Storylines, stats and quotes from Arizona's miraculous win over TCU

For Tucson fans, Arizona’s 29 to 28 comeback against TCU delivered one of the most dramatic nights of the Wildcats’ season, and it extended a remarkable home run at Casino Del Sol Stadium. Arizona trailed by eight points with less than two minutes remaining Friday night, then scored nine unanswered points to escape with the victory. The No. 22 Wildcats improved to seven wins, stayed unbeaten in their new home venue and won their seventh consecutive home game, their longest home winning streak since the 1993 and 1994 seasons. As fans in white filed out shortly after midnight, “U of A” chants filled the stadium.

The win also kept Arizona’s Big 12 Championship and College Football Playoff hopes alive after they appeared close to disappearing. The Wildcats needed contributions from every phase of the game, particularly during a frantic final stretch. Quarterback Noah Fifita completed 24 of 37 passes for 313 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also recovered a fumble that could have ended Arizona’s comeback, while his rushing touchdown earlier in the game gave the Wildcats their previous lead. Head coach Brent Brennan described the performance as an example of playing at the team’s “redline,” with players continuing to believe even when the situation looked lost.

Arizona’s most important sequence began after running back Quincy Craig fumbled at the TCU 9 yard line with the Wildcats trailing 28 to 20. Fifita recovered the loose ball, and two plays later he found Craig on a 15 yard wheel route for a touchdown. Arizona failed to convert the ensuing two point try, leaving the Wildcats behind 28 to 26 with 1:44 left. Brennan then faced a critical special teams decision. Instead of attempting an onside kick or simply giving TCU a conventional kickoff, Arizona chose a pooch kick designed to create confusion in the return formation.

Freshman kickoff specialist Ian French sent a high kick toward the center of TCU’s return unit. Wide receiver Ed Small could not secure it, and reserve cornerback Zuri Watson recovered the loose ball after racing downfield. The play gave Arizona another possession and a chance to win. Cornerback Tyrese Boss praised Watson for attacking the loose ball when his opportunity arrived. TCU coach Sonny Dykes said Small normally had the best hands on the team, but acknowledged that the special teams mistake contributed to the loss. Dykes said TCU had several chances during the final minute, but the decisive bounces went Arizona’s way.

The Wildcats then relied on their defense and clock management to set up the winning kick. Arizona rushed three consecutive times, forcing TCU to use time while limiting the Horned Frogs’ opportunity to answer. Michael Salgado Medina came onto the field for a 37 yard attempt, despite making only 17 of 31 field goals from 30 to 49 yards over the relevant stretch. His kick traveled slightly left but cleared the uprights, giving Arizona its first lead since Fifita’s 9 yard rushing touchdown with just over eight minutes remaining in the third quarter. It was Salgado Medina’s first game winning field goal and Arizona’s first walk off field goal since Tyler Loop beat Colorado in 2023.

Salgado Medina said converting the kick was the kind of moment for which he had worked, while Brennan said the kick should provide an important confidence boost. The field goal was Salgado Medina’s third of the game, his first three field goal performance since the previous season’s Territorial Cup. Brennan acknowledged that the kicker’s results had been inconsistent, but said Arizona had seen his ability and mental toughness in practice. The coach also credited special teams coordinator Craig Naivar, whose preparation was reflected in the pooch kick, the recovery and another major play earlier in the night.

That earlier play came from defensive end Tre Smith, who broke through to block a TCU field goal attempt from 50 yards. Smith also recorded his first sack of the season and forced another TCU attempt from 37 yards to go wide right. In the past two seasons, Smith has blocked more field goals than he has made sacks, and he had already blocked a kick against Washington State this season. Those plays mattered because Arizona’s defense struggled to contain TCU for much of the night. The Horned Frogs converted six of 12 third downs, including two third and long conversions on their penultimate scoring drive.

Arizona’s secondary was particularly challenged because starting free safety Cam Chapa is out for the season, cornerback Jay’Vion Cole missed his second straight game and slot cornerback Malcolm Hartzog left with an undisclosed injury in the first half. Quinn Olson, Dajon Hinton and Dwight Bootle II filled in for the unavailable starters. Bootle was charged with three pass interference penalties and allowed eight receptions on 12 targets for 56 yards and a touchdown, according to Pro Football Focus. TCU receiver Jordan Dwyer, whom Brennan called the best receiver Arizona had faced all year, finished with nine catches for 86 yards and TCU’s only passing touchdown from quarterback Jaden Craig.

The defense still produced the final play. Boss intercepted Craig in the closing seconds for the first pick of his career, sealing a result that had repeatedly seemed ready to slip away. Boss and Bootle had both been penalized on TCU’s final major drive, which ended with Craig scoring on a 2 yard keeper, and Boss had two pass interference calls overall. He said the message among Arizona’s defensive backs was to move on to the next play rather than allow one mistake to define the game. That approach, combined with Watson’s recovery, Smith’s blocked kick, Salgado Medina’s field goal and Boss’s interception, gave Tucson a late night victory that Brennan called a collective effort across all three phases.