Stadium, gazing up at the scoreboard, almost as if he was dreaming about one day being a quarterback there.
(Photo provided by Les Fifita) A young Noah Fifita, now the quarterback at the University of Arizona, seen walking in Rice Eccles Stadium as a kid.
Fifita has since played there twice ... just not as a Ute. His first collegiate touchdown pass came in Rice-Eccles Stadium, when he entered the game in the fourth quarter of a 45-20 loss to the Utes in 2022.
Then a true freshman, Fifita found wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan with a perfectly placed ball on a fade route to the left corner of the north end zone.
“It was definitely a dream for him to play over there,” Les said. “It’s not a chip on his shoulder, but I think he just relishes being there and playing against them.”
It all begs the question: With so many family connections, why didn’t Fifita end up at Utah?
The answer is simple: The Utes didn’t offer him out of high school.
And Fifita has stayed loyal to Arizona, never entering the transfer portal — even when the Utes were looking for a starting quarterback two offseasons ago.
“It’s just a business,” Les said. “If you look at it historically, the quarterbacks that they have picked are the 6-foot-4 prototypical guys. I think Brian Johnson was their shortest guy that they’ve ever had.
“There were some talks with some of our family members about potential interest in coming over there, but it didn’t end up happening. I feel like everything has been ordained and God has a plan for us, and this was the best fit for him.”
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa (57) nearly gets his hand on a pass by Arizona Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita (11), in Big-12 football action between the Utes and the Arizona Wildcats at Rice-Eccles Stadium, on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024.
But Utah’s lack of interest in the 5-foot-10 quarterback surprised Steve.
“I was a little surprised,” Steve said. “He was the best quarterback here in Southern California.”
Sure, he may have a bias, but Noah was a three-star prospect and quickly proved to be one of the best QBs in the Pac-12 when he took the reins of the Wildcat offense in 2023.
“That’s just how it goes. It was all a part of God’s plan,” Steve said. “There were no hard feelings or anything.”
It’s worked out for both parties, at least eventually.
Arizona got a star, and Utah eventually found a replacement for Cam Rising in Devon Dampier, who has emerged as a potential Heisman candidate this year.
Fifita will likely finish his Arizona career as one of the best quarterbacks in program history.
But Utah will always be Fifita’s first love.
“He just grew up loving Utah football,” Les said.
And now he’ll have one last shot at beating them.
