Noah Fifita threw four touchdown passes and Arizona rallied from down two scores to beat Washington State 34-24 Saturday evening in Pullman, Wash.
The Wildcats (3-1) trailed 14-0 late in the first quarter before outscoring the Cougars 34-10 the rest of the way in a meeting of former Pac-12 Conference rivals.
Fifita, who became Arizona’s career passing yardage leader last week, was 22-of-36 passing for 297 yards with an interception that was returned for a score. Tre Spivey had seven catches for 129 yards and two scores, and Michael Salgado-Medina made two field goals in the fourth quarter after missing two in the third.
Washington State (1-3) quarterback Caden Pinnick completed 24 of 41 passes for 241 yards with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown but also an interception and a lost fumble. The Cougars ran for only 94 yards a week after gaining more than 300 in their 48-7 defeat of FCS Duquesne.
Down 17-14 at the half, Arizona missed potential game-tying field goals on its first two drives of the third quarter. Salgado-Medina was wide right from 42 yards and had a 43-yard attempt blocked.
The Wildcats took their first lead at 21-17 on a 38-yard TD catch by Caleb Smith with 4:02 left in the third, then made it a 7-point game on a 32-yard field goal from Salgado-Medina with 12:49 remaining.
An 11-yard TD catch by Isaiah Mizell put Arizona up 31-17, but Washington State cut the deficit in half with 7:15 to go on a 46-yard TD catch by Branden Ganashamoorthy. The Wildcats iced the game with a 51-yard Salgado-Medina field goal with 1:57 left.
The Cougars scored on their opening drive via an 11-yard TD run by Pinnick. A 25-yard pick-six by Jackquintin Bal put Washington State up 14-0 with 2:05 left in the first quarter.
Arizona got on the board via a 28-yard TD catch from Fifita to Spivey with eight seconds left in the opening period, and the pair connected on a 4-yard pass to tie it with 7:42 left before halftime.
The Cougars took a 3-point lead into the half on a 36-yard field goal from Jack Stevens.