Arizona Football Aftermath: Storylines, stats, quotes from Wildcats' win over Cincinnati

CINCINNATI — If there was ever a moment for Arizona football to personify its “redline” mantra, Saturday was the opportunity.

The bowl-eligible Wildcats seized the moment and put a damper on Cincinnati’s Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff aspirations with a 30-24 win over the 25th-ranked Bearcats Saturday afternoon at Nippert Stadium.

Arizona has won three straight games since suffering one-possession losses to BYU and Houston.

The Wildcats have now won back-to-back road games for the first time under head coach Brent Brennan. Arizona was 1-6 on the road until its wins over Colorado and Cincinnati. UA notched its second win over a ranked opponent under Brennan.

“Just an awesome day for our program,” Brennan said. “We talked about it all the time, our commitment to building the best team in the Big 12 — the best team. That’s how we’re going to have to do it at Arizona and I think you saw that today.

“This is a team that plays for each other, shows up for each other every day in practice, meetings, weight room. It’s so special. ... Shoot, I couldn’t be more excited. That locker room, the energy in there, the joy is contagious and it’s fantastic. I love where we’re at and I love where we’re going. We’re going to enjoy the hell out of this one and I can’t wait to play next week.”

Here are notable storylines, statistics, quotes and a look at what’s ahead for the Wildcats following their statement victory over Cincinnati.

Déjà vu

The Wildcats did it again.

Similar to Arizona’s gutty win over Kansas in Tucson, the Wildcats found an early spark in the first quarter and then faced adversity.

Arizona threw the first punch. Cincinnati countered with three punches.

Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby had only thrown two interceptions before Saturday, but threw two picks in the first half. Sorsby’s first interception was the first play from scrimmage after a pass attempt near the right sideline that was tipped by UA safety Dalton Johnson and intercepted by cornerback Jay’Vion Cole.

Cole has a team-high four interceptions, which is also tied for the most in the Big 12 this season. Cole’s four interceptions are the most by a Wildcat since Lorenzo Burns in 2019.

Two plays after Cole’s interception, Arizona jumped out to a 7-0 lead after running back Ismail Mahdi’s 27-yard touchdown run, which is the third rushing touchdown of the season for Mahdi — second in three games. The Wildcats had a one-touchdown lead 56 seconds into the game.

“This team is really good at starting fast,” Johnson said of Cincinnati. “That’s one thing we wanted to jump on. The first play of the game, I was able to tip the ball and Jay’Vion Cole was right there. Setting that tone, we’re here to play for something.”

Cincinnati — which entered Saturday with the third-best rushing offense in the Big 12 — leaned on its rushing attack against a UA defense shorthanded with injuries. The Bearcats had eight rushes for 140 yards in the first quarter and averaged 17.5 yards per carry in the opening period.

Cincinnati running back Tawee Walker had four carries for 104 yards in the first quarter. Sorsby had a 4-yard rushing touchdown and a 7-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jeff Caldwell to take a 14-7 lead.

Arizona surrendered 155 total yards in the first quarter. Cincinnati had 189 total yards in the final three quarters. Arizona out-gained the Bearcats 475-344, the third-most yards Arizona had produced this season. Brennan said the Wildcats “had to settle down” after the first quarter.

“The thing about our defense is that it’s a little bit unique,” Brennan said. “There’s always a learning curve in the beginning of the game with how people are going to choose to attack it.”

Johnson said Arizona’s defense “hunkered down ... and we were able to make sideline adjustments and get it right.” Walker had a total of 15 yards in the final three quarters and finished Saturday with 12 carries for 119 yards.

“Swarming to the ball, getting as many guys to the ball as we can, because (Walker) is a great running back,” Johnson said. “He’s a big guy, so it takes more than one guy to get him down.”

Arizona’s physicality against an offensively sound Cincinnati team “didn’t show up enough” in the first quarter, Brennan said.

“But when we flipped that physical switch, all of a sudden we started getting stops and started moving the ball and started running the ball and started making plays,” Brennan added. “That was a huge moment for us in the game.”

Arizona’s defense adjusted and held the Bearcats to back-to-back punts after two straight scoring drives. Sorsby’s second interception was picked off by Johnson just before the halftime break. Johnson was one of Arizona’s top defensive performers with eight tackles, an interception and a pass breakup.

“Dalton is a big-time football player,” Brennan said. “That guy, what an awesome leader, what an awesome player. That’s another guy, who over his career, continued to choose the University of Arizona, to choose these teammates, to choose this program when others tried to lure him away. So tough, so committed, such a great leader and also a big-time playmaker. He’s awesome.”

Arizona’s defense “did a great job with some disguised stuff” to force Sorsby to make ill-advised throws.

“Whenever you play a great quarterback, he’s only going to give you a couple of chances,” Brennan said. “That’s just the way it is. You have to finish on those and I felt like we did, which is so exciting. We had to be physical and we had to win the turnover battle today. Those are two things that gave us a chance to win a game on the road against a Top 25 team.”

Despite the defensive stops, Arizona’s offense struggled to score touchdowns and went 3-for-5 in its red-zone trips. Arizona had four drives in the first half end inside Cincinnati’s 25-yard line and only 10 points to show for it.

Arizona sophomore kicker Michael Salgado-Medina missed a 40-yard attempt, albeit the snap was high. Salgado-Medina’s 34-yard attempt early in the second quarter was blocked by UC defensive end Logan Wilson.

Salgado-Medina made his final three attempts, a wobbly 24-yarder with four seconds left in the first half, a 25-yarder in the third quarter and a 51-yarder with just under two minutes left in the game.

“I’ll tell you this, he hit the one that mattered,” Brennan said of Salgado-Medina. “That’s what people should talk about. He hit the one that mattered. He went out there in a sold-out stadium against a Top 25 opponent and banged a 51-yarder. He piped it with no hesitation. That’s what everyone should be talking about.”

On Arizona’s final offensive possession of the first half, Arizona wide receiver Kris Hutson hauled in a 25-yard catch on third-and-19 from the Arizona 27-yard line.

Arizona running back Quincy Craig, who was recently named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, had 37 rushing yards on the Wildcats’ final drive of the first half to set up Salgado-Medina’s 24-yard field goal to cut the deficit, 14-13.

If Hutson didn’t convert the third-down play, Cincinnati conceivably could’ve taken a 21-10 lead at halftime. The Wildcats were 8-for-16 on third-down conversions, while Cincinnati was 3-for-12. In the fourth quarter, Arizona was 4-for-5 on third down, while the Bearcats were 0-for-3.

“We had our struggles in the first half, we really did,” said Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita. “We couldn’t finish in the red zone. That goes back to the team, because the defense kept us in there the entire time.”

The Wildcats took their second lead of the game after running back Kedrick Reescano ran for a 50-yard touchdown to cap a 99-yard scoring drive. Reescano, who had 13 carries for a career-high 94 yards on Saturday, has scored a touchdown in five of the seven games he’s played in this season.

“What got us going was the touchdown run by Ked,” Fifita said. “That’s what really sparked us in the second half.”

In addition to its two takeaways, Arizona also had a fourth-down stop on Cincinnati’s final drive of the game. An offensive passing interference penalty on Caldwell knocked the Bearcats back to their 13-yard line. Sorsby threw three incomplete passes, including one on a fourth-and-14 play, which sealed the win for Arizona.

“This time of year, it’s all about execution, and our guys executed when we had to,” Brennan said.

The Wildcats’ three-game winning streak is reminiscent of the program’s 10-win season in 2023 — a team that lost three games by a combined 16 points. Considering Arizona had a double-overtime loss to BYU and a walk-off loss to Houston on the road, the Wildcats could be 9-1 and in position for the Big 12 championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Arizona could also be 5-5 and still chasing bowl eligibility, but the Wildcats prevailed in gutty fashion the last two weeks.

“When we lost those two tough games, we believed that we were a good football team,” Brennan said. “Everyone was pissed off and upset that we didn’t close those games out when we had a chance to against BYU and Houston. We respect those teams and they beat us, but shoot, we had a chance to win those games and we did not.

“Now, how do we flip it? How do we find a way (to win) like today? How do we find a way to get to the finish line and get what we all came here for, which is to win.”

Fifita rewrites history

Fifita passed Nick Foles and Willie Tuitama for the program’s career passing touchdowns record (68).

Both Foles, a Super Bowl MVP, and Tuitama sent a congratulatory video to Fifita for breaking their record.

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Fifita’s record-setting touchdown was a 15-yard pass to freshman Gio Richardson, who ran a crossing route to the left corner of the end zone on third-and-7.

“First of all, that pass was such a dime,” Brennan said. “Good lord. It was awesome to see Gio Richardson — a freshman — make that play for us. Noah is really special. I can’t speak to how unique he is. The young man continues to choose the University of Arizona, he continues to choose Tucson, he continues to choose this program, his teammates, our staff. He’s just magic. ... He’s special in every way and we love him.”

Reescano said Fifita “is the hardest-working guy I know.”

“For him to get the record, it’s what he deserves,” added the UA running back.

Fifita completed 23 of 31 passes for 294 yards and a touchdown. Fifita said he’s “really grateful” for setting Arizona’s career passing touchdowns record.

“It’s a tremendous honor and I give all glory and praise to God,” Fifita said. “We came to Cincinnati to get a win and that’s what we did. We’re going home as a team with a victory.”

Fifita is 786 yards shy of passing Tuitama for the second-most career passing yards in UA history.

Breakout wideouts

Fifita’s top target on Saturday was Hutson, who had a season-high 123 yards, the most yards since his performance against Boise State during his lone season at Washington State last year.

Hutson had catches of 17, 25, 26 and 29 yards on Saturday. Seven of Hutson’s eight receptions led to first downs. Arizona had 15 passing first downs to Cincinnati’s seven.

“Hutson is a dude,” Fifita said. “He’s been a dude since his high school days back in (California), even his youth days. Every time a play needs to be made, (No.) 4 is going to make it. Regardless of what the coverage is, what the route is, he has that belief in himself and we believe in him.”

Arizona’s receiving corps had one of its top performances on the road this season.

Arizona wide receiver Chris Hunter, who had two catches for 51 yards, played on Saturday after missing last week’s win over Kansas. Preceding Reescano’s 50-yard touchdown run, Hunter hauled in a one-handed grab despite smothering coverage by Cincinnati defensive back Daniel Jones near the left sideline on third-and-5.

“It was just great to see him get in there and make plays” Brennan said of Hunter. “With the depth in that room, there’s so many guys that can contribute in a positive way.”

Hunter was also a lead blocker downfield on Reescano’s touchdown run, allowing Reescano to find space and weave his way for a touchdown. Reescano said, “I can’t take any of the credit because I had an easy job.”

Arizona senior receiver Luke Wysong had a critical catch near the right sideline hat was nearly tipped (or intercepted) on third-and-4 in the fourth quarter, which extended Arizona’s drive, ending in Salgado-Medina’s 51-yard field goal.

Nine Wildcats — six receivers — caught a pass on Saturday.

“I’ve been saying that we have the best receiving room in the country,” Fifita said. “Our receiver room is special.”

By the numbers

2: Representatives from two bowl games, Pop-Tarts Bowl and Alamo Bowl, were in attendance for the Arizona-Cincinnati game. Scouts from the Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals were credentialed for Saturday’s game.

13: Arizona possessed the ball more than 13 minutes longer than Cincinnati. The Wildcats had a 36:41-23:19 advantage in time of possession.

20: The Wildcats have 20 takeaways this season, the most since 2017. Arizona is tied with BYU for the most interceptions this season.

24: Arizona had 24 first downs to Cincinnati’s 14.

123: Fifita has thrown 123 consecutive passes without tossing an interception.

They said it

Fifita, on Arizona “trusting and believing in each other” on Saturday: “That’s something we’ve always talked about. It’s about us. We knew it was going to be a hostile environment against a good team. If we did our job, we’ll come out victorious and we were able to do so. Our defense made some critical stops throughout the entire game and we were able to finish it when it mattered.”

Fifita, on finishing the season strong: “The goal wasn’t six wins at the end of the day. We’re trying to win every game we play, especially with the guys we play with. We love each other, we play for each other and that’s what you see out there. The passion, the intensity, it’s because the love we have for each other.”

Johnson, on Arizona playing complementary football: “That’s what this team is good at, when one is down, the other is going to lift them up and we’ll all respond together. That’s what we did today and we executed.”

Fifita, on Arizona learning from the losses to BYU and Houston and going on a three-game winning streak: “The truth is, the past don’t matter. Those two tough losses don’t matter. We are what we are, we’ve embraced it, we learned from those tough losses and we’ve been able to grow in many ways. At the end of the day, we told the team to continue to believe in each other, continue to play for each other and as a believer, you can’t put a limit on what God is capable of. You don’t know what the future holds, I don’t know what his plan is, but he’s never been wrong in my life and I know he won’t be wrong for this team.”

Injury report

Even though Arizona senior linebacker Max Harris was active on Saturday, freshman Myron Robinson started over him. Harris suffered a leg injury against Kansas, but returned in limited fashion with a brace on his right leg. Harris had a brace on his right leg against Cincinnati, but didn’t play.

Robinson exited the game in the third quarter with a leg injury. Freshman Jabari Mann played alongside linebackers Taye Brown, Chase Kennedy and Riley Wilson.

Arizona defensive tackle Tiaoalii Savea, after suffering a leg injury last week against Kansas, was held out on Saturday.

UA cornerback Marquis Groves-Killebrew, who has played 148 defensive snaps in six games, missed his third straight game with an undisclosed injury. Cole and cornerback Ayden Garnes left with injuries and were replaced by Michael Dansby and Johno Price. Dansby had a critical pass breakup on a deep pass by Cincinnati wide receiver Noah Jennings, which could’ve been a touchdown; the Bearcats settled for a field goal.

In the fourth quarter, right tackle Tristan Bounds went down with a leg injury and was replaced by redshirt freshman Matthew Lado, who filled in for the injured Ty Buchanan at left tackle last week.

Cincinnati was without second-leading rusher Evan Pryor, who sustained an ankle injury three weeks ago, and wide receiver Caleb Goodie.

What’s next

Arizona (7-3), seventh in the Big 12 standings, turns its attention to the regular-season home finale against the Baylor Bears (5-5) at Arizona Stadium Saturday morning at 11 on TNT.

The Wildcats are 4.5-point favorites to beat the Bears, according to Action Network.

The Bears are coming off a 55-28 loss to Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday and are still fighting for bowl eligibility with two games remaining.

Saturday will mark the second all-time matchup between Arizona and Baylor, the first since 1992, when the Wildcats fell to the Bears, 20-15, in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, which was then called the John Hancock Bowl.

Arizona’s upcoming contest with Baylor will also be Senior Day. Notable Wildcats to participate in Senior Day festivities include Johnson and sixth-year senior Treydan Stukes, who had a team-high nine tackles on Saturday.

“This team connection, I love these guys,” Johnson said. “This is my last year and I wouldn’t want to be on any other team. I’m trying to finish off the right way and get nine (wins) and then get to 10 after that.”

Added Johnson: “It was a journey to get where I am today. I always say that (the 2023 season) was the most fun I’ve had. I want this season to be the most fun I’ve had — and it is. This is a team, these are my guys and we’re going to end it right. Not just for me, but for the team and for Arizona.”

Seven wins “is not enough,” Brennan said.

“We didn’t come (to Arizona) to be .500,” said Brennan. “We didn’t come here for that. We came here to play great football and build an incredible team that the University of Arizona, our fans, our alums and the city of Tucson can be proud of.”