Cats Rewind: BYU’s Strong Second Half Stymies Cats
09/13/2026 | Football
PROVO, Utah – In the first half of Saturday's Big 12 opener, the Arizona Wildcats appeared to find the perfect formula to quiet BYU's bubbling blue and white cauldron.
But the Cougars rallied in the second half, scoring two touchdowns and holding the Wildcats scoreless after halftime en route to a 28-17 win.
BYU improved to 2-0, while Arizona fell to 1-1.
Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeier threw for 217 and three touchdowns, two in the second half to wide receiver Kyler Kasper. Bachmeier also rushed for 37 yards and a score.
The Cougars opened the second half with a methodical scoring march – five rushes and four passes – to take a 21-17 lead. BYU's defense forced punts on Arizona's first two drives of the second half, but the Wildcats were poised to retake the lead early in the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Noah Fifita converted a 3rd and 12 with a 34-yard completion to tight end Cole Rusk. The Wildcats had a first down at the BYU 27. Four plays later, Arizona appeared to move the chains on 4th and 4 when Fifita connected with wide receiver Rodney Gallagher. The officials on the field signaled first down but replay overturned the call.
BYU took over and two plays later, Bachmeier completed his longest throw of the afternoon, a 61-yarder to wide receiver Legend Glasker. Kasper ended the drive with his second touchdown grab. The Cougars sacked Fifita twice on the ensuing drive and ran out the clock from there.
Fifita completed 23 of 31 passes for 230 yards with one touchdown and one pick. His one scoring strike was a filthy throw down the middle to Shane King, the tight end's first catch as a Wildcat. Fifita also rushed for 38 yards, including a slithering 11-yard touchdown scamper.
Leading receiver Giovanni Richardson (five catches, 48 yards) was injured in the first half and did not return. Arizona's offense struggled in the second half, rushing for minus-two yards and converting just 1 of 5 on third downs. Meanwhile, BYU averaged 7.1 yards per play in the second half.
But the Wildcats battled a Top 15 team in its house until the final whistle. Few teams had this tough a conference opener this early in the season. Now it's time to build on it.
Quotables
"As frustrated as we are, I was proud about how hard we played. I thought we played physical. I thought we ran the ball effectively against a really good defense and I was proud of our kids. I'm disappointed we didn't get the win, everybody is. But the reality is this – we've got to look at the film. We've got to fix it – that's part of Redline, own it, fix it. And we've got to get back to work…we've got a lot of football left to play in this season."
Arizona returns home next Saturday to host Northern Illinois in the first-ever matchup between the teams. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. on TNT. It's the Hispanic Heritage Game and fans are encouraged to wear red.
The Huskies moved from the MAC to the Mountain West Conference this season and are 0-2 after losing 28-24 to Illinois State at home last night.
Territorial Cup 100th
This season marks the 100th edition of the Territorial Cup so each week we will look back at one of Arizona's greatest moments in the rivalry's storied history.
The 1962 Territorial Cup marked the first for the schools as members of the Western Athletic Conference. Arizona scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to rally for a 20-17 win in Tucson, ending ASU's five-game winning streak. Theodore Christy's one-yard touchdown run proved to be the winning score. The Sun Devils entered the game with the nation's second-ranked scoring offense, but the Wildcats held them scoreless in the second half.
- Score a touchdown on the game's opening drive.
- Record a three-and-out on the first defensive series.
- Complete 80 percent of your passes.
- Rush for 99 yards.
- Convert all three red zone trips into points.
- Keep the ball for more than 20 minutes and snap the ball 19 more times than the opposition.
But the Cougars rallied in the second half, scoring two touchdowns and holding the Wildcats scoreless after halftime en route to a 28-17 win.
BYU improved to 2-0, while Arizona fell to 1-1.
Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeier threw for 217 and three touchdowns, two in the second half to wide receiver Kyler Kasper. Bachmeier also rushed for 37 yards and a score.
The Cougars opened the second half with a methodical scoring march – five rushes and four passes – to take a 21-17 lead. BYU's defense forced punts on Arizona's first two drives of the second half, but the Wildcats were poised to retake the lead early in the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Noah Fifita converted a 3rd and 12 with a 34-yard completion to tight end Cole Rusk. The Wildcats had a first down at the BYU 27. Four plays later, Arizona appeared to move the chains on 4th and 4 when Fifita connected with wide receiver Rodney Gallagher. The officials on the field signaled first down but replay overturned the call.
BYU took over and two plays later, Bachmeier completed his longest throw of the afternoon, a 61-yarder to wide receiver Legend Glasker. Kasper ended the drive with his second touchdown grab. The Cougars sacked Fifita twice on the ensuing drive and ran out the clock from there.
Fifita completed 23 of 31 passes for 230 yards with one touchdown and one pick. His one scoring strike was a filthy throw down the middle to Shane King, the tight end's first catch as a Wildcat. Fifita also rushed for 38 yards, including a slithering 11-yard touchdown scamper.
Leading receiver Giovanni Richardson (five catches, 48 yards) was injured in the first half and did not return. Arizona's offense struggled in the second half, rushing for minus-two yards and converting just 1 of 5 on third downs. Meanwhile, BYU averaged 7.1 yards per play in the second half.
But the Wildcats battled a Top 15 team in its house until the final whistle. Few teams had this tough a conference opener this early in the season. Now it's time to build on it.
Quotables
"As frustrated as we are, I was proud about how hard we played. I thought we played physical. I thought we ran the ball effectively against a really good defense and I was proud of our kids. I'm disappointed we didn't get the win, everybody is. But the reality is this – we've got to look at the film. We've got to fix it – that's part of Redline, own it, fix it. And we've got to get back to work…we've got a lot of football left to play in this season."
- Head coach Brent Brennan on the loss
- Head coach Brent Brennan on the decision to go for it on 4th and 4 in the fourth quarter
- Quarterback Noah Fifita on bouncing back
- Safety Quinn Olson and defensive lineman Mays Pese paced the Wildcats with six tackles apiece; Olson's six stops marked a career high.
- Fifita completed 6 of 7 passes on Arizona's opening touchdown drive and the one incompletion was after he deftly avoided a sack.
- Fifita's 11-yard rushing touchdown to end that drive was the fifth rushing score of his career and his first since scoring twice on the ground against Kansas State in 2025.
- Linebacker Max Harris recorded two tackles in his 2026 debut for the Wildcats.
- Chase Ridley averaged 44 yards on four punts and pinned the Cougars at their six-yard line in the third quarter.
- The Wildcats are now 2-3 on the road against ranked opponents under Brennan.
Arizona returns home next Saturday to host Northern Illinois in the first-ever matchup between the teams. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. on TNT. It's the Hispanic Heritage Game and fans are encouraged to wear red.
The Huskies moved from the MAC to the Mountain West Conference this season and are 0-2 after losing 28-24 to Illinois State at home last night.
Territorial Cup 100th
This season marks the 100th edition of the Territorial Cup so each week we will look back at one of Arizona's greatest moments in the rivalry's storied history.
The 1962 Territorial Cup marked the first for the schools as members of the Western Athletic Conference. Arizona scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to rally for a 20-17 win in Tucson, ending ASU's five-game winning streak. Theodore Christy's one-yard touchdown run proved to be the winning score. The Sun Devils entered the game with the nation's second-ranked scoring offense, but the Wildcats held them scoreless in the second half.
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