TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) 鈥� Arizona鈥檚 defense was on its heels in the early going, backpedaling as one of the nation鈥檚 best offenses marched for two quick scores.
Once the Wildcats and their resurgent defense dug in, the Bears stopped right in their tracks.
Kedrick Reescano ran for three touchdowns, Jabari Mann returned an interception for a 34-yard touchdown and Arizona used a dominating fourth quarter to roll over Baylor 41-17 on Saturday.
The big message in the locker room coming out of halftime, we have to elevate our physicality 鈥� it had to show up,鈥� Arizona coach Brent Brennan said. 鈥淲hen we play with that kind of physicality, it鈥檚 fun to watch.鈥�
The Wildcats (8-3, 5-3 Big 12) shut down one of the nation’s best passing offenses, holding Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson to 161 yards 鈥� half his season average 鈥� while forcing three fourth-quarter turnovers.
With Arizona leading 21-17, Robertson threw an interception in the end zone early in the fourth quarter, then running back Bryson Washington lost a fumble at Baylor’s 28. Ismail Mahdi scored on the next play and, after Arizona forced a turnover on downs, Reescano burst through a big hole for a 19-yard touchdown.
Mann sealed it on the next drive with his pick-6, capping a flurry of 20 points in a little over four minutes. Kris Hutson had nine catches for 133 yards and a touchdown in Arizona’s fourth straight win.
鈥淭hose 50-50 plays we weren’t getting in the first half half starting going our way and we capitalized on the momentum,鈥� said safety Treydan Stukes, who had the interception in the end zone.
The Bears (5-6, 3-5) turned the ball over on five straight possessions 鈥� twice on downs 鈥� starting with Stukes’ interception. Baylor had 40 yards passing and averaged 3.6 yards per play in the second half.
鈥淲e were having real simple execution errors,鈥� Baylor coach Dave Aranda said. 鈥淭here wasn’t anything new they were showing us on defense. It wasn’t a new coverage or a new stunt. We were just misreading things and that’s not like us.鈥�
The game looked like it would be an offensive shootout as both teams moved quickly down the field for two touchdowns each 鈥� with a little help.
Robertson hit Josh Cameron for a 9-yard touchdown pass on an opening drive kept alive by a fourth-down pass interference call against Arizona. Robertson scored on a 2-yard run the next drive, helped by a fourth-down offside penalty and a pass interference call against the Wildcats.
Arizona took advantage of a pass interference call in the end zone to score on Reescano’s 2-yard run and Noah Fifita converted a fourth-and-goal from the 2 by finding Hutson in the corner of the end zone.
The Wildcats scored again the help of two more penalties 鈥� holding and pass interference on Baylor cornerback Reggie Bush 鈥� to open the third quarter, going up 21-17 on Reescano’s 1-yard run before pouring it on in the fourth.
鈥淵ou look at the start of the game, the fight, the effort everybody had is validation of it getting into it (his message),鈥� Aranda said. 鈥淲hat we’ve got to do in those critical moments is do simple better.鈥�
Johnson鈥檚 tackling
Dalton Johnson had quite home capper to his four-year career at Arizona.
The senior safety had 18 tackles, including seven solo after being recognized before the game with his fellow seniors.
鈥淒alton’s one of those guys who chose to stay and had a lot of people trying to talk to him into leaving,鈥� Brennan said. 鈥淎nd I think that’s really, really special.鈥�
The Takeaway
Baylor: Aranda , but the Bears still have plenty of things to fix this year 鈥� even on offense.
Arizona: The Wildcats’ resurgent defense faced one of it biggest tests of the season and passed by shutting down one of the nation’s most prolific offenses.
Up next
Baylor closes the regular season when it hosts 23rd-ranked Houston next Saturday.
Arizona plays at rival Arizona State, ranked 25th, next Saturday.
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