Noah Fifita set the Arizona passing touchdown record as the Wildcats won 30-24 at 25th-ranked Cincinnati on Saturday. Fifita threw a 15-yard TD pass to true freshman Gio Richardson for his 68th career TD pass to set the Arizona record.
The TD pass to Richardson was the only one by Fifita against Cincinnati and extended the Arizona lead to 27-17. Cincinnati scored on the next drive to cut the lead to 27-24. Arizona extended the lead to 30-24 on a Michael Salgado-Medina 51-yard field goal to push the lead to 30-24.
Fifita completed 23 passes in 31 attempts for 294 yards, the one TD and no interceptions. Arizona had good balance offensively with 181 yards rushing. Kedrick Reescano led Arizona with 94 rushing yards on 13 carries and one TD.
After Cincinnati ran for 140 yards on eight carries in the first quarter, Arizona held the Bearcats to 50 yards on the ground over the final three quarters. Jay'Vion Cole intercepted Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby and returned it to the Bearcats' 26 on the first play of the game.
Ismail Mahdi had a 26-yard TD run two plays after the interception by Cole to put Arizona ahead 7-0. Cincinnati scored on its next two drives with a stop in between to take a 14-7 lead. Arizona dominated defensively in the middle of the game.
On its six drives after taking a 14-7 lead, Cincinnati had 18 plays for 41 yards. That included a kneel down at the end of the first half. Arizona outgained Cincinnati 475 to 344 yards. The margin would not have been in doubt on the final Cincinnati drive if Salgado-Medina hadn't missed a first-half field goal and had another one blocked.
Arizona intercepted Sorsby twice to double his season total. Sorsby completed 15 passes in 28 attempts for 154 yards, one TD and two interceptions. Arizona held Cincinnati to 141 yards and 41 rushing in the second half. Cincinnati had 189 yards over the final three quarters.
Arizona earned its third consecutive win and will host Baylor next week. The Wildcats are now 7-3 overall and 4-3 in the Big XII. Arizona could be ranked when the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Polls are released on Sunday.