Arizona’s massive senior class was honored before the final home game of the season, the first at newly named Casino del Sol Stadium. And they went out on top, with many stepping up to keep the win streak
going.
The Wildcats outscored Baylor 27-0 in the second half, including 20 points in just over four minutes in the fourth quarter, for a 41-17 win. It was the fourth in a row overall for the UA (8-3, 5-3 Big 12) and improved its home record to 6-1, tying the school record for most home wins in a season.
Kedrick Reescano ran for three touchdowns, including a 19-yarder to turn a 4-point game into a 2-score advantage, while Noah Fifita threw for 183 yards and a TD and Arizona’s defense forced three turnovers and made three stops on fourth down.
Several UA seniors had huge games. Kris Hutson had nine catches for a career-high 133 yards and a TD, Ismail Madhi ran for 93 yards and a score, Dalton Johnson had 18 tackles and Treydan Stukes intercepted a pass in the end zone to preserve what at the time was a 4-point lead.
Baylor (5-6, 3-5) scored on its first two drives then had one field goal the rest of the way, gaining 129 yards after taking a 17-14 lead at halftime. FBS passing leader Sawyer Robertson was limited to 162 yards with a TD and two interceptions, making the Bears the ninth opponent not to reach 200 passing yards.
The UA won for the third straight game despite trailing at the half but went ahead for good just over three minutes into the third quarter on a 1-yardReescanorun. That came after the game’s fourth pass interference penalty thrown in the end zone.
Four consecutive 3-and-outs followed before Baylor put together a sustained drive, getting into the red zone to start the 4th quarter. The Bears went for it on 4th and 3 from the UA 12 but Robertson’s pass was picked off in the end zone byStukes.
The UA drove into the red zone after the interception but had to settle for a field goal, with Michael Salgado-Medina missing to the right from 38 yards out. It was his ninth miss of the season.
Yet a play later the Wildcats had the ball back, with Taye Brown forcing a fumble and Michael Dansby recovering it. The next snap saw Ismail Madhi score on a 28-yard run for a 28-17 lead with 10:29 to go.
Reescano’s third TD, from 19 yards out, came with 6:38 remaining, and 11 seconds later Jabari Mann returned a pick 34 yards for a score.
Baylor scored on its opening drive, only the third opponent to do so this season. A 30-yard pass on the first play and a pass interference call on 4th down set up Robertson’s 9-yard TD pass to Josh Cameron for a 7-0 lead less than three minutes in.
Arizona matched that score on its first possession, also benefitting from a pass interference call, with Reescano scoring on a 2-yard run immediately after.
The Bears went up 14-7 in the final minute of the first quarter on a 2-yard Robertson run after another pass interference call on Arizona. The Bears converted a 4th down earlier in the drive after also catching a break when forward progress was ruled on what looked like a UA fumble recovery.
The first stop of the game came with 4:59 left before halftime when, after Arizona forced a 49-yard field goal attempt, Baylor’s Connor Hawkins was wife left. But the Wildcats didn’t capitalize, with a Fifita pass going off Tre Spivey’s hands to Baylor’s DJ Coleman for an interception.
That snapped a streak of 140 consecutive attempts for Fifita without a pick.
Baylor turned that into points just before the half, getting a 48-yard field goal from Hawkins.
The UA wraps up the regular season Friday at ASU, looking to take back the Territorial Cup and win for the second time in a row in Tempe.
