No. 2 Utah’s run game proves to be too much for No. 23 Arizona in back-and-forth shootout

TUCSON — Arizona could not contain Utah’s run game, as the No. 23 Wildcats were unable to pull off the upset and fell to No. 2 Utah, 40-39, on Saturday at Casino Del Sol Stadium.

The back-and-forth, late-night affair featured seven lead changes, tied for the second most in the Big 12 this season.

It was Utah’s run game which proved to be the biggest issue for Arizona on the evening. Missed tackles and defensive line miscues from Arizona created huge running lanes for the Utes to take full advantage to the tune of 296 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns. It was the third-most rushing yards Arizona has given up this season.

Utah quarterback Devon Dampier ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns, while lead back Daniel Bray added 197 yards and a score.

Dampier had 76 of Utah’s 103 first-half rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground in the opening half hour before his two turnovers in the second half allowed Arizona to remain the game.

On the opening play from scrimmage in the second half, when the Utes held a 17-14 lead and seemed to be gaining momentum, Dampier fumbled the ball on a poor pitch attempt and Arizona’s Mays Pese recovered. The Wildcats took over on the 17-yard line.

Arizona got to a third-and-goal from the 1-yard-line but was whistled for an illegal formation penalty for having five players in the backfield off a direct snap to Quincy Craig, which backed up the Wildcats.

Nevertheless, Isaiah Mizell caught a six-yard touchdown pass on the next play, the culmination of a five-play, 18-yard drive as the Wildcats reclaimed the lead. It was Mizell’s fifth straight game with a touchdown catch, his eighth on the season, and Noah Fifita’s 20th consecutive contest with a touchdown pass.

Fifita finished 27 of 43 for 356 passing yards and a touchdown.

Isaiah Mizell owns the end zone and you owe him rent 😮‍💨

📺 FOX https://t.co/7ia9ddc3UC

— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) November 15, 2026

Utah responded with a touchdown. On a third-and-1, Daniel Bray broke away for a 62-yard run, which set up Dampier to find Utah quarterback Byrd Ficklin for a four-yard score on the next play, capping off a four-play, 75-yard touchdown drive.

#GoUtes | #RSNB | 📺 @CFBONFOX https://t.co/oZZNaN6Nje

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) November 15, 2026

After the game seemed to be getting away from Arizona, as the Wildcats’ offense was held to a three-and-out, the ‘Cats forced another turnover out of Dampier. The Utah signal caller avoided a sack and got away, but Jay’Vion Cole came up with a touchdown-saving interception at the 1-yard-line.

WELCOME BACK, BOOG! 🤯

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— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) November 15, 2026

On the next drive, Fifita found Chris Hunter for a 67-yard completion to get Arizona to the 22-yard line, and Giovanni Richardson capped off the drive with an impressive touchdown grab, as Arizona went 99-yards over five plays to regain the lead late in the third quarter.

The throw 👀 The catch 😳 ROLL THE CLIP!

📺 FOX https://t.co/kcEA6ghO2B

— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) November 15, 2026

But Utah’s ground game continued to cause problems for Arizona. Bray had the go-ahead score with 11:46 remaining in the final quarter, Utah’s third rushing touchdown on the evening.

Arizona had signs of life when Utah fumbled a punt return and Drew Nicolson recovered it, which saw the Wildcats take over at the Utah 17.

But Fifita was sacked on third down and Arizona was held to a field goal, cutting the deficit to two.

Mizell caught a 59-yard pass to get the Wildcats in the redzone before he followed it up with his second receiving touchdown of the game, a 10-yard reception to put the Wildcats ahead 39-33 with 3:13 remaining after completing a two-point conversion.

Utah answered almost immediately, as Dampier find Creed Whittemore for a 70-yard touchdown with 2:35 remaining. The Utes scored in just 38 seconds after the blown coverage from Arizona’s secondary.

Arizona turned it over on downs on its next possessions after two incompletions from Fifita and a pass short of the line to gain. On fourth down, the Wildcats hurried to the line and snapped the ball before the two-minute timeout. The play went incomplete and Utah took over.

“I think naturally you just kind of think about the plays that I didn’t make,” Fifita said after the loss. “(Our) defense gave us the ball back with over two minutes (left) to be able to go get a field goal, and we didn’t do it.

“So that’s the part that kind of hurts, but at the end of the day, we’ve gotta live with it and move on to the next.”

On a third-and-one, Dampier was able to break free on a run but smartly went down to seal the victory for the Utes.

Utah did not leave for Arizona until 10:50 a.m. on Saturday morning and did not arrive until 12:35 p.m. after Friday afternoon’s nationwide Federal Aviation Administration ground stop forced the Utes’ delayed departure, but the delay did not have much of an affect on the game other than the game’s kick time being pushed back three hours to an 8:30 p.m. MST start due to the travel disruption.

Official attendance

48,158 (Arizona’s largest of the season)

Up next for Arizona

Arizona will now travel to “The Little Apple” to take on Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas next Saturday. The conference’s other Wildcats will be coming off a bye week.

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