Death, taxes and Arizona laying an egg right after a big win.
A week removed from its upset victory at then-No. 10 Utah, the Wildcats dug themselves a huge hole at home against Texas Tech yet still managed to take a lead in the fourth quarter only to come up short in the end.
Diego Garcia’s 31-yard field goal with 2:21 left gave the Red Raiders the lead back after blowing a 15-point advantage, then Tahj Brooks’ third rushing touchdown with 1:53 to go iced it as Arizona fell 28-22 on Saturday night.
The UA (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) rallied from down 18-3 at halftime to take a 19-18 lead with 10:07 remaining but couldn’t put the game away. Instead it lost for the sixth consecutive time immediately after beating a Top 10 opponent.
Tyler Loop kicked a school-record five field goals but the one he missed, a 48-yarder that hooked left with less than five minutes to go, set up Tech’s go-ahead field goal. Then Arizona’s third turnover, a lost fumble by Tetairoa McMillan, enabled the Red Raiders (5-1, 3-0) to go up two scores.
McMillan had eight catches for 161 yards and Noah Fifita threw for 301 yards on 28-of-49 passing but he was also intercepted twice for the first time in his career. He’s thrown a pick in seven consecutive games.
Quali Conley ran for 97 yards and a TD while Tech’s Brooks had 128 yards and three scores on 21 carries.
Arizona trailed by 15 at halftime, its largest deficit at the break in almost two years, and after the teams traded 3-and-outs to start the third quarter the Wildcats got into Texas Tech territory for the fifth time in six drives. But like those first half possessions, the UA couldn’t get the big play when it needed to and had to settle for a 40-yard field goal from Loop to make it 18-6 with 9:29 left in the third.
Two plays later, Dalton Johnson forced a fumble that Taye Brown recovered, setting up the Wildcats with great field position at the Tech 32 … only to once again stall and settle for a 30-yard Loop field goal and an 18-9 deficit with 6:46 left in the third.
The UA finally found the end zone with 1:10 to go in the third, getting to within 18-16 on a 3-yard run by Conley. The 72-yard drive included a 40-yard catch and run by McMillan as well as a 4th-down conversion inside the 10.
The fourth quarter started with Tech converting on 3rd and short but Brooks fumbled for the second time, with Owen Goss forcing the ball out and Chase Kennedy recovering at the Red Raiders’ 44. That enabled the Wildcats to take a 19-18 lead with 10:07 left on Loop’s fourth field goal, this one from 37 yards out, but only after taking a delay penalty on 4th and inches from inside the 14 on the play before.
Arizona forced Tech to punt on 4th and 1 with just over nine minutes left and then turned to the run game to eat clock while getting into Red Raiders territory for the ninth time. But instead of staying on the ground the Wildcats went to the air on consecutive plays and left themselves with another long field goal attempt, one that Loop hooked left from 48 yards out with 4:52 remaining.
The Red Raiders retook the lead at 21-19 with 2:21 left on a 41-yard field goal by Gino Garcia, the go-ahead score aided by a 32-yard catch down to the UA 24.
McMillan was stripped on a reception on the ensuing possession, with Tech recovering at the UA 43, and a few plays later Brooks scored on a 32-yard run to make it a two-score game with 1:53 remaining.
Loop kicked a 52-yard field goal with 54 seconds left to cut it to 28-22 with 54 seconds to go but Arizona couldn’t recover the onsides kick.
The game started with four straight punts before Texas Tech put together a sustained drive midway through the first quarter, taking a 7-0 lead on a 3-yard Brooks run one play after quarterback Behren Morton connected with Micah Hudson on a 38-yard completion.
Arizona scored on its next possession but only got three on a 47-yard Loop field goal in the final minute of the first. The drive included several missed chances, including a trick play where Fifita’s deep ball to McMillan went off the receiver’s hands in the end zone.
The Wildcats were stuffed in the red zone on their next drive, failing to get one yard on three straight run plays from the Texas Tech 20, and after getting it back with 6:25 to go before halftime moved into Red Raiders territory before Fifita’s pass was tipped at the line and intercepted by defensive lineman Quincy Ledet Jr. and returned to the UA 30.
That miscue set up Brooks’ second TD run, from nine yards out, and Tech converted a 2-point play out of a swinging gate formation to make it 15-3 with 1:38 left in the half.
A second Fifita interception, this one in the end zone by CJ Baskerville with 31 seconds left before the break, killed another drive that got deep into Tech territory. And rather than run out the clock, the Red Raiders stayed aggressive and used a 57-yard catch by Caleb Douglas to set up a 30-yard field goal at the buzzer.
Arizona returns to the road next Saturday to take on No. 17 BYU, its third straight road game against a ranked opponent. The Cougars (5-0, 2-0) have beaten the UA three straight times including the 2021 season opener in Las Vegas.