Arizona Aftermath: Stats, storylines and quotes from the Wildcats' win over Oklahoma in Alamo Bowl

SAN ANTONIO — Like a pay-per-view heavyweight prize fight, Arizona and Oklahoma seemingly threw one haymaker at each other after another in Thursday’s Valero Alamo Bowl.

In the end, however, the punches the 14th-ranked Wildcats landed on the No. 12 Sooners inside the Alamodome occurred during critical moments.

Arizona fought and willed its way to a 38-24 win over the Sooners for the program’s first bowl win since 2015 while finishing the 2023 season 10-3.

Here are notable storylines, statistics and quotes from the Wildcats’ celebratory night in San Antonio:

Digging deep when it mattered

The Wildcats were unraveling.

After a red-hot 13-0 UA start, Oklahoma countered by outgaining Arizona 353 yards to 54 in the second and third quarters (overall, the Sooners outgained the UA 562-383 while achieving seven more first-down conversions).

Oklahoma scored 24 straight points and was closing in on more until Arizona safety Dalton Johnson dove to tackle OU receiver Jalil Farooq. Johnson’s helmet popped up the ball into the hands of UA free safety Gunner Maldonado, who returned it 87 yards for a touchdown.

Rather than what could have been an out-of-reach 31-13 ball game, the Wildcats pulled to within a field goal after Maldonado’s return and the ensuing 2-point conversion.

In the end, the Wildcats’ six takeaways were the most ever by a UA team in a bowl game. Maldonado had nine tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery and was named Alamo Bowl Defensive MVP.

Maldonado’s touchdown sparked the Wildcats to score 25 unanswered points. Of Arizona’s 38 points, 28 came off turnovers.

Arizona also scored 17 fourth-quarter points while shutting out the Sooners in the final frame.

Setting four combined overtime periods in losses to Mississippi State and USC aside, the Wildcats outscored their opponents 123-58 in the fourth quarter this season. That’s a testament to Arizona’s strength and conditioning staff, Fisch said.

“You don’t win the game in the first quarter and you don’t win the game in the second quarter and you don’t win the game in the third quarter. If you learn that and you believe that, then these guys go out there and they don’t flinch,” Fisch said. “They know that the fourth quarter is going to be the time that they’ve got to be at their best.”

Making history

Oklahoma has 42 seasons with 10 or more wins. Ten-win seasons don’t happen often at Arizona. The Wildcats ended this season 10-3, their fourth season in program history with 10 or more, joining the 1993 Fiesta Bowl, 1998 Holiday Bowl and 2014 Pac-12 South championship teams. It’s also the fewest losses for the program since the ’98 team went 12-1.

Thursday was also historic for Arizona wide receivers Jacob Cowing and Tetairoa McMillan, who combined for 17 catches, 352 yards and two touchdowns. Cowing’s two touchdowns put him at 13 in 2023 — the most by any UA receiver in a single season. McMlllan’s 1,402 yards this season ranks second all-time by a Wildcat behind Dennis Northcutt (1,422).

Over Arizona’s final two games — the Territorial Cup at ASU and Thursday’s Alamo Bowl — Cowing, who was the Alamo Bowl Offensive MVP, and McMillan combined for 37 catches, 735 yards and four touchdowns.

“Every time you need a play, you know they’re going to make it,” Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita said of Cowing and McMillan. “Every time something needs to happen, you can trust that they’re going to do it with no hesitation.

“They make my job real easy.”

Offensive line switch-up

Replacing a potential first-round NFL Draft pick is a daunting task, especially at a valuable position such as left tackle. But that was Arizona’s reality Thursday without senior Jordan Morgan, who opted out of the bowl game to prepare for the draft — though he was on the Alamodone sidelines to support his teammates.

With Morgan out, the Wildcats installed freshman right guard Raymond Pulido in his place and put Jonah Savaiinaea at right guard; Savaiinaea started all 12 games at guard as a true freshman last season. Redshirt sophomore Joseph Borjon started at right tackle but was benched in the fourth quarter, moving Savaiinaea back to right tackle with redshirt sophomore Leif Magnuson at guard.

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Fisch said Oklahoma “brought some challenging looks, challenging fronts that made it difficult” for the offensive line. According to Pro Football Focus, the Wildcats allowed a season-worst 17 quarterback pressures. Oklahoma sacked Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita five times.

“But in the end we were shuffling around and we were trying to get our best five out there,” Fisch said. “Jordan Morgan is a first-round pick, so when you lose him for the last game at the left tackle position, you’re going to end up having a couple challenges early. But I think the guys settled in, and we were able to get done what we needed to.”

The lineup of Pulido, left guard Wendell Moe, center Josh Baker, Magnuson and Savaiinaea are expected to return to Arizona in 2024.

By the numbers

96.2: Oklahoma had a 96.2% win probability after grabbing a 24-13 lead in the third quarter, according to ESPN.

3: Arizona kicker Tyler Loop made all three of his field goals (and each of his PATs, too) Thursday. Loop’s field goals were from 37, 38 and 39 yards out.

2,869: Fifita concluded his first season as Arizona’s starter with 2,869 yards, 25 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 72.4% of his pass attempts.

2: The only two Alamo Bowl games that featured Arizona had a Stoops family member losing. Former Arizona head coach Mike Stoops and the Wildcats lost to Oklahoma State 36-10 in 2010, while his nephew, OU receiver Drake Stoops, was on the losing side this go-round. Stoops had six catches for 82 yards on Thursday. Oklahoma co-offensive coordinator Seth Littrell was also Arizona’s play-caller in the 2010 Alamo Bowl.

7: Arizona ended the ’23 season on a seven-game winning streak.

They said it

Johnson, on Arizona’s improvements as a program since signing in 2021: “There were some dark times that first year. ... But I believed in Coach Fisch, believed in the coaches he brought in and the people we had in the building. U of A is home, and this win means everything. We came a long way, and this whole team, the whole staff, the whole facility deserves it.”

Fisch, on Arizona’s defensive turnaround this season: “The way our defense played all year, they just got better and better and better and better and better, and they just kept finding ways and finding ways to make plays. We’ve got one of the greatest stories this season with the defensive turnaround from a year ago until today, and the fact that we have so many players returning again just sets the standard and raises the standard.”

Looking ahead

In symbolic fashion, Arizona started its era in the Pac-10/12 with a win over Kansas State in 1978, and it ended its 44-year run in the “Conference of Champions” with a victory over SEC-bound Oklahoma — two teams in the Big 12, the Wildcats’ future conference.

With a majority of their starters and statistical leaders returning in 2024, Fisch said the Wildcats are “going into the Big 12 with a lot of momentum.”

In Arizona’s first season in the Big 12, the Wildcats are scheduled to face notable teams such as TCU, Houston, BYU and Texas Tech, among others, as well as Pac-12 ex-pats ASU, Utah and Colorado.

Starting Jan. 10, the Cats will “start working our way through the process of getting ready for the next conference.”

“But I love our players, and I think the reason why we can do what we do is because our players stay and our players work hard and our players believe,” Fisch said.

“Where else would you rather be than go try to be in the Top 10 or better next year?”

Photos: No. 14 Arizona gets offensive late to drop No. 12 Oklahoma 38-24 in the Alamo Bowl