TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Noah Fifita threw for 284 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, and shorthanded Arizona shut down Cincinnati for a 35-7 win on Saturday night.
The Wildcats (4-1, 1-1) got bad news late Friday, when a Pima County judge ruled ineligible running back Ismail Mahdi and linebacker Max Harris, overturning an earlier order amid the raft of lawsuits filed against the NCAA's new eligibility rules.
The hits kept coming in the first half against Cincinnati (4-1, 1-1) with all three of Arizona's top receivers going down with injuries.
The Wildcats pulled it out behind a balanced offense and a defense that shut down one of the nation's top rushing teams.
“We have resilience,” Arizona receiver Brandon Phelps said. “That's Arizona football right there: we face adversity and come out with resiliency.”
Fifita threw for two touchdowns, ran for another and Arizona had 238 yards rushing.
Arizona held the Bearcats to 74 yards rushing — 196 below their season average — and outgained Cincinnati 522-227 total yards.
“We knew they wanted to run the ball,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said. “We said no, we’re not going to let you do that."
Cincinnati had some chances despite being limited to 106 first-half yards.
Stephan Rusnak clanged a 53-yard field goal off the right upright in the first quarter after Fifita threw an interception at the Arizona 32-yard line. Cincinnati also failed on fourth-and-goal from the 2 in the second quarter when Kellen Davis couldn't come down with a high throw at the edge of the end zone.
“We’ve always we’ve been aggressive,” Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield said. “I mean, the ball’s on a 2-yard line. We feel confident we can we can punch the ball in and just wasn't able to do it.”
Arizona moved quickly on its opening drive with the help of Cincinnati's poor tackling, scoring on Kedrick Reescano's 10-yard run. Michael Salgado-Medina's 23-yard field goal on the final play of the first half gave Arizona a 10-0 lead.
Fifita opened the second half with an 8-yard TD on a draw, set up by Antwan Roberts' 58-yard run. Roberts fumbled at Cincinnati's 12, but Arizona retained possession when Bearcats' linebacker Antwan Peek Jr. illegally swatted the ball through the back of the end zone.
“The intent of the rule is not meant for that,” Satterfield said. “They fumble the ball out of the back of the end zone and get the ball at the 5 for them fumbling. That's a little injustice there.”
Arizona poured it on from there.
Fifita hit Phelps on a 24-yard touchdown pass and Tyler Powell on a five-yard score to put Arizona up 34-0 before Cincinnati scored a late touchdown.
