West Virginia’s defensive struggles continued as Arizona used a barrage of explosive plays to pull away for a 52-31 victory at Milan Puskar Stadium.

The Mountaineers remained within one possession deep into the second half, but Arizona scored touchdowns on four consecutive second-half drives — requiring only 10 total plays — to take control.

Quarterback Noah Fifita led the Wildcats, completing 16-of-23 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns. Isaiah Mizell caught six passes for 183 yards and two scores, including a 72-yard touchdown that answered WVU after the Mountaineers had pulled within seven.

West Virginia continued fighting back offensively. Freshman Amari Latimer scored from 2 yards out, while Cam Cook added touchdown runs of 30 and 1 yards. Quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. also scored on the ground and connected with Prince Strachan for several explosive plays.

Cook finished with 141 rushing yards, Hawkins added 98 as part of WVU’s 303-yard rushing performance, and Strachan caught five passes for 121 yards.

But Arizona repeatedly had an answer. Fifita connected with Brandon Phelps for a 42-yard touchdown before Antwan Roberts broke free for a 30-yard score that established the final margin.

The Wildcats finished averaging 9.5 yards per play, extending a difficult stretch for a WVU defense that has now surrendered 138 points and 1,668 yards through three Big 12 games.

Head coach Rich Rodriguez called the defensive performance one of the most frustrating stretches of his coaching career and said the Mountaineers must find answers quickly.

West Virginia falls to 3-3 overall and 0-3 in Big 12 play, while Arizona improves to 5-1 and 2-1 in the conference.

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Photo Credit: Ben Queen Imagn Images