Arizona scores a 23-10 upset win over No. 10 Utah as Cameron Rising once again watches from the sidelines

Arizona QB Noah Fifita threw two points as the Wildcats beat No. 10 Utah 23-10 late Saturday night.

Fifita put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter with his second TD pass of the night. As he rolled to his right to avoid the pressure, he found Keyan Burnett in the back of the end zone for a 35-yard score with 8:13 left.

It was the second fantastic throw of the drive by Fifita, which just two plays earlier had hit Devin Hyatt for a 41-yard gain on third-and-long, when a defender pounced on Fifita’s legs.

Utah played its third straight game without QB Cameron Rising. The seventh-grader was once again considered a game-winning decision after suffering a right hand injury in Week 2 against Baylor. And once again, freshman Isaac Wilson started in his place.

Utah showed in a Week 4 win over Oklahoma State that it can win with Wilson at quarterback. However, the offense is much more limited with Wilson at center than with Rising. That was clear right from the start of the game in the red zone.

The Utes opened the game with a 13-play drive that stalled at the Arizona 10-yard line when Mike Mitchell was stuffed on fourth down. After Arizona kicked a field goal, Utah launched a 10-play, 73-yard drive that ended on fourth down at the Arizona 2 when Wilson threw an incomplete pass.

The offense’s inability to generate much was evident in the second half when coach Kyle Whittingham made the decision to punt the ball rather than go for it on fourth-and-9 from the Utah 26 with less than seven minutes remaining.

Whittingham took advantage of Utah’s timeouts to quickly get the ball back, but Utah turned it over on downs without getting a first down.

A wide-open Big 12

The Utes can still be considered the favorites in the Big 12… assuming Rising is back sooner rather than later. You can understand why Utah is cautious with Rising, but the team is only at playoff caliber when he’s healthy.

It also helps the Utes that Kansas State lost to BYU in Week 4 and Oklahoma State is now 0-2 in league play after Saturday’s loss to the Wildcats. Arizona is firmly in the race for the conference title and the loss to Kansas State in Week 3 did not count as a conference game.

Will Rising be back in time for Utah’s next game? The Utes have Week 6 off before playing Arizona State in Week 7.