TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) Noah Fifita threw for 376 yards in three quarters and hit Tre Spivey on two of his five touchdown passes, leading Arizona to a 41-13 rout of Oklahoma State on Saturday. The five touchdown passes tied an Arizona record.Â
Coming off a 39-14 loss to No. 14 Iowa State, the Wildcats (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) bounced back with a strong performance on both sides of the ball while sending Oklahoma State to its 11th straight Big 12 loss.
Arizona racked up 478 total yards against one of the nation's worst defenses, led by Fifita's 28-of-38 passing. The Wildcats' defense corralled the Cowboys (1-4, 0-2) most of the afternoon, holding them to 158 total yards and seven first downs while forcing two turnovers.
Fifita hit Spivey on touchdown passes of 13 and 22 yards, then scrambled through an array of blitzing Cowboys to find Luke Wysong on a 47-yard TD that put the Wildcats up 21-3.
Arizona closed an ugly third quarter - three combined turnovers - with a flourish to go up 38-6. Fifita found Javin Whatley for a 21-yard touchdown and hit Chris Hunter on a 29-yard score the first play after Arizona's defense forced a turnover on downs.
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys have struggled no matter who's the coach. Oklahoma State's defense continued to labor against Power 4 programs and its offense seemed stuck in the desert sand despite trying a variety of misdirection plays.
Arizona: The Wildcats needed a bounce back after last week's letdown and got it by dominating both sides of the ball.
Oklahoma State hosts Houston next Saturday.
Arizona hosts No. 23 BYU next Saturday (5pm MST on TNT)