No. 20 Arizona overcomes halftime deficit to beat Northern Arizona 22-10 for 9th win a row
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) Quali Conley ran for 112 yards, Noah Fifita threw for 173 yards and a touchdown and No. 20 Arizona overcame a four-point halftime deficit to beat Northern Arizona 22-10 on Saturday night to match the school record with its ninth consecutive victory.
The Wildcats (2-0) extended the longest active winning streak in FBS by outscoring the Lumberjacks 16-0 in the second half after trailing 10-6 at the break. The nine straight wins matches the school record set in 1974-75 and matched in 1997-98.
“I was really happy with the response, especially coming out of halftime down 10-6,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said. “Some good team football. I give credit to Northern Arizona, I thought their players played their butts off and their coaches did a great job.”
Conley, a transfer from San Jose State, led the way as Arizona gained 188 yards on the ground. Receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who had a school-record 304 yards and four TDs in a 61-39 season-opening win over New Mexico, was limited to two catches for 11 yards.
“They did push the coverage to him at times,” Brennan said about defending McMillan. “They did a good job, they doubled him some, they bracketed him some.”
Northern Arizona (1-1) finished with only 198 yards of total offense, 91 after halftime. Ty Pennington threw for 84 yards on 14 of 24 passing and added 39 on the ground.
Arizona forced a turnover on downs in Northern Arizona territory to open the second half and converted that into points as Jeremiah Patterson scored on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Fifita for a 13-10 lead with 12:06 left in the third.
The Wildcats’ Chubba Ma’ae tackled running back Darvon Hubbard in the end zone for a safety with 11:33 left in the fourth, upping the lead to 15-10. And after getting the ball back, Arizona made it 22-10 on a 56-yard scoring run by Kedrick Reescano with 9:32 remaining.
Arizona only led 3-0 after the first quarter after settling for a red zone field goal on its first drive and punting the next two. Northern Arizona took a 7-3 lead with 10:24 left in the half on a trick play, with receiver Isaiah Eastman throwing a 25-yard TD pass to tight end Xander Werner.
Fifita's interception led to more points for the Lumberjacks, with Marcus Lye converting on a 38-yard field goal to make it 10-3 with 6:20 left in the first half.
The Wildcats cut Northern Arizona’s lead to 10-6 with 32 seconds left in the first half on a 48-yard field goal from Tyler Loop.
Northern Arizona: The Lumberjacks, who shocked Arizona in Tucson in 2021, dropped to 10-55 against FBS schools. They have never beaten a ranked FBS opponent.
Arizona: A week after scoring on 10 drives and putting up the eighth-most yards in school history, the Wildcats had fewer yards in the first half (147) than on their first two drives in the Week 1 win over New Mexico.
Northern Arizona: At Utah Tech on Saturday.
Arizona: At Kansas State on Friday night in a nonconference game scheduled before the Wildcats left the Pac-12 for the Big 12.
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Passing | CP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
T. Pennington
6 QB
|
T. Pennington | 14/24 | 84 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I. Eastman
3 WR
|
I. Eastman | 1/1 | 25 | 1 | 0 |
Rushing | ATT | YDS | TD | LG |
S. Cromwell
34 RB
|
S. Cromwell | 11 | 41 | 0 | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||
T. Pennington
6 QB
|
T. Pennington | 13 | 32 | 0 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||
D. Hubbard
23 RB
|
D. Hubbard | 5 | 6 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
J. Evans
25 RB
|
J. Evans | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
K. Katsis
11 WR
|
K. Katsis | 1 | -1 | 0 | -1 |
Receiving | TAR | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
X. Werner
13 ATH
|
X. Werner | 1 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 25 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
B. Fleming
4 WR
|
B. Fleming | 2 | 2 | 24 | 0 | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
T. Lanier
8 WR
|
T. Lanier | 2 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I. Eastman
3 WR
|
I. Eastman | 3 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I. Gerena
88 TE
|
I. Gerena | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
T. Brooks
1 WR
|
T. Brooks | 4 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
J. Evans
25 RB
|
J. Evans | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
S. Cromwell
34 RB
|
S. Cromwell | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
D. Hubbard
23 RB
|
D. Hubbard | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
K. Katsis
11 WR
|
K. Katsis | 3 | 3 | -4 | 0 | 5 |
Defense | T-A | SACK | INT |
Kicking | FG | LG | XP | PTS |
M. Lye
49 K
|
M. Lye | 1/1 | 37 | 1/1 | 4 |
Punting | NO | AVG | IN20 | LG |
M. Lye
49 K
|
M. Lye | 5 | 50.4 | 0 | 68 |
Kickoff Returns | NO | AVG | LG | TD |
Punt Returns | NO | AVG | LG | TD |
Passing | CP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
N. Fifita
11 QB
|
N. Fifita | 18/27 | 143 | 1 | 1 |
Rushing | ATT | YDS | TD | LG |
Q. Conley
7 RB
|
Q. Conley | 17 | 112 | 0 | 58 | ||||||||||||||||||||
K. Reescano
3 RB
|
K. Reescano | 6 | 71 | 1 | 56 | ||||||||||||||||||||
D. Hyatt
13 WR
|
D. Hyatt | 1 | 31 | 0 | 31 | ||||||||||||||||||||
M. Riley
10 WR
|
M. Riley | 1 | 15 | 0 | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||
R. Luke
21 RB
|
R. Luke | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
N. Fifita
11 QB
|
N. Fifita | 3 | -12 | 0 | 4 |
Receiving | TAR | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
Q. Conley
7 RB
|
Q. Conley | 5 | 5 | 38 | 0 | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
J. Patterson
2 WR
|
J. Patterson | 6 | 3 | 32 | 1 | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
T. Powell
87 TE
|
T. Powell | 3 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
K. Burnett
88 TE
|
K. Burnett | 2 | 2 | 22 | 0 | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
M. Lemonious-Craig
5 WR
|
M. Lemonious-Craig | 1 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
T. McMillan
4 WR
|
T. McMillan | 3 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
R. Luke
21 RB
|
R. Luke | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
J. McCord III
89 WR
|
J. McCord III | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Defense | T-A | SACK | INT |
Kicking | FG | LG | XP | PTS |
T. Loop
33 K
|
T. Loop | 2/3 | 47 | 2/2 | 8 |
Punting | NO | AVG | IN20 | LG |
M. Salgado-Medina
19 K
|
M. Salgado-Medina | 5 | 46.6 | 2 | 55 |
Kickoff Returns | NO | AVG | LG | TD |
Punt Returns | NO | AVG | LG | TD |