Quarterback to Back: How Zane Flores, Pokes Stack Up against Noah Fifita and Arizona

The Cowboys may not be facing the nation’s leading passer this Saturday, but Arizona returns a fourth-year QB with three years of starting experience.

Oklahoma State was decidedly lapped in the quarterback matchup against Baylor last Saturday. But it’s a new week, and all the Pokes’ moving pieces at least have one more game under their belt.

Zane Flores came up short in his matchup with Sawyer Robertson. Let’s look at how he might stack up against Arizona’s Noah Fifita.

While Flores is still looking for his first win (and his first passing touchdown), Fifita is looking to bounce back from his first loss of the season.

Arizona fell behind to a top 15 Iowa State team on the road and never recovered. The most glaring difference in Fifita’s game were his two interceptions, his first of 2025. But he’s an experienced quarterback who’s going on his fourth-straight season as the starter. He led Arizona to a 10-3 finish and an Alamo Bowl win and then went 4-8 last year after a coaching change. He’s seen it all.

Against the Cowboys, he’ll face what — to this point — has been the worst passing defense in the Big 12. (They’ve been the worst in most defensive categories.) The Pokes will have a new acting DC in Clint Bowen and can still continue to improve but Fifita likely won’t face the resistance he did against the Cyclones.

Flores and the Cowboys’ offense have been underperforming but he is in an unenviable spot.

Thrust into the QB1 spot due to an early injury and a coaching change are just some of the things working against him. Though, he was in contention for the starter’s role up into the fall. He has shown some flashes but, has been inconsistent and less accurate than you’d like to this point. Especially on the deep balls, as I mentioned earlier this week, a trait he’s been lauded for.

I spoke with the site manager from Arizona Desert Swarm earlier this week, and he gave some insight on how the Wildcats might approach these types of special packages. It sounds like Arizona is going to play a lot of man and make Flores beat them through the air.

To be completely fair to Flores and OSU, he’s had to split some time with Sam Jackson V, especially last week as Doug Meacham and Co. try to manufacture points. If the Cowboys continue to use him in this way, I may include Jackson’s numbers in the above table moving forward.

For reference, here are his numbers from the Baylor game:

Passing: 3/4, 46 yards, 1 TD
Rushing: 2 attempts for 9 yards

Jackson also caught two passes for five yards.

Regardless of how we split the quarterback stats, the Cowboys have been underperforming on offense compared to what is necessary to keep them competitive in the Big 12. They’ve yet to score more than 27 points in any game this season and are dead last in the league (and rank 124th nationally) averaging just 17.3 points per game. Though they did look better in the first half against Baylor.

All that to say, it’s a process and will likely continue to be. What is progress? A few more sustained drives, a few less consecutive three-and-outs, maybe keeping a team from lapping you in passing yards. In a season that’s approaching lame-duck status, the Cowboys and their fans may have to celebrate the little wins.