Arizona Wildcats upset No. 11 Oregon State, move one step closer to bowl eligibility

Arizona moved one step closer to bowl eligibility while matched the Wildcats' win total from a year ago as part of a 27-24 win over No. 11 Oregon State Saturday night in Tucson. 

It's the first time since the 2014 season that Arizona has won back-to-back games against ranked opponents.

Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch said the Wildcats "had a fantastic resilience about themselves" in the win over the Beavers.

"All in all, it was a great team win," Fisch said. "All three phases contributed to the win and it was a blast to coach that game.

"What a great win for our kids. Our kids have put so much time and effort into trusting in everything we've asked of them to do, and what an awesome experience for them to get that big win." 

Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita started again in place of initial starter Jayden de Laura, who suffered an ankle injury at Stanford earlier this season. Fifita completed 25 of 32 passes (78%) for 275 yards and three touchdowns.

"There's no flinch in Noah," Fisch said of the redshirt freshman.

"The biggest thing in him is you're going to get the same guy every day," Fisch said. "That gives you poise, that gives you confidence and that gives you the ability to go out there and really not flinch. I think he showed that tonight." 

After a first half full of big plays — in addition to an interesting tactical move by Oregon State — and a somewhat back-and-forth battle into the the later stages of the game, the Beavers jumped on top 17-13 early in the fourth quarter. 

Just seconds into the fourth, on a fake handoff to Oregon State standout running back Damien Martinez, Uiagalelei flipped the ball to OSU wide receiver Silas Bolden on a jet sweep for an 8-yard touchdown, countering the Wildcats' "joker" defense, a formation that uses five defensive linemen; UA used the "joker" defense in the early stages of last season. 

After that?

The Wildcats played sound football — on all fronts. 

Arizona cornerback Ephesians Prysock's pass breakup — one of seven the Wildcats had all night — forced Oregon State to punt. Cowing's first punt return in the fourth quarter was taken 20 yards to the OSU 40-yard line. Wiley turned the shortened field into a touchdown with a swing pass and tiptoed 40 yards down the sideline. Wiley's reception put him ahead of Vance Johnson for most career receiving yards by an Arizona running back.

"He's a veteran player for us and he's a leader," Fifita said of Wiley. "He just brings a different type of swag and confidence into the huddle that can't really be emulated. ... He's a very special player with the ball in his hands."

The complementary football by the Wildcats continued with a three-and-out on defense, a 16-yard return by Cowing and a 10-play, 55-yard drive that shaved 5:20 off the clock and ended with Wiley hauling in a 3-yard reception. Saturday was the first game he's had two receiving touchdowns in a game since the Washington contest last season. 

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"It's what we strive to be. We strive to be a full team. We don't want to just be a team that goes out there and focuses on one side of the ball or the other," Fisch said. "We're a team and that's how I believe we win games. Great teams that I've had a pleasure to coach on, that's how we won. We didn't just win by being a great offense or being a great defense or being great at special teams.

"You really win championships by all three phases together. I thought that fourth quarter, it all kind of clicked together by the way we were able to run the ball, stop the run, put them in third-and-longs, get off the field on defense and obviously finish the game on offense."

Oregon State bursted down the field in 44 seconds to score in four plays and trim Arizona's lead to 27-24, but the ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Wildcats to hand the UA its fifth win of the season.

"It was one of those great games where it went back-and-forth, back-and-forth, as we expected," Fisch said. "And then that fourth quarter, I think everybody just raised it up a notch. ... We always say, 'We don't win the game in the first quarter, second quarter or third quarter. You win the game in the fourth quarter. It was a pretty awesome job."

Behind its stout offensive line, which is among the best in the Pac-12, Oregon State rushed the ball seven times and was a perfect three-for-three on third-down conversions on the opening drive.

Coming out of an injury timeout break, OSU quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei completed a 22-yard pass to tight end Jack Velling on a seam route with cornerback Tacario Davis trailing in the end zone. Velling's eighth touchdown grab of the season is the most by an Oregon State tight end in program history. 

Against Oregon State's balanced offense that runs more than passes, Arizona played mostly its base 4-2-5 defense and sprinkled in the "flex" 4-3-4 scheme with edge rusher Jeremy Mercier used as a third linebacker. After Arizona defensive end Taylor Upshaw's sack on Uiagalelei, the Wildcats used their defensive back-heavy "dollar" package defense on third-and-18, among other third-and-long situations, which nearly resulted in a Davis interception; he had three pass breakups in the first half. 

Fifita and the Wildcats crafted a 94-yard drive in the second quarter that was kickstarted by a 40-yard pass to freshman Malachi Riley — a career-high for the receiver. Arizona running back Jonah Coleman, who also started his fourth game in a row for senior Michael Wiley, who returned from an ankle injury on Saturday, bulldozed his way for 19 yards and shrugged off multiple tacklers to set up Fifita throwing a 7-yard touchdown to Tetairoa McMillan.

Added to kicker Tyler Loop's career-long 51-yard field goal in the first quarter, the Wildcats took a 10-7 lead with 3:22 left in the first half. 

With Oregon State freshman Aidan Chiles at quarterback in the third series, the former four-star quarterback slung the ball for a 52-yard gain on third-and-16 to receiver Anthony Gould, which ended with a 30-yard field goal to tie the game. Oregon State, the top red-zone scoring team in college football, extended mark to 26-for-26 with the field goal. 

Following Fifita's third interception of the season, which was an attempt to Jacob Cowing over the middle, Oregon State attempted a fake field goal run from 16 yards out, rather than a 34-yard shot at three points. But safety Gunner Maldonado stopped the play. It not only ended Oregon State's perfect red-zone scoring percentage, but in sending the Wildcats and Beavers were tied 10-10 in halftime, those three points would prove critical once the final score came into shape.

Arizona (5-3) will now have a chance to qualify for a bowl game for the first time in six years, when the Wildcats host No. 23 UCLA for homecoming Saturday night. The Bruins (6-2) recently beat Colorado on Saturday. 

"I can't wait for next Saturday," Fisch said. "That's the best part about this: we get to do it again next week."

Photos: Arizona upsets 11th-ranked Oregon State, Pac-12 football