Noah Fifita threw three touchdown passes and Arizona beat its former coach by earning a 52-31 victory at West Virginia on Saturday in a Big 12 Conference game at Morgantown, W.V.
The Wildcats (5-1, 2-1) won their fourth straight game and matched their best start since 2014, when current West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez was on the sideline for Arizona.
Fifita, the active FBS leader in TD passes with 89, was 16 of 23 for 341 yards with an interception. Isaiah Mizell had two TD receptions among his six catches for 183 yards. Arizona also received rushing scores from three different players as it managed 482 yards of total offense on 51 plays.
West Virginia (3-3, 0-3) dropped its third consecutive game despite 522 yards of offense including 303 on the ground. The Mountaineers’ Cam Cook ran for 141 yards and two scores but lost two fumbles, while Michael Hawkins Jr. threw for 219 yards and ran for 98 yards with a TD.
Arizona led 24-17 at halftime and doubled the margin 73 seconds into the third quarter on an 8-yard run by Kedrick Reescano.
West Virginia got within 31-24 late in the third on a 2-yard run by Amari Latimer. Fifita and Mizell hooked up on a 72-yard TD in the final minute of the third to put the Wildcats up 38-24, only to see Cook score on a 1-yard run with 12:33 to go to cut the deficit to 38-31.
Arizona answered right back, with Brandon Phelps catching a 42-yard flea flicker pass from Fifita for a 45-31 edge with 11:35 remaining.
Arizona iced the game with 9:40 left on a 30-yard run by Antwan Roberts.
After West Virginia kicked a field goal to open the game, Arizona matched that with a 14-yard TD catch by Mizell. The Wildcats made it a 14-3 lead less than a minute later on a 32-yard fumble return scored by Lee Molette.
The Mountaineers used an interception to set up their first TD, with David Afogho picking off a Fifita tipped pass at the 3-yard line and then Hawkins scored on the ground on the ensuing play with 12:59 left in the first half.
A 30-yard TD run by Cook tied it 17-17 midway through the second, but with 2:52 left before halftime Quincy Craig scored on a 40-yard run to put Arizona back up 24-17.
