One good half isn’t enough to win on the road against a ranked opponent.
Arizona was thoroughly dominated by No. 15 BYU after halftime on Saturday afternoon, losing 28-17 at LaVell Edwards Stadium in the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams. It was the UA’s sixth consecutive loss to the Cougars and third in as many seasons since joining the Big 12.
The Wildcats (1-1, 0-1) were shutout in the 2nd half, outgained by 146 after holding a sizable yardage and time of possession advantage before halftime.
They led 17-14 but punted on three of four possessions after that, including one when they passed on a long field goal attempt down four, and also turned it over on downs in the red zone.
Noah Fifita threw for 230 yards with a touchdown and an interception, completing 23 of 31 passes, and added 38 yards with a TD on 11 carries. Kedrick Reescano ran for 49 yards on 15 carries and Gio Richardson had five catches for 48 yards before leaving the game with an injury. His departure completely changed the UA offense.
Quarterback Bear Bachmeier accounted for all four BYU TDs, throwing three and running for one. He was 16 of 26 for 217 yards while LJ Martin ran for 98 yards, most of that in the second half when the Cougars (2-0, 1-0) held the ball for nearly 18 minutes.
Arizona ran only 20 plays in the second half after 42 in the 1st half, including 26 in the 1st quarter.
The UA led 17-14 at halftime, holding the ball for more than 20 minutes and limiting BYU to only 41 rushing yards. The Cougars would run for 35 yards on their opening drive of the 2nd half, going up 21-17 on a 6-yard TD catch by Kyler Kasper.
Arizona got into BYU territory but a hold on Rhino Tapa’toutai stopped that drive, but the defense stepped up on the other end. The Wildcats withstood five third-down snaps, four of which had penalties including three on the Cougars, before getting the stop.
A 30-yard catch by Brandon Phelps again got the UA onto the Cougars’ side of the field only to see another stall. The Wildcats opted to punt from the BYU 36-yard-line, netting only 16 yards after Chase Ridley’s kick went into the end zone.
The UA forced another punt, though, and this time marched into the BYU red zone midway through the 4th quarter thanks to a long reception by Cole Rusk. It went for it on 4th and 4, with Rodney Gallagher III’s catch initially ruled a conversion, but replay overturned it and BYU took over at its 17 with 8:16 to go.
BYU took advantage of the turnover on downs, going up 27-17 with 6:10 left on a 12-yard Kasper TD catch. That was set up by a 61-yard reception by Legend Glasker over the UA secondary.
Fifita was sacked twice on a 3-and-out on the ensuing possession, then BYU ran out the clock and took a knee to end it rather than add a late TD.
Arizona’s first drive was nearly perfect, with Fifita completing six of seven passes for 52 yards and capping the 12-play possession with an 11-yard run. The Wildcats forced BYU into a 3-and-out on its first drive, with Jay’Vion Cole nearly getting a pick, but then made a pair of critical mistakes on the ensuing possession.
A hold on Matthew Lado negated a longReescano run, then on 3rd and long Fifita was intercepted over the middle by Cade Uluave. Uluave returned it to the 9, and two plays laterBachmeier scored on a 6-yard run to tie it with 5:16 left in the 1st quarter.
Michael Salgado-Medina connected on a 37-yard field goal, his first attempt of the season, to put the UA back up late in the first. BYU then a 14-10 lead on a 25-yard TD pass from Bachmeier to Reggie Frischknecht early in the second, a drive that saw Arizona’s secondary give up a few big plays.
After Arizona forced a 3-and-out late in the 1st half, aided by a Leroy Palu sack, it went back up 17-14 on a 16-yard TD catch by Southern Miss transfer Shane King with 2:03 to go. The drive included a 20-yard run by Fifita.
The UA returns home—and to nonconference play—on Sept. 19 against Northern Illinois. The Huskies, who moved from the Mid-American to the Mountain West this offseason, hosted FCS Illinois State on Saturday after losing 40-0 at Iowa in their opener.
