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In addition to Arizona hosting the first game at Casino Del Sol Stadium, it was also the last go-around for the Wildcats in Tucson for the 2025 season. 

Arizona honored 28 seniors for Senior Day Saturday, and the 11 a.m. kickoff time is the earliest home game for the Wildcats since their first-ever nationally televised game against UCLA in 1983. 

In their last time at Casino Del Sol Stadium until the season opener against Northern Arizona in September, the Wildcats routed the Baylor Bears, 41-17, on Saturday.   

Arizona (8-3) has now won four straight games since suffering back-to-back losses to No. 18 BYU and Houston. The Wildcats are tied with Texas Tech and Utah for the longest active winning streak in the Big 12. 

It's Arizona's longest winning streak since the Wildcats won nine straight between the 2023-24 seasons. 

Arizona head coach Brent Brennan has eight wins in a season for the first time in his head coaching career. 

Arizona ended its home schedule with a 6-1 record, the most home wins in a season since 2014. The six home wins match a single-season program record, which had been achieved six times before this year. Brennan called Saturday a "fantastic day for our program." 

"We talked all week about wanting to send our seniors off the right way and I believe we did that," Brennan said. "Just incredible performances from some of them. ... We knew it was going to be a four-quarter battle and we knew it was going to be physical and we knew we'd have to play harder for longer and I felt like the players did that."

And for the second straight game, a shirtless section — a popular trend in college football that started at Oklahoma State — formed in Sections 201 and 202 of the northeast side of Casino Del Sol Stadium. A shirtless group that started with less than 10 people turned into hundreds of guys being, well, dudes. Even Wilbur Wildcat trekked up to the shirtless section in the fourth quarter. 

"It would be hard for me to ever participate in that, but that would be my kind of thing," Brennan said. "That looks like a lot of fun." 

The shirtless section was widely talked about and shared on all social media platforms, but it wasn't the only notable development from Casino Del Sol Stadium. Here are pertinent storylines, statistics, quotes from Arizona's win over Baylor, along with a look at what's next for the Wildcats as the regular season winds down. 

Fourth-quarter storm

In the final three minutes of the game, clouds rolled in and rain started drizzling before a thunderous downpour during the postgame press conferences. 

Arizona had a storm itself in the fourth quarter. 

After the Wildcats grabbed a 21-17 lead entering the fourth quarter, Baylor threatened to take the lead on 4th-and-3 from the Arizona 12-yard line, but quarterback Sawyer Robertson's pass attempt to wide receiver Kole Wilson to the left corner of the end zone was intercepted by sixth-year defensive back Treydan Stukes, who picked up his third interception of the season.

"Treydan Stukes is literally one of the best players I've ever been on the field with," Brennan said. "His awareness, his toughness, his technical excellence, his smarts. ... What a special (day) for him with the interception and he had a bunch of tackles. He's such an impactful player and such a great leader for us." 

The interception was a "storybook ending" for Stukes' final home game in Tucson, he said. 

"Any way I can help the team is good for everyone," Stukes said. "It felt good in that moment." 

Despite a missed 38-yard field goal by Arizona kicker Michael Salgado-Medina, Arizona's defense forced another takeaway on the ensuing possession. Arizona linebacker Taye Brown popped the ball out from Baylor running back Bryson Washington, which was recovered by senior cornerback Michael Dansby.

Arizona running back Ismail Mahdi scored a 28-yard touchdown to give the Wildcats a 28-17 lead. After a turnover on downs, Arizona running back Kedrick Reescano scored a 19-yard touchdown to put the Wildcats ahead 35-17. Reescano had three touchdowns on Saturday, the first multi-touchdown performance of his career. He's the first Arizona rusher to have three rushing touchdowns in a game since Quali Conley against New Mexico last season. 

Arizona linebacker Jabari Mann had a 34-yard pick-six to conclude Arizona's avalanche in the fourth quarter. 

The Wildcats had 13 points off turnovers and outscored Baylor 27-0 after trailing 17-14 at halftime. Arizona forced three takeaways and two turnovers on downs in the fourth quarter.

In 11 games this season, Arizona has allowed just 84 points in the second half — 36 points in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats are allowing 3.3 points per fourth quarter this season. Arizona has pitched 15 scoreless quarters this season. 

The Wildcats kept Baylor, which has the best passing offense in the Big 12 and averages just over 324 yards per game, to 162 passing yards on Saturday. Arizona has kept nine opponents to fewer than 200 passing yards this season. It was just the second time this season Baylor's Robertson had more interceptions than touchdowns in a game. 

Arizona now has the sixth-best passing defense in college football. The Wildcats lead the Big 12 in interceptions (16) and have 23 takeaways this season.     

Senior Day standouts

Over two dozen seniors played their final game at Casino Del Sol Stadium — and several of them stamped their time in Tucson with standout performances, including wide receiver Kris Hutson, who notched a career-high 133 receiving yards and a touchdown on nine catches. 

Hutson's final catch was a highlight grab over Baylor cornerback LeVar Thornton Jr. — "Mossing" the Baylor defender — for a 36-yard gain.

Hutson's lone touchdown of the game was in the second quarter. He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for taking his helmet off in the post-touchdown celebration. Hutson, who leads the Wildcats in receiving yards (512) this season, had eight catches for 123 yards in Arizona's upset win over No. 25 Cincinnati. Hutson has a combined 17 catches for 256 yards and a touchdown in the last two games. 

Between the Cincinnati game and Saturday, Hutson had 11 of 13 catches convert to first downs or a touchdown for the Wildcats.  

"Kris is a player we were hoping would have this kind of impact every week all year," Brennan said. "He's finally healthy and he's getting really comfortable and his chemistry is developing with Noah in game, so you're seeing the ball find him more often. I'll tell you, I don't want him to take his helmet off when he scores a touchdown. I like the touchdown, not the helmet off. He's an awesome young man. (Wide receivers coach Bobby Wade) and the the program has been a good thing for him. I'm excited to see what he's going to do with our last two games."

Mahdi said Hutson "has been very vocal and intentional with his work in practices." 

"He's a baller, man," Mahdi said. "I'm excited to see what he can do in the future, because he can really play."

Fittingly, Stukes and safety Dalton Johnson, who've played at Arizona longer than anyone currently on the roster and are the last two UA players connected to the Kevin Sumlin regime, had one of their best performances as Wildcats. 

Stukes' interception in the end zone sparked the Wildcats' knockout run in the fourth quarter, and the veteran defensive back had seven tackles. Johnson collected a career-high 18 tackles, the most by a Wildcat since Scooby Wright III's 19-tackle performance against UCLA in 2014.

When Stukes heard about Johnson's 18 tackles, he responded, "Are you serious? Holy..."

"Anyone that follows Arizona football knows Dalton Johnson is a household name around here," Stukes added. "As the guys who see him work every day, we know that's no surprise. He's one of the best tackling safeties I've ever met in my life. For him to have 18 (tackles) is pretty crazy, but I don't doubt it, because he sticks his nose everywhere and he doesn't make a lot of mistakes in that realm." 

Johnson is on pace to become the first Arizona safety since Darrell Brooks in 2004 and '05 to lead the Wildcats in tackles in back-to-back seasons.

"He's one of those awesome guys who chose to stay (for five years) and here we are in Casino Del Sol Stadium on Senior Day and he has 18 tackles? Get out of here. That's how it should end. That's storybook," Brennan said.  

From 'absolute misery' to 'Bear Down, baby!'

Brennan ended his postgame press conference on Saturday yelling, "Bear Down, baby!" That's a stark contrast to his postgame press conference following the Wildcats' home finale a year ago, when the Wildcats were drubbed by 42 points.

"This year was not fun," Brennan said last year. "It was absolute misery. There were some fun moments, but not nearly enough. I feel bad, because I feel like I let down these players, I let down this community and I feel like I let down this university."

Then, Arizona ended an injury-riddled 4-8 season in Brennan's first go-around at the helm. Considering the high from Arizona's 10-win season and run to the Alamo Bowl in 2023 and retaining the nucleus of that team, including the highest-drafted offensive Wildcat in Tetairoa McMillan, the 2024 season was an epic failure.

ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV overhauled its coordinators — and added defensive line coach Joe Salave'a and tight ends coach Josh Miller — in the offseason, and now the Wildcats have one of the top passing defenses in college football and the third-highest scoring offense in the Big 12, averaging 33.5 points per game, after having the second-lowest scoring average last season at 21.8 points per game. The Wildcats failed to score 30 points in 11 games last season; they've scored at least 30 points in six games in their first season under offensive coordinator Seth Doege. 

In the offseason, Arizona signed over 60 newcomers — many of whom had prior collegiate experience and brought a veteran presence to the revamped roster. 

Now, the Wildcats are enjoying the fruits of their labor from a chaotic offseason following a disastrous '24 season.   

"Did last year affect me? Of course it did," Brennan said. "It affected all of us. But I also think it motivated us to make the decisions and the moves we had to make to give us a chance to build this team, and that’s what I’m excited about. 

"I'm so proud of this team, the players, the coaches, our strength staff, our recruiting staff, everybody that touches this program. It speaks to the alignment that we have at Arizona right now. That is really special. And I promise you, that does not happen everywhere. But it's happening here right now."

The culture at Arizona under Brennan is why standout players like Stukes, Johnson, quarterback Noah Fifita and safety Genesis Smith chose to stay in Tucson instead of exploring other opportunities at other programs. 

"We believed in Coach Brennan," Stukes said. "That's why all these transfers that came in here, they came to a team that's 4-8. The guys that decided to stay, we stayed with the same coaching staff, because we believe in what he has going on here and we believe in the coaches he hired. ... We have such high-character guys and we've been putting in the work since January." 

In just a year, Arizona became the 19th team in program history to reach eight wins. If the Wildcats lose their upcoming game against Arizona State, they'll flip their record from last season and be 8-4 entering bowl season. If the Wildcats maintain their momentum and win on Friday, they'll be in position to become the fifth team in program history to reach at least 10 wins — and Stukes and Johnson could say they were on two of those teams. 

By the numbers  

5:ÌýArizona is now tied with Houston for fifth place in the Big 12 standings. Texas Tech, BYU, Utah and Arizona State are ahead of the UA and Houston in the Big 12 race. 

6.6:ÌýYards per carry for Mahdi on Saturday. He had 14 carries for 93 yards and a touchdown. 

10:ÌýArizona's offensive line allowed 10 quarterback pressures, but no sacks, according to Pro Football Focus.  

69:ÌýCareer passing touchdowns for Fifita, who completed 14 of 25 passes for 183 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Fifita had completed 140 straight passes without throwing an interception. A week after Fifita set Arizona's career passing touchdowns record, passing Nick Foles, the Super Bowl MVP was the honorary captain on Saturday.

82.5: Mann's team-best defensive grade on Pro Football Focus. Stukes had the second-highest grade (81.3). Hutson had the best offensive grade (86.1) for Saturday.     

40,199: Announced attendance for the inaugural game at Casino Del Sol Stadium.

They said it

Stukes, on Arizona's defensive adjustments in the second half and shutting Baylor out in the second half: "For us, it was about getting back to 'redline,' our motto. (Defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales) came in at half and we made some good adjustments. ... Those 50-50 plays we weren't getting in the first half, they started going our way in the second half and we started capitalizing on the momentum." 

Brennan, on the buy-in from the UA players: "The kids that are here, the young people that are here, the coaches that are here, they either chose to come or they chose to stay, but all of them made that decision because they believe in the University of Arizona, they believe in the coaching staff and they believed in the people a part of this program — players and coaches. I'm fired up." 

Stukes, on handling emotions on Senior Day: "I wanted to try and focus on the game, but seeing my siblings out there before the game was nice. I got refocused on the game and we got the result we wanted. It hit me seeing my family in the stands and hugging my brothers in the locker room. All good stuff."

Stukes, on the shirtless section in Section 201 and Section 202: "It's a fun thing. That's the biggest one I've seen so far. That was pretty deep, how many people they had up there. That's pretty fun." 

Stukes, on memories of playing at Arizona Stadium (now Casino Del Sol Stadium): "It's been huge. I started my career here when nobody was able to be in the stands. From going from that to having a thousand people in the top deck with their shirts off, it's been huge. It feels good to have the city's support because I know all of the guys in the room work their tails off every day and we put so much into this to go out and perform on Saturdays." 

Injury report

Arizona was down three starters on Saturday due to injury: cornerback Jay'Vion Cole, defensive tackle Tiaoalii Savea and right tackle Tristan Bounds. Savea and Bounds were both honored for Senior Day preceding kickoff. 

Cole and Bounds suffered injuries in Arizona's upset win over No. 25 Cincinnati last week. Bounds was spotted wearing a brace on his right leg and riding on a scooter. 

Redshirt freshman Matthew Lado started in place of Bounds. In the second half, right guard Alexander Doost exited with an injury and was replaced by Michael Wooten, who started the first two games of the season at left guard. When left guard Chubba Maae briefly left the game, reserve linemen Ise Matautia and Isaac Perez filled the void. The Wildcats were down three starters on the offensive line. 

"Those guys are truly unbelievable," Mahdi said of Arizona's offensive line. "They're warriors. They grind hard every day. They all love each other, they all believe in each other and when one man goes down, one comes right up and we know they can come out and play. They all did that. I'm so proud of those guys and I'm grateful to have them on my O-Line." 

Arizona linebacker Max Harris, who suffered a knee injury two weeks ago, left in the third quarter for what appeared to be a head injury and was replaced by Mann and walk-on Dominic Hanger. Freshman linebacker Myron Robinson was ruled out for a leg injury he suffered against Cincinnati.

Arizona defensive tackle Deshawn McKnight left the game in the second half. McKnight joined Savea and defensive end Tre Smith, who's out with a season-ending labrum injury, as starting defensive linemen out. The Wildcats used freshman Mays Pese, junior Leroy Palu, redshirt sophomore Julian Savaiinaea, senior Malachi Bailey and third-year defensive end Dominic Lolesio on the defensive line.

The Wildcats often used a 2-4-5 lineup with four linebackers: Brown, Harris, Chase Kennedy and Riley Wilson.  

The Wildcats were also without running back Quincy Craig, who missed his first game of the season. Arizona cornerback Marquis Groves-Killebrew was held out for the fourth straight game. 

What's next

Arizona turns to its regular-season finale against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium on Friday night in Tempe for the 99th Territorial Cup. ASU (8-3) thumped Colorado, 42-17, in Boulder on Saturday.

The Wildcats opened as 1.5-point favorites to win the Territorial Cup, according to Action Network.  

It's the first time both Arizona and ASU have at least eight wins in a Territorial Cup since 2014, when the Wildcats won the Pac-12 South championship.

The last time Arizona played in Tempe, the Wildcats routed ASU, 59-23, the largest margin of victory for UA in Tempe. Fifita set Arizona's single-game passing record with 527 yards to go along with five touchdowns. Former Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan had 266 receiving yards on 11 catches.

The Sun Devils defeated the Wildcats 49-7 in Tucson last season en route to the Big 12 championship and the College Football Playoff.  

The Wildcats and Sun Devils kick off at Mountain America Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m. on Fox. It'll be the latest kickoff time for Arizona since the second game of the season against Weber State. 

"It's a big-time rivalry," Stukes said. "It's one of the oldest ones in college football. We take it very seriously here. It's a one-game season for us. We're going to dive into the preparation and make sure we can come out and play our best stuff next Friday."