Arizona kept its late-season surge rolling and spoiled No. 25 Cincinnati’s Big 12 title hopes with a 30-24 win Saturday at Nippert Stadium, securing the program’s third straight victory and second consecutive road win.
Noah Fifita threw for 294 yards and a touchdown, becoming Arizona’s all-time leader in career TD passes. His fourth-quarter strike to Gio Richardson marked his 68th, surpassing Nick Foles and Willie Tuitama. Fifita completed 23 of 31 passes, while Kris Hutson added eight receptions for 123 yards for the Wildcats (7-3, 4-3 Big 12).
Arizona struck first when Jay’Vion Cole intercepted Brendan Sorsby on the game’s opening play, setting up a 27-yard scoring run by Ismail Mahdi just 57 seconds in. After falling behind 14-10 at halftime, the Wildcats regained control behind big plays, including a 50-yard touchdown run by Kedrick Reescano.
Cincinnati (7-3, 5-2) pulled within 27-24 on Zion Johnson’s touchdown run with 6:38 left, but Michael Salgado-Medina’s 50-yard field goal with 1:34 remaining sealed the win. The Bearcats, who rushed for 140 yards in the first quarter, were limited to just 50 yards on the ground the rest of the way.
The Wildcats now return home for their regular-season finale against Baylor as they continue pushing to match the 10-win magic of two seasons ago.
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