Arizona rallied from a 20-17 halftime deficit and pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat Baylor 41-17 on Saturday to improve to 8-3. The Wildcats have doubled their win total of 2024 with the win on Saturday. Ismail Mahdi ran for 93 yards and Kedrick Reescano had three rushing touchdowns to lead Arizona.
Arizona and Baylor exchanged touchdowns on the first four drives of the game before the Bears missed a field goal in the second quarter. After Noah Fifita threw an interception, Baylor took the lead on a Conor Hawkins 48-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
Arizona took its first lead of the game on the second rushing TD of the game by Reescano. Arizona and Baylor exchanged punts on their next four possessions. The next Baylor drive was the turning point of the game.
On fourth and three from the Arizona 12-yard line, Treydan Stukes intercepted Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson in the end zone. Michael Salgado-Medina missed a 38-yard field goal on the next Arizona drive, but the defense set the tone for the Wildcats.
On the first play from scrimmage after the missed field goal, Arizona linebacker Taye Brown forced a fumble by Baylor running back Bryson Washington that was recovered by Wildcats' cornerback Michael Dansby at the Bears' 28 yardline.
Mahdi ran 28 yards for a TD on the first play of the subsequent Arizona drive to extend the Arizona lead to 28-17. Reescano added his third TD of the game on a 19-yard run later in the fourth quarter. Eleven seconds after the Reescano TD run, redshirt freshman linebacker Jabari Mann returned an interception 34 yards for a TD.
Arizona dominated the second half. Arizona outscored Baylor 27-0 and outgained the Bears 200 to 135 in the second half. Kris Hutson continued to be the number one receiver for Arizona with eight receptions for 133 yards and a TD. Arizona finishes the regular season on Friday at Arizona State with a 7 PM Mountain Standard Time kickoff.