Noah Fifita sets Arizona Wildcats career passing yards record, eclipses Nick Foles’ mark

Noah Fifita officially stands alone at the top of the Arizona Wildcats record book.

The senior quarterback broke Nick Foles’ program record for career passing yards on Saturday against Northern Illinois at Casino Del Sol Stadium, eclipsing the 10,011-yard milestone Foles established from 2009 to 2011.

Fifita, who already held the program’s career touchdown passes record entering his final season in Tucson, crossed the passing yards mark in the fourth quarter on a seven-yard completion to Isaiah Mizell.

Fifita connected on 27 of his first 29 throws, including 19 in a row, in his 37th career start for Arizona and threw touchdown passes to four different receivers.

He entered Saturday’s matchup needing 320 yards to pass Foles after throwing for 509 yards and three touchdowns across Arizona’s first two games of the season, a season-opening win against Northern Arizona and a road loss to No. 15 BYU.

The Huntington Beach, California native out of Servite High School has been the focal point of the Wildcats’ offense since taking over the starting role midway through the 2023 season. As a redshirt freshman that year, Fifita set the school’s single-game passing record with 527 yards in a 59-23 rivalry win over Arizona State.

He was named Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year and the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2023.

When high-profile teammates and head coach Jedd Fisch departed for Washington following that 10-win 2023 run, Fifita did not hit the transfer portal and decided to remain in Tucson under incoming head coach Brent Brennan.

Arizona finished 4-8 that year and Fifita completed 260 of 430 pass attempts (60%) for 2,958 yards, 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Fifita again did not hit the transfer portal, and he followed that up with a 3,228-yard, 29-touchdown campaign in 2025 to earn first-team all-conference honors, leading Arizona back to a bowl game while adjusting to new offensive coordinator Seth Doege’s scheme.

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