As teammates since eighth grade, there have been countless times where both Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan have combined for greatness. The Territorial Cup was the latest, and on a national stage that propelled each to some weekly awards.
McMillan is Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week while Fifita has won Freshman of the Week for a record fifth time.
It’s the third weekly award for McMillan, who twice was Freshman of the Week in 2022, while Fifita has won the freshman award five times in the last eight weeks including four times in five weeks between Oct. 9-Feb. 6.
McMillan had 11 catches for 266 yards and a touchdown in the 59-23 win at ASU, setting a Terriorial Cup record for receiving yards and posting the second-most in UA history. Fifita did one better, with his 527 passing yards both a T-Cup and Arizona record, while throwing five TD passes.
The last time the UA had multiple weekly Pac-12 winners was after the season-opening victory at San Diego State in 2022, when Jayden de Laura (Offensive POW) and Jalen Harris (defensive lineman) were honored.
Fifita also picked up a pair of national honors from his T-Cup performance, being named the Manning Award Star of the Week and the College Football Performance Awards National Player of the Week.
In leading Arizona to its sixth consecutive win, Fifita was 31 of 40 for his sixth game in eight starts with a completion percentage of 70 or better. For the season he’s at 73.6 percent, which is tied for third in FBS behind Oregon’s Bo Nix (78.6) and Michigan’s JJ McCarthy (74.3).
Fifita has thrown for 2,515 yards and 23 TDs despite limited action in the first four games of the season. His yardage is 50th nationally and his TD count is tied for 24th, while in UA history they rank 12th and tied for 7th, respectively.
The Pac-12 will announce its season awards next week, and Fifita figures to be a lock for Offensive Freshman of the Year. The last time a UA player won that award was in 2017 when JJ Taylor got the offensive nod and Colin Schooler was Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year.
McMillan is third in the Pac-12 in receptions (80) and yards (1,242) and fifth in TDs (10). His yardage is fourth-most in school history.
