Arizona
Game Preview, Prediction For Arizona vs No. 10 Utah Football
SALT LAKE CITY –Arizona vs No. 10 Utah is set for a late kick tonight in Utah’s Homecoming Game and Dark Mode theme.
The Wildcats come into this one off of a bye, looking to get their first Big 12 Conference win. Meanwhile, Utah is looking to stay unblemished and will be looking to avenge last year’s performance against Arizona.
Utah vs Oklahoma State is just hours away from kickoff in Stillwater. Both teams are battling to improve to 4-0 on the season and gain a significant advantage in the Big 12 Conference race.
Here are some final thoughts on the game and a score prediction on the game.
𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓 𝐈𝐓 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊 ⚫️ #DarkMode pic.twitter.com/pT82P8NmSg
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 28, 2024
Arizona vs Utah
Game Info
Location: Rice Eccles Stadium
TV: ESPN
Rado: AM 700
Records: No. 10 Utah, 4-0, 1-0; Arizona 2-1
Last Week: Utah def. Oklahoma State State, 22-10; Arizona bye
Three Game Day Thoughts
1. Night game at Rice-Eccles Stadium
Utah has really leaned into the Dark Mode theme this season. As they should. There is something truly extraordinary about Rice-Eccles at night.
“I don’t know (what it is) but there is something magical about Rice-Eccles and night games,” head coach Kyle Whittingham said in last week’s press conference.
The atmosphere in the stadium tonight should be pretty electric. It’s been a while since the last home game at night for the Utes, there weren’t any last season.
Utah Football Vs. Arizona Fan Guide: TV Info, What To Wear, Top Storylines
Utah is also coming off of a rather momentous road victory at Oklahoma State, a rather ideal scenario for homecoming week. This weekend has featured the throwback uniforms, which now have the all black set to match the Dark Mode theme as well.
There is certainly a lot of excitement for this game, defensive tackle Junior Tafuna summed it up best earlier this week.
“Rice-Eccles is always louder after dark,” he said. “Rice-Eccles is going to be popping, it’s going to be loud and I’m excited, we’re all excited.”
2. A chance to go 5-0 with all the context around the start of this season
Utah football has a chance to do something significant this weekend in the Big 12 Conference.
But first, consider that Utah has seen their star quarterback in four quarters of action this season.
Not only that, but they lost their No. 2 cornerback within the first couple series of the season. Then their veteran defensive leader and top pass rusher have each missed the last two games.
Going to be some big time visitors this weekend! May even be a couple of late additions to the list. #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/RTseeVDHc3
— Steve Bartle (@BartleKSLsports) September 26, 2024
Yet, Utah has an opportunity tonight night to improve to 5-0 and solidify their standing atop the Big 12. Something many only considered possible if Cam Rising were healthy, let alone Kenan Johnson, Karene Reid, and Connor O’Toole.
Regardless of what happens tonight, Utah has positioned themselves favorably with their best ball ahead of them.
3. Curious to hear about the new concessions process
The fan experience is an important dynamic in football games. In the previous two home games, the experience was less than ideal.
Due to significant concourse congestion issues, Utah Athletics and Rice-Eccles Stadium have changed the process around their concessions.
These issues have centered around empty soda cups at purchase and long lines at refill stations, which exacerbated long-time congestion issues.
Utah fans will now be provided a full soda cup at initial purchase. That eliminates the primary issue of needing to wait in an additional line to fill up the cup with soda, whether initially or as a refill. Additional soda machines have been installed to help speed up the entire process for fans as well.
Curious to hear how much these changes help the fan experience tonight.
Two Arizona vs Utah Questions
1. How does Utah defend Tetairoa McMillan?
The Wildcats have one of the top receivers in the country. He’s averaging over 150 yards per game as the focal point of their passing attack. He’s the sort of talent that demands special attention.
At the same time, Arizona hasn’t gotten much out of their other pass catchers. Kansas State beat Arizona pretty handily by making it tough on McMillan but more importantly, limiting the production of others.
How Utah defends McMillan and the rest of the passing attack is something that I’ll be very interested in tonight.
2. What improvements does the Utah offense make?
The run game has really come on strong the past two weeks with the emergence of Micah Bernard as RB1.
Dorian Singer (161 yards), Brant Kuithe (142), and Money Parks (84) have been pretty productive in the passing game as well.
Utah is 4-0 but has only enjoyed stretches of highly potent offensive output.
The offense has lost the turnover battle in two games and it’s struggled to convert efficiently on 3rd downs this season.
There is plenty for the offense to clean up. There is also another level they can get to with their execution.
Utah needs to show offensive progress tonight, exactly what sort of progress will be interesting to see.
Score Prediction for Arizona vs Utah
The Utes will certainly be motivated for this one for several reasons. The defense needs another strong performance, while the offense needs to play make improvement. The home crowd also needs to play a big role tonight for Utah.
Given Arizona is coming off of a bye, they’ll be fresh and extra prepared for this one as well. That makes this one a competitive game. Still, Utah gets it down and goes into their bye week unblemished.
Utah 30, Arizona 24
Utah Football’s Remaining 2024 Schedule
- Utah Football vs. Arizona Wildcats on Saturday, September 28
- Utah Football @ Arizona State Sun Devils on Friday, October 11
- Utah Football vs. TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday, October 19
- Utah Football @ Houston Cougars on Saturday, October 26
- Utah Football vs. BYU Cougars on Saturday, November, 9
- Utah Football @ Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, November 16
- Utah Football vs. Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday, November 23
- Utah Football @ UCF Knights on Friday, November 29
Steve Bartle is the Utah insider for KSL Sports. He hosts The Utah Blockcast (SUBSCRIBE) and appears on KSL Sports Zone to break down the Utes. You can follow him on X for the latest Utah updates and game analysis.
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Arizona
Diamondbacks Fans Can Now Vote for Arizona’s All-Stars
Believe it or not, the 2026 All-Star Game voting process has already begun, as of Wednesday. Fans who want to see their favorite members of the Arizona Diamondbacks take the field in the midsummer classic this season can begin voting for their stars.
There are certainly some deserving players on this Diamondbacks club, which is currently 32-28 and occupying the third Wild Card sport in the National League.
Here’s how and where you can vote for your hometown heroes:
How to vote for Diamondbacks players to make All-Star Game
Fans can utilize the following link to vote for members of their team on dbacks.com. Fans are permitted to fill out and submit as many as five ballots per day, selecting as many or as few players as they choose.
This period of the fan vote constitutes Phase 1 of All-Star voting, which will run from Wednesday, June 3 through Thursday, June 25 at 9:00 a.m. Arizona time (12:00 p.m. Eastern time).
Following Phase 1, the two overall top vote-getters will receive automatic berths into the All-Star lineups. If those two are not Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge once again, that would be an upset.
When and where is the 2026 All-Star Game?
The 2026 All-Star Game will take place at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies in Philadelphia. All-Star week begins on June 10, with a full slate of activities, before the game is played on Tuesday, July 14 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time (5:00 p.m. Arizona time).
The full schedule of events are as follows:
- Friday, July 10: HBCU Swingman Classic
- Saturday, July 11: 2026 MLB Draft
- Sunday, July 12: All-Star Sunday, MLB Futures Game, MLBx All-Star 3-on-3
- Monday, July 13: T-Mobile Home Run Derby (8:00 p.m. ET)
- Tuesday, July 14: All-Star Red Carpet, All-Star Game
Which Diamondbacks are deserving All-Stars?
| Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
So, who should Diamondbacks fans vote for? Obviously, you may fill out the ballot however you choose. That can include a full roster of Diamondbacks, regardless of their stats or notoriety this season.
Still, here are some of the top performing D-backs who might have a leg up on an All-Star berth:
OF Corbin Carroll
Corbin Carroll is having another All-Star worthy season. He’s hitting .289/.380/.545 with a .925 OPS and eight home runs, while playing good right field defense. He has the eighth-most bWAR (2.7) among position players, fifth-most in the National League, and third-most among all pure outfielders.
2B Ketel Marte
If Marte wins the NL second base fan vote, it will be his third straight season starting the All-Star game. Despite such a slow start to the year, that feels possible again. Marte is hitting .259/.315/.456 with 10 homers and is playing the best defense of his career.
3B Nolan Arenado
Nolan Arenado is quietly putting together one of his better seasons of the 2020s, slashing .269/.351/.467 with eight homers and flashing his elite third base glove at nearly as good a pace as ever. His name still carries a lot of weight in third base conversations; he’ll get some votes, no matter what.
1B Ildemaro Vargas
Vargas’ bat has cooled down quite a bit since his historic start to 2026. He’s still hitting a sturdy .290/.318/.454, but feels more likely to be considered as a reserve selection than a leading vote-getter.
Honorable Mention: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez
Pitchers are not selected by the fan vote. They are selected by player ballots and the All-Star Game managers. The National League’s manager will be Dave Roberts of the Dodgers, again.
The National League has quite a few talented pitchers, but Eduardo Rodriguez currently holds the fifth-best starting pitcher ERA (2.24) among NL hurlers. It’s going to be difficult to dethrone Christopher Sanchez or Jacob Misiorowski, but Rodriguez could find his way into the pitching pool, especially after his WBC heroics for Team Venezuela.
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Arizona
Arizona State Adds Alabama Assistant Michael White To Coaching Staff
Arizona State has added Michael White to its coaching staff for the upcoming 2026-2027 season. White will join the program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
“I am incredibly honored to return to my home state and join this elite program,” White said. “I’m proud to say that I am coming home. I can’t thank Coach Herbie enough for the opportunity to join his incredible staff and help these young athletes grow and develop into the best individuals they can be. There are so many friends and mentors who have left their mark on this program, and I’m excited for the opportunity to leave mine and help take this program to new heights. Go Devils!”
White arrives with the Sun Devils after most recently spending the last three seasons with Alabama as an assistant. The Alabama women finished 11th at the 2026 NCAA Championships while the men were 24th.
Prior to arriving at Alabama, White spent the 2022-2023 season as a volunteer assistant at Wisconsin. He primarily coached the freestyle, breaststroke and distance groups for the Badgers. In addition to coaching the Badgers, he also was an assistant senior coach with the Madison Aquatics Club for the year. He began his coaching career at Juniata College in Pennsylvania as a volunteer assistant from 2019-2021.
White spent his collegiate career at St. Bonaventure in New York. There he was a 7x individual Atlantic-10 champion and swam to three school records as a senior with a 1:47.30 200 IM, 3:52.18 400 IM, and a 1:47.70 200 fly. He also was team captain for two season and helped the team capture the 2014 A-10 team title.
The Scottsdale, Arizona native will return to his home state. He was a 2012 AIA Division I state champion in the 100 breast and 200 IM as a senior for Dobson High School.
White joins the coaching staff led by head coach Herbie Behm, who is already known to be an innovative coach. Behm spoke of White’s innovation as well saying, “Mike is one of the best young coaches in the NCAA. His interview blew me away with the innovative ideas he presented. I can’t wait to start implementing those ideas and continue our growth at ASU.”
Arizona State swept the 2026 Big 12 team titles, and the men went on to finish 4th at 2026 NCAAs while the women were 37th. Rising senior Ilya Kharun captured the NCAA title in the 200 fly with a 1:37.66.
Arizona
Racial equality in education: Arizona ranked 18th – KTAR.com
Arizona is ranked 18th in the nation when it comes to racial equality in the classroom, according to WalletHub.
The personal finance website compiled its 2026 list of Best States for Racial Equality in Education by looking at differences between Black and white students when it comes to test scores, college attainment and high school graduation rates.
The rankings are based on a weighted average of six metrics, but did WalletHub not provide a breakdown of each category.
However, statistics from the Center for the Future of Arizona support the idea that Arizona has work to do when it comes to racial equality. African American students in Arizona have an average college attainment rate of 38%, while white students have an average rate of 54%.
That difference is also evident in other education areas, with a gap of 11 percentage points between Black and white high schoolers in graduation rate.
WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo called the high school graduation rate the most “alarming” data set for the Arizona. He said if the study included the state’s large Hispanic population, the results might have been different.
“It would be interesting, if those numbers were included, where the gaps would be. Again, Arizona has a high Hispanic population, as [does] New Mexico, and New Mexico was at number three. So maybe Arizona could take a look at what their neighbors are doing there to kind of bridge those gaps,” he said.
How can Arizona increase racial equality in the classroom?
Lupo said Arizona can boost its ranking and improve racial equality in schools by increasing the representation and funding for public education.
“One thing [to] do is to build more diversity within the school system. More Black administrators and more Black teachers kind of create more of a familiarity for Black students and more mentors. … Increased funding and a more concerted effort to increase diversity among the school systems, I think, would go a long way in bridging that gap,” he said.
WalletHub ranked Wyoming, West Virginia and New Mexico as the best states for racial equality in the classroom, with New Jersey, Connecticut and Wisconsin at the bottom of the list.
Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.
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