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Fifita shakes off the rust, hits Smith twice to flip the script on Arizona

Jackquintin Bal saw it coming before Noah Fifita let it go.

3 min readSpokesman.com
Fifita shakes off the rust, hits Smith twice to flip the script on Arizona

If you watched that first quarter and didn't let yourself believe, you weren't paying attention. Jack Bal reading Noah Fifita's eyes, jumping the route, and taking it 25 yards the other way for a pick-six was the kind of play that makes you text your group chat "we might be different." And for a stretch, you were right. The Cougs built a 14-point lead on an Arizona team that had no answers. Then the second half happened, and we all remembered what happens when a veteran quarterback shakes off the rust. Fifita finished 22-of-36 for 297 yards and four touchdowns, and he now owns a 2-0 record in Pullman. That's the part that stings. The Cougs jump Arizona early, then watch a 14-point lead dissolve headline writes itself, and it's one we've seen before.

The takeaway here isn't complicated: Washington State can hang with a good team for about 20 minutes, and that's not enough. Bal was everywhere, career-high nine tackles, the pick-six, a near-takeaway in the end zone, and the defense made stops when it had to early. But Fifita's four consecutive scoring drives to close the game show the Cougs don't have a knockout punch in the tank yet. The offense, as Moore's offense showed some pulse, but the Cougs still left plays on the field, had moments but couldn't answer when Arizona flipped the script. That's a pattern, not a fluke.

What does this mean for the rest of the season? It means the margin for error is razor-thin. The Cougs can't afford a slow second half against a team with a quarterback who has seen every look. Fifita's first win as a starter came here in 2023, and he clearly carries that confidence into Martin Stadium. Kirby Moore put it plain after the game, Moore puts it plain after Cougs let early lead slip in Pullman, and the message was likely about finishing. The talent is there. Bal proved that. But talent without execution for four quarters is just a highlight reel, and those don't count in the win column. The open question is whether this team can sustain the intensity it showed in that first quarter, or if that was the ceiling.

From Spokesman.com

The Wildcats’ veteran quarterback overcame a slow start, guiding back-to-back touchdown drives to erase a 14-point deficit in the first half. Fifita unlocked the Arizona offense again after an uneven start to the third quarter, connecting with Caleb Smith on a 41-yard deep ball, then hit Smith on the next play for a 38-yard TD. Early in the fourth quarter, Fifita fired a pinpoint over-the-shoulder pass to Isaiah Mizell for an 11-yard TD. The fifth-year Wildcat QB showed poise and command in the later stages, leading four consecutive scoring drives to close the game. He finished 22 of 36 for…

Read the original at Spokesman.com

Briefing

Source
Spokesman.com
Published
October 2, 2026

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  • Cougs jump Arizona early, then watch a 14-point lead dissolve

    It was a dream start for Washington State against its old Pac-12 foes from Arizona. The Cougars built a two-touchdown lead in the first quarter after a stellar opening possession and a pick-six. But the Wildcats rallied, and WSU began to lose steam in the second half. Arizona contained the Cougs’ offense, and too much was asked of the WSU defense, which eventually faded. The Wildcats scored on their final four drives to close out a 34-24 win over WSU on Saturday at Gesa Field in Pullman. A long time between TDs WSU’s first drive of the game was inspiring. It surely had fans wondering if the Cougars had found the recipe for offensive success after the unit struggled in its first two games against FBS opponents. The Cougs coasted downfield with precision, scoring on quarterback Caden Pinnick’s 11-yard keeper to cap a 10-play, 71-yard drive. The passing game was fluid, with quick throws to the sideline most effective. The tempo game was working. But the Cougs couldn’t maintain that level of flow offensively. Not by a long shot. The Cougars’ first five drives of the second half resulted in 22 net yards on 20 plays. WSU punted four times and Pinnick lost a fumble on a sack during that stretch. That allowed Arizona to gradually build its lead. WSU’s offense didn’t score another touchdown until a prayer was answered midway through the fourth quarter – a 46-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-10 to Branden Ganashamoorthy, which cut the Arizona lead to 31-24 and gave WSU life after it appeared the game was out of reach. Before WSU’s last two possessions, the team had barely surpassed 200 total yards. The Cougs’ ground game was largely ineffective (3.1 yards per carry on 30 attempts). Arizona’s blitzing became more impactful as the game wore on, and Pinnick seemed like he was constantly under pressure. Does that explain the Cougs’ offensive fall-off after the first series? Whatever the case, WSU showed that it can have a capable offense. It just needs to find a way to sustain it for more than one drive. Credit to the defense Star Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita was gifted short fields on the Wildcats’ first two possessions of the second half – lousy punt return coverage by WSU set up Arizona at the WSU 33, then Pinnick lost a fumble at his own 32. The Wildcats didn’t score on either drive. WSU’s defense stuffed two runs and came up with an open-field tackle to force a three-and-out on the first one, and Arizona missed a 42-yard field goal. The Cougars showed more impressive open-field tackling on the next Arizona series, and a low kick on a 43-yard field goal try was blocked by WSU’s Damarjhe Lewis. The Cougs’ defense accounted for seven of WSU’s 17 first-half points – Jackquintin Bal made a heady interception and returned it for a touchdown – and the unit kept the game in reach as WSU’s offense continued to stall. Finally, as the fourth quarter approached, WSU’s defense couldn’t hold any longer. The group had just been on the field too much and was clearly getting tired. Fifita, as a fifth-year player should do, started to find the cracks, and Arizona scored 20 points over its final four possessions – though it should be noted that the Cougar defense came up with a big stand on Arizona’s final drive, stuffing three consecutive runs to force a 51-yard field goal attempt. But the kick sailed through, dashing WSU’s hopes of tying the game on its final drive. Some positives for WSU’s defense: It held Arizona to less than 3 yards per carry through three quarters before the Wildcats amassed 93 yards on the ground in the fourth; Fifita, one of the nation’s top passers, was thrown off his game on six of Arizona’s 12 possessions and completed a season-low 61% of his passes, and the Cougs’ pass rush got home for three sacks. Otherwise, just a few too many explosive plays allowed. Fifita and receiver Tre Spivey, who had a career day in the first half alone with 125 yards and two TDs, connected for four passing plays of 18 or more yards before halftime. When WSU’s defense adjusted and covered Spivey up, Fifita found Caleb Smith on back-to-back deep balls of 41 and 38 yards. There were some clear miscommunications in the secondary for WSU. More of these games, please It’s uncertain whether WSU, now effectively relegated to the Group of Six, can bring more former Pac-12 rivals to Pullman for nonconference games in future seasons. But if at all possible, the Cougars should make it happen. These games feel important, giving the Cougars a chance to show that they’re still more than capable of competing with Big 12/Pac-12 legacy programs like Arizona. For the most part, it was an entertaining and well-matched game, and evoked some feeling of “Pac-12 After Dark” nostalgia, though it – thankfully – didn’t kick off at 8 p.m. Certainly, the WSU/Arizona matchup was one of the three most highly anticipated games on the Cougs’ schedule, alongside the Apple Cup and the Oct. 24 home game against Boise State.