Noah Fifita threw for 294 yards and a touchdown on Saturday to help visiting Arizona post a 30-24 victory over No. 25 Cincinnati in Big 12 play.
Kedrick Reescano rushed for 94 yards and a score and Kris Hutson hauled in eight catches for 123 yards for the Wildcats (7-3, 4-3), who won their third straight game and first this season over a ranked team.
Brendan Sorsby completed 15 of 28 passes for 154 yards and one touchdown, with two interceptions, for Cincinnati (7-3, 5-2), which dropped its second straight game after a seven-game winning streak. Tawee Walker ran for 119 yards in the loss.
Trailing by four halftime, Arizona’s Michael Salgado-Medina’s knocked through a 25-yard field goal to pull the Wildcats within a point with 9:45 remaining in the third period. Following Cincinnati’s three-and-out, Reescano’s 50-yard rushing score gave Arizona a 20-14 edge.
Stephen Rusnak’s 28-yard field goal then cut the Bearcats’ deficit to three entering the fourth.
Arizona answered with a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive, stamped with Fifita’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Gio Richardson, extending the visitors’ lead to 27-17 at the 10:53 mark.
Zion Johnson’s 1-yard rushing score sliced Arizona’s lead to three with 6:38 remaining.
Salgado-Medina drilled a 51-yard field goal with 1:34 left to push Arizona’s advantage back to six before Cincinnati failed to gain a yard in its ensuing drive, sealing the Wildcats’ win.
After Jay’Vion Cole picked off Sorsby on the first play from scrimmage, Ismail Mahdi rushed for a 27-yard score to give Arizona a 7-0 lead at the 14:03 mark.
The Bearcats knotted the score at seven after Sorsby’s 4-yard rushing score capped a six-play, 75-yard drive with 11:07 remaining in the first quarter.
After Arizona’s punt, Walker rushed for 54 yards on first down before Sorsby connected with Jeff Caldwell for a 7-yard touchdown with 6:34 left.
Salgado-Medina’s missed a 40-yard field goal on the WIldcats’ next drive before Logan Wilson blocked Salgado-Medina’s 34-yarder with 13 minutes left in the first half.
After Dalton Johnson intercepted Sorsby, Salgado-Medina’s 24-yard field goal with four seconds left trimmed the Wildcats’ halftime deficit to 14-10.
