Arizona Wildcats can't overcome turnovers and fall to Texas Tech in Big 12 showdown

The Arizona Wildcats lost to the Texas Tech Red Raiders 28-22 on Saturday evening.

Arizona was playing its first conference home game as a member of the Big 12. After defeating the 10th-ranked Utah Utes last week, it struggled to find the end zone this week and couldn't keep the momentum going, so it At the end the season fell to 3-2.

Texas Tech entered the game 2-0 in conference play at Arizona Stadium after winning one-possession games against Arizona State and Cincinnati over the past two weeks. Saturday's 11 p.m. EST kickoff was the last kickoff they participated in in the program's history.

The teams traded punts on the first four drives of the contest until Texas Tech finally put the first points on the scoreboard. After Raiders quarterback Behren Morton completed a 38-yard pass to Micah Hudson to put the ball inside the five-yard line, Texas Tech capped the game's first scoring drive with a three-yard run by Tahj Brooks .

Arizona had to settle for a field goal after quarterback Noah Fifita narrowly missed receiver Tetairoa McMillian on a trick play that was easily thrown to him in the end zone.

The Wildcats went on a drive just before the first half, but a pass from Fifita was deflected at the line and intercepted by defensive lineman Quincy Ledet Jr. They would pay for the mistake as Tahj Brooks would go ten yards for his second rushing touchdown of the night. They converted a two-point conversion to increase the lead to 15-3.

Fifira threw his second interception of the game just before halftime as the Wildcats again pushed down the field. Texas Tech took advantage of the pick again and scored off the turnover with a 30-yard field goal, sending the Wildcats into the locker room trailing 18-3.

It marks the first time in the Wildcats quarterback's 20 career games that he has thrown at least two interceptions in a contest.

The Wildcats kicked another field goal early in the third quarter and immediately got a much-needed break on the next defensive attack. Tahj Brooks fumbled and the Wildcats recovered it at the 32-yard line. However, they once again struggled to find the end zone and settled for another field goal.

Brooks failed for the second straight game, causing Arizona to bounce back again. They capitalized again with a field goal and took the lead for the first time in the game at 19:18.

It was a big day for Quali Conley on site, even if it wasn't always visible on the scoreboard. He eventually gave Arizona its first touchdown of the night when he completed a three-yard rush. The score reduced the lead to two.

Texas Tech's offense went scoreless in the second half until it regained the lead with a field goal with just over two minutes to play. Trailing by two minutes, the Wildcats used all three timeouts and the two-minute timeout to mount a comeback.

However, McMillian fumbled on the first play of the drive after catching a first down and more in space. Texas Tech would score a few plays later to extend the lead to a two-point game.

Arizona scored another field goal to bring the score back up to six. Kicker Tyler Loop set a program record as the only kicker to make five field goals in a game. They were unable to recover the onside kick as they were left with no opportunity to come back.

Noah Fifita finished the day with 301 yards through the air and completed 28 of his 49 passes. Most of his yards went to McMillian, who had eight receptions for 161 yards. It was an excellent evening in terms of statistics, but the ball losses made the difference.

In injury news, senior Gunner Maldonado, the leader of the Wildcats secondary, was injured in the first quarter. After the injury, he slowly made his way to the locker room and returned to the sidelines in street clothes in the second half.

The Wildcats will be back in action next Saturday when they travel to Provo to take on the BYU Cougars. The game is currently scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. ET and will once again be broadcast nationally on FOX.