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SALT LAKE CITY — The series between Arizona and Utah over the last decade-plus hasn't been relatively close — on either side of the aisle.
In the 12 meetings between the two teams since Utah rekindled an old WAC rivalry when it joined the Pac-12, only two games have been settled by less than 10 points for either side — a 30-24 Utah win in 2017 and a 37-30 Arizona win in 2015.
It's been a series that is all boom for one team and all bust for the other.
After controlling a six-game win streak — the most for either side in a series that is 26-20-2, with the Utes holding the edge — Utah is now on the other side of the win column after suffering a demoralizing 42-13 defeat in the desert last season. It's a defeat that Utah players and coaches remember fondly.
"That was not a fun one, I know that," receiver Money Park said.
"Just remember it wasn't fun," added defensive end Van Fillinger.
As if the season-long injuries hadn't piled up enough by the time the two teams played on Nov. 18, Utah was suddenly without starters Cole Bishop, Jonah Elliss — it turned out to be season-ending — and Karene Reid, among many others.
Arizona needed about 10 full minutes of game time to put the Utes away as freshman quarterback Noah Fifita and his favorite target Tetairoa McMillan made easy work of Utah in a 42-18 rout. Utah didn't even eclipse 100 yards of total offense until late in the second quarter.
"We've got to accept the fact that they outplayed us, outcoached us, and that's that," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said after the game.
The loss hurt, but it was the final 41 seconds of game time that may have stung the most.
With a 35-18 lead and no real threat of a comeback, Arizona overlooked the victory formation and took one last shot.
Backup quarterback Jayden de Laura, who was inserted in the game after Fifita had done enough damage, hit McMillan about 25 yards down field on a go route. The talented receiver easily broke a tackle attempt and had green grass in front of him for another score.
Then-head coach Jedd Fisch said he wanted de Laura to finish out his career with another score, but it's the type of play that only adds fuel to the fire for the next season.
Even as Whittingham was not willing to criticize the call, saying Utah should have defended it better after the game, it was something the long-time head coach took a mental note of, knowing the two teams would have to play at Rice-Eccles Stadium the next season.
It's part of having that competitive gene that's made Whittingham so successful over the years.
(For the record, Whittingham has played the game, too, and has had his team score late in games to increase big leads.)
"That was like one of the most depressing games. It's just like, 'Frick!'" offensive lineman Spencer Fano said. "So I feel like that does give us an extra little push against these guys, because we've got to get them back. We've got to get them back for what happened last year. I mean, it's no hard feelings or anything, but it's just we've got to get them back. It's just that competitive nature."
On their turf a year later, the outcome is expected to be different. Utah hopes for that lopsided score to swing in their favor again against an Arizona team that doesn't resemble much of the 2023 team.
"We all know that Rice-Eccles is a real tough environment for opponents, especially at night," Whittingham said on Monday. "They got us pretty good last year, so we hope to play much better this year than we did last year."
As the projected top team in the Big 12 this season with a 4-0 record, Utah was favored by two touchdowns going into the week before the betting lines dropped to the home team being 7.5-point favorites, with freshman Isaac Wilson as the most likely quarterback to start Saturday.
To add to the drama of the matchup, Arizona enters with an extra week of preparation after the team's first bye week and a blowout loss to Kansas State the week prior.
"They're coming off a bye, so they'll be fresh coming off a loss prior to the bye, so they're a little bit of a wounded animal, which is unpredictable," Whittingham said. "They've got to have some confidence, because they whooped us last year, so they've got some things going for them."
But for Whittingham, Kansas State provided a simple blueprint in how to beat Arizona: Run the ball.
"K-State ran the ball really effectively," he said. "It's 200-plus yards, and think Arizona only had 40, 50, 60 yards of rushing, and that's damaging. When you can rush for a bunch and not give up much in the run game, that allows you to control the game a lot of the time, and that's exactly what K-State did.
"K-State did a really nice job defensively mixing up coverages, bringing pressure, dropping eight was effective. They got good pressure with a three man rush at times, and so they had a good plan going in and slowed (Fifita) down. But to me, the big key was their ability to control the football through the run game."
Arizona ranks 97th (out of 134 teams) in run defense.
But for as much as the run defense has been a bit of a struggle this season for the Wildcats, the game plan will always come down to stopping the dynamic duo of Fifita and McMillan.
"Well, we've got to come up with something, there's no doubt about it," Whittingham said. "Fifita is a terrific quarterback, had a great game against us last year. The McMillan kid is a terrific receiver, leading the conference in yards per game in the top two or three or four in receptions per game. So he's a big target, big catch radius.
"We've got to have an answer, and hopefully, you know, like I said, play better than we did last year."
