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TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona needed only 11 minutes of game time, and even that may have been generous.
Freshman quarterback Noah Fifita quickly led No. 17 Arizona down the field on the first possession of the game, and the Wildcats capped off the drive with a backward pass to receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who then threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Michael Wiley for the first score of the game.
The opening drive was just the tip of the iceberg.
Arizona blocked a punt for a touchdown on the ensuing Utah possession, and then scored two more times with ease on simple screen passes to control a 28-0 lead with just over 14 minutes left in the second quarter. All that was left was to drain out the clock en route to a 42-18 win in the desert.
"It's really tough to win a football game when you go down 28-zip, and that's a lot to overcome," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said. "That all happened in a blink of an eye seemingly. We've got to start faster, obviously."
It took No. 22 Utah (7-4, 4-4 Pac-12) until 3:53 left in the second quarter to cross 100 total yards of offense. By then, though, Arizona (8-3, 6-2 Pac-12) already had 233 yards of offense and was in total control of the game before the rain started to fall at Arizona Stadium.
Fifita finished the game throwing for 253 yards and two touchdowns on 22-of-30 passing to lead Arizona to its fifth consecutive win and to keep the Wildcats in contention for a potential Pac-12 championship bid.
The freshman quarterback was replaced in the fourth quarter by the team's previous starter, Jayden de Laura, who spurned a victory formation opportunity with 41 seconds left in the game and threw a 51-yard pass to McMillan to add to Arizona's lead.
"Just expected that it was going to be an offensive play, and shoot that's their prerogative to be able to call whatever they want," Whittingham said. "It's our job to defend. So I've got no problem with that at all if that's the play they want to run. We've got to defend it; it's plain and simple."
Despite the hot start for Arizona, Utah's defense held the Wildcats scoreless from the 14-minute mark of the second quarter until the eight-minute mark of the fourth quarter, which included a blocked field goal attempt and later a 50-yard field goal attempt that hit the right upright.
But it was fruitless to celebrate in a blowout loss.
"Those guys came ready to play," Utah receiver Devaughn Vele said. "I mean, it's credit to them, they're a great team, well coached. I think we just came off flat, like we just seemed slow. We weren't getting off the ball quick enough, we weren't sustaining blocks, we weren't making big plays. And you can't afford to have a three-and-out on the first drive of the game.
"It was a slow start, and it shouldn't take us that long against a good team like that to get going offensively as a unit."
Utah got some positive momentum midway through the second quarter as quarterback Bryson Barnes strung together a handful of completed passes to get the Utes into the red zone, but Barnes telegraphed a pass to his receiver, and defender Jacob Manu jumped the route for an easy interception that he took back to the 46-yard line before Barnes tackled him.
Utah got its first stop of the game on Arizona's ensuing possession with six minutes left in the second quarter; and then with the elements getting worse, Utah responded with a 10-play, 92-yard drive late in the second quarter for its first score of the day.
Facing third-and-15 from Arizona's 20-yard line, Barnes heaved up a jump ball pass with a defender in his face, and Vele fought through his defender to pull down the pass in the end zone for the score. Vele finished with a team-high 111 receiving yards on nine catches but said he was more interested in a win than personal accolades.
"I want to win games," Vele said. "If I catch one ball for 5 yards but we win the game, that's a win in my book. I'm not discrediting it; I mean, it's a great stat, but I'd rather win games at the end of the day."
Utah made one last push late in the game to keep the game close, despite odds against the visiting team. Barnes capped off the drive with a 2-yard toss to Munir McClain in the end zone, which was followed up by a successful 2-point conversion by Barnes on a QB keeper.
Utah's attempt at an onside kick wasn't successful, and then de Laura went for his 51-yard touchdown pass to add to the misery for the Utes.
Utah finished the day with 453 total yards of offense in the loss, edging out Arizona by 10 yards, but it was a hollow stat given Arizona's margin of victory. Barnes finished the day throwing for 320 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, including one late in the fourth quarter to ultimately seal Utah's fate, on 31-of-53 passing.
The Utes were without defensive starters Cole Bishop, Jonah Elliss and Karene Reid Saturday due to injury, adding to the already injury-riddled roster that has plagued Utah this season.
Whittingham said postgame that Elliss' injury is season-ending, while Reid might make a bowl game, and Bishop is questionable for next week's game against Colorado.
"It's just what we've been dealing with all season long, so it's nothing new for us," Whittingham said. "Those are three really good defenders — really good defenders."
