Arizona had its biggest half versus a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent since the 49-45 Hill Mary win over California in 2015, when they led Colorado 38-7 at halftime on Saturday night. Tre Spivey ran through the Colorado defense on the third play of the game to put the Wildcats ahead 7-0 on the first drive.
Arizona added a field goal on its second drive and 12-yard TD pass from Noah Fifita to Kris Hutson on their third drive to lead 17-0 in the first quarter. Fifita had a 60-yard TD pass to true freshman Gio Richardson on their fourth drive to answer a Colorado TD and score on their first four drives to lead 24-7.
Fifita completed 10 passes in 17 attempts for 212 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in the first half. Arizona ran 14 times for 59 yards in the first half. The Wildcats did not have to run the ball effectively with Fifita having several big compeletions.
In addition to the TD passes to Richardson and Spivey, Arizona had a 34-yard score to Javin Whatley for a score in the second quarter. That was the second TD of the game for Whatley. Whatley had a 13-yard TD run earlier in the second quarter.
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The 38 first-half points were the most for Arizona in the opening 30 minutes against an FBS opponent since the Wildcats led 45-6 at halftime in a 58-13 win at UNLV in 2013. Jake Fischer and Tra'Mayne Bondurant had second-quarter interception returns for TDs at UNLV in the 2013 game.
Arizona rallied from a 31-13 third-quarter deficit to win the Hill Mary game when Austin Hill caught a pass in the end zone on a Hail Mary from Anu Solomon. Arizona scored 36 fourth-quarter points and needed an onside kick recovery to stage one of the most memorable wins in program history to win.