Utah safety Cole Bishop has a clean shot at Arizona wide receiver Jamarye Joiner after Joiner lined up as a “Wildcat” quarterback during the third quarter of Saturday’s game.

 Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star

After Arizona finally broke its losing streak last week, the prevailing thought among fans and media was that only one other game mattered this season: the finale against Arizona State.

The Wildcats entertained other thoughts. They envisioned winning out and generating momentum heading into 2022.

No one gave them much of a chance to defeat first-place Utah on Saturday. Yet there the Cats were, trailing the Utes by only two points in the fourth quarter.

Arizona’s valiant effort came up just short. The UA lost to Utah 38-29 in front of an announced crowd of 32,008 at Arizona Stadium.

“That was the most upset I’ve seen our locker room in a while,” UA coach Jedd Fisch said. “I think it was because they just feel like they’re there now. When you’re there ... you go into the game with an expectation of winning. When you go into the game with an expectation of winning, you walk off the field (with) a bad taste in your mouth.”

Utah running back TJ Pledger runs out of the hands of Arizona cornerback Treydan Stukes during the third quarter of Saturday's game.

The Wildcats fell to 1-9, 1-6 in the Pac-12. They visit Washington State on Friday.

The Utes — who were favored by 24 points — won their third in a row, improving to 7-3 overall and 6-1 in Pac-12 play. They host No. 3 Oregon next Saturday in a likely preview of the Pac-12 Championship Game.

After trimming the deficit to 31-29 with 10:34 left in the fourth quarter, Arizona couldn’t get Utah off the field. The Utes pieced together a 15-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that lasted more than eight minutes. TJ Pledger’s 2-yard touchdown run with 2:10 remaining put the game away.

Still, the Wildcats made the Utes earn every yard. Utah had to convert a fourth-and-1 and a third-and-6 to keep the drive going.

“The last four games have been an example of, when you play us, you better be ready to play,” Fisch said. “I think Washington knows that. I think ’SC knows that. Cal knew it. And I think Utah felt that as well.

“It’s a two-point game, and we’re going for two to tie the game up. I absolutely believe that we are a tough out. And soon the tough outs are going to become tough wins, and tough wins for us are going to become hopefully bigger wins than that as we continue on this journey.”

Will Plummer started at quarterback for Arizona despite an injured throwing shoulder. He passed for 223 yards and accounted for two touchdowns. Counterpart Cameron Rising passed for 294 yards and accounted for three TDs.

Down 21-17 at halftime, Arizona got the ball to start the third quarter and drove inside the Utah 10-yard line. There, a familiar bugaboo resurfaced — struggles in the red zone.

The Wildcats faced second-and-goal from the 9. A swing pass to Jalen John lost 4 yards. A third-down incomplete pass led to Tyler Loop’s 31-yard field goal, which made it 21-20 with 11:33 left in the third quarter.

Arizona held Utah to a field goal on the next possession. Kenny Hebert and Jerry Roberts teamed up for a 2-yard tackle for loss on third-and-2 from the UA 10. Jadon Redding’s 30-yarder bumped Utah’s lead to 24-20.

A three-and-out put Arizona’s defense back on the field on a warm, sunny afternoon. Utah needed only six plays to go 76 yards for a touchdown. Dalton Kincaid beat Jaydin Young in the right corner of the end zone. The 17-yard TD made it 31-20 with 2:57 left in the third quarter.

The Wildcats wouldn’t wilt. They responded with another field goal (on another trip inside the red zone) to make it 31-23 with 11:31 remaining.

After stopping Utah on the next possession, Arizona blocked a punt for the second time this season. It was the same combination of players as the first time — Nazar Bombata made the block, and Rhedi Short recovered the ball. Only this time, Short scooped and scored.

His 3-yard touchdown return trimmed the deficit to two points. Fisch went for a 2-point conversion to try to tie it up. He called a double reverse to Michael Wiley, who had the option or running or throwing the ball to Plummer. But Utah ran a zone defense, clogging up the play. It was stopped for a loss, leaving the score at 31-29.

“They covered it well,” said receiver Stanley Berryhill III, who took a pitch from Plummer and flipped the ball to Wiley to initiate the play. “Mike tried to do what he could. It just didn’t work out the way we thought it would.”

Utah outgained Arizona 220-133 in the second half. The Utes outrushed the Wildcats 100-10 after halftime.

“They’re really good,” Fisch said. “You’re not going to just get them off the field every time.

“I would expect that type of battle, and both teams were pretty tired at the end.”

It took almost 58 minutes of game time for either side to score a touchdown in the Arizona-Cal game last week. This one featured offensive fireworks from the get-go.

Arizona wide receiver Dorian Singer fends off Utah safety Vonte Davis after a second-half catch.

Arizona scored on each of its first two possessions and led 14-7 after the first quarter. The Wildcats’ first TD came in a most unexpected manner.

On fourth-and-5 at the Utah 43, Arizona lined up in an empty formation. The Utes blitzed and got almost immediate pressure. Plummer eluded the rush and dashed through the defense for a 43-yard touchdown. It was the longest TD run by a Wildcat since Khalil Tate’s 84-yard score against Texas Tech on Sept. 14, 2019.

Utah knotted the score at 14-all, and it remained that way until the waning moments of the half. Arizona reclaimed the lead on a 57-yard field goal by Lucas Havrisik, who tied his own school record.

Utah had 1:24 left before halftime and took full advantage. A 29-yard pass from Rising to Brant Kuithe set up a 2-yard scoring toss from Rising to Kuithe with two seconds left, giving the Utes a 21-17 advantage.

Havrisik was one of 21 players who participated in pregame Senior Day festivities. Berryhill, who’s technically a junior, also was among them. In what was likely his final home game for his hometown school, Berryhill could walk out of Arizona Stadium with his head held high, even in defeat.

“I think we gave it our all,” he said. “I don’t think we held back anything.”

Extra points

Walk-on Luke Ashworth was the only UA quarterback besides Plummer to take snaps and throw passes during warmups. Jamarye Joiner, Wiley and Berryhill all took direct snaps during the game.

After being decimated by injuries last week, Arizona’s starting offensive line was back intact. Left tackle Jordan Morgan returned after missing the second half vs. Cal. Left guard Donovan Laie returned after missing the game against the Golden Bears — the first game he missed in his UA career. Guard Josh Donovan left the game in the second half.

Backup guard Matthew Stefanski Jr. and cornerback Isaiah Rutherford did not dress. Receiver Tayvian Cunningham got banged up returning a kickoff in the third quarter and did not return.

Utah’s top running back, Tavion Thomas, did not play because of an undisclosed injury. Thomas entered this week leading the Pac-12 with 14 touchdowns.

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Contact sports reporter Michael Lev at 573-4148 or mlev@tucson.com. On Twitter @michaeljlev