TUCSON, Ariz. — Neither BYU nor Arizona has made many excuses for losses since the former WAC rivals were reunited in the Big 12 last year, but if they did for Saturday’s dust-up in the desert they might borrow a line from Milli Vanilli.
Blame it on the rain.
Heavy rains and potential flooding are expected through the weekend in southern Arizona, the result of Tropical Storm Priscilla colliding with another storm system expected to drop as much up to four inches of rain, what would be a record rainfall this time of year in the desert.
As if No. 18 BYU’s player availability report weren’t enough — which included tough news for cornerback Marcus McKenzie (out) and linebacker Jack Kelly (questionable), with good news for Isaiah Glasker, Jonathan Kabeya and Enoch Nawahine (probable) — the Cougars also have to worry about Priscilla if they want to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.
“We’re ready for the monsoon,” said special teams coordinator Kelly Poppinga, whose defensive ends will also be tasked with containing dynamic Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita. “We know it’s a pretty high chance of heavy, heavy rain — and I think our team is up for that. They’re excited, and going to be prepared for that.”
Sophomore safety-turned-starting nickel Tommy Prassas and reserve running back Enoch Nawahine are also listed as questionable for the Cougars.
But back to Priscilla.
Square in its sight is Tucson, home of Arizona Stadium, where the Wildcats were expected to kick off against the Cougars at 6 p.m. MDT Saturday one week before BYU’s annual rivalry game against Utah.
Flood watch in effect from noon Saturday to 5 pm Monday. Abundant moisture from two tropical systems may lead to periods of moderate to heavy rain & isolated thunderstorms. Dry washes, low lying areas, & urban locations may see flooding. Never drive through flooded roads. #azwxpic.twitter.com/7nSVpJYDzt
— NWS Tucson (@NWSTucson) October 10, 2025
As of Friday afternoon, none of that has changed. The Wildcats are even a mild underdog in a game that many Las Vegas sportsbooks opened as a pick’em game.
So will BYU fire up Milli Vanilli in the pregame locker room? That’s to be determined. But there will be some excitement when it comes to playing in the elements.
“I tell you what,” BYU defensive tackle Justin Kirkland joked — or was he? — after a practice in sun-filled Provo, “if it’s raining in Tucson, and I make a play — you’re going to see a penguin slide. You know what I’m saying?”
And why not? In stormy conditions with a wet football that is less pass-friendly, the Cougars (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) might be more (pardon the pun) in their element.
The Wildcats (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) boast perhaps the top passing game the Cougars have faced yet, averaging 286.2 of their 430.0 yards per game through the arm of reigning Big 12 offensive player of the week Fifita.
The BYU offense is significantly more balanced, with true freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier pairing a passing attack of 217.9 yards per game with lead rusher LJ Martin and a ground assault averaging 217.8 yards.
Statistically, then, significant rain, wind and other stormy conditions that make gripping and throwing a football difficult would arguably favor BYU.
“We’ve always kind of been that way,” BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said. “We want to run the ball, and the play-action pass is kind of our bread and butter.”
Routinely throwing into the teeth of an Arizona defense that hasn’t allowed a passing touchdown in five games — the only team in the Football Bowl Subdivision that can make such a claim — isn’t advised, either.
It’s an almost about-face from last year under new defensive coordinator and former New Mexico coach Danny Gonzales, whose group has allowed just 15.6 points per game and ranks first the Big 12 in pass defense.
“They have a unique scheme,” Roderick said. “Coach Gonzales is a Rocky Long disciple, and they do a really good job. He’s an excellent coach, they run a good system, and they have good players.
“They’ll be the best defense we’ve played so far this year.”
The National Weather Service also issued a flood watch in effect Saturday beginning at 5 p.m. local time through Monday. The service said the area in southern Arizona would receive “abundant moisture from two tropical systems” that may lead to “moderate to heavy rain and isolated Flooding is expected in the dry washes, low lying areas and some urban locations,” the NWS said.
The Big 12 Conference was monitoring weather conditions, and said it could flex Saturday’s kickoff time to better accommodate the weather.
All of that to say, keep an eye on the league’s official communication — and like it’s TV partners — for updates to the schedule.
But ideally, Priscilla may not impact the Cougars’ overall game plan.
“You know how BYU is; we’re going to run the ball, rain, shine, snow or whatever,” Kirkland said. “I hope it rains. I think they (on the offense) hope it rains, too; you talk to the offensive line, they want to run the ball.”
How to watch, stream and listNo. 18 BYU (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) vs. Arizona (4-1, 1-1 Big 12)
Saturday, Oct. 11
Venue: Arizona Stadium; Tucson, Ariz.Kickoff: 6 p.m. MDTTV: ESPN2 (Mike Couzens, Kirk Morrison, Dawn Davenport)Streaming: WatchESPNRadio: BYUradio SiriusXM143, KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM (Greg Wrubell, Hans Olsen, Mitchell Juergens)Series: BYU leads, 13-12-1
Bearing his teeth… Bear Bachmeier, the true freshman taking the QB Club by storm🌩️#Big12FB | @Big12Conferencepic.twitter.com/E4QmSn9QD3
— Big 12 Studios (@big12studios) October 9, 2025
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.