Noah Fifita threw two touchdown passes and ran for another and Arizona shut down Cincinnati’s potent run game in a 34-7 Big 12 Conference win Saturday night in Tucson, Ariz.
The Wildcats (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) came within two minutes of their first shutout in a conference game in 33 years and their first in any game since 2013.
Fifita threw for 284 yards, two TDs and an interception on 27-of-39 passing, adding an 8-yard rushing score. Arizona ran for 238 yards, its most since joining the Big 12 in 2024.
Cincinnati (4-1, 1-1) came in averaging 270 rushing yards per game but managed only 74. Quarterback JC French IV threw for 153 yards and kept the Bearcats from being shut out with a 2-yard TD run with 1:56 to go.
Arizona led 10-0 at halftime, outgaining Cincinnati 239-106 in the opening 30 minutes. It made it 17-0 midway through the third quarter on an 8-yard run by Fifita, which came after the Bearcats batted a fumble by Wildcats running back Antwan Roberts Jr. out of the end zone.
The Wildcats upped the lead to 24-0 on a 24-yard TD catch by Brandon Phelps with 3:07 left in the third, then added a 35-yard field goal from Michael Salgado-Medina early in the fourth. A 5-yard TD catch by Tyler Powell with 5:21 remaining capped Arizona’s scoring.
Arizona scored on its opening possession on a 10-yard run by Kedrick Reescano. Cincinnati had a shot to tie it but a fourth-down pass in the end zone was broken up with less than six minutes left in the half. The Wildcats followed that turnover on downs with a 23-yard Salgado-Medina field goal with one second left before halftime.
Cincinnati is off until visiting West Virginia on Oct. 17, while Arizona heads to Morgantown, W.Va., to face West Virginia next Saturday.
–Field Level Media
