No. 24 Arizona Edges TCU 29-28 on Michael Salgado-Medina's Late Field Goal After Muffed Kickoff

Arizona trailed by eight with less than seven minutes left, failed on a two-point try that would have tied it, and still found a way. Michael Salgado-Medina kicked a 37-yard field goal with 38 seconds remaining after a muffed kickoff handed the ball right back, and No. 24 Arizona escaped TCU 29-28 on Friday night at Casino Del Sol Stadium in Tucson.

Arizona (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) outgained TCU 441 to 281 and still needed a frantic final two minutes to win. Noah Fifita threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another, Giovanni Richardson caught 11 passes for 171 yards, and Tyrese Boss sealed it with an interception on TCU's last snap that mattered. The Horned Frogs (4-5, 2-4 Big 12) led for most of the second half behind three touchdowns from quarterback Jaden Craig and a 93-yard interception return from linebacker Hudson Hooper.

A fast Arizona start, then a 14-point swing

Arizona opened the game the way it has played most of the season at home. Fifita completed five passes on a 10-play, 75-yard opening drive and finished it with a 20-yard touchdown throw to Isaiah Mizell at the 10:39 mark of the first quarter. Salgado-Medina added a 43-yard field goal with 4:06 left in the quarter, and Arizona led 10-0 while TCU managed just one first down on its first two possessions.

TCU got its first chance to answer early in the second quarter, but a false start on fourth and 1 at the Arizona 15 pushed the Horned Frogs back, and Kyle Lemmermann missed a 37-yard field goal. TCU found the end zone on its next try. Craig led an eight-play, 61-yard drive and scored on a 7-yard run with 8:53 left in the half, cutting the lead to 10-7.

Then came the play that flipped the night. Arizona drove 67 yards on its next possession and faced third and 3 at the TCU 8. Fifita threw toward the end zone, and Hooper picked the pass off at the TCU 7 and returned it 93 yards for a touchdown with 4:09 left in the half. Instead of a 17-7 Arizona lead, TCU went into the locker room up 14-10.

Hooper was everywhere for the Horned Frogs. Along with the pick-six, Hooper finished with a team-high 12 tackles, nine of them solo. Jordan Lester added eight tackles and Kylin Jackson six for a TCU defense that kept Arizona out of the end zone on several long drives.

Blocked kick sparks Arizona, Craig keeps answering

TCU had a chance to extend the lead midway through the third quarter, but Lemmermann's 50-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Arizona's Tre Smith at the 10:43 mark. The Wildcats took over at their own 38 and needed only five plays to cash in. Fifita finished the 62-yard drive himself on a 9-yard touchdown run, and Arizona led 17-14 with 8:14 left in the quarter.

Craig answered right away. The TCU quarterback put together an 11-play, 75-yard drive that took 5:35 off the clock and ended with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Dwyer with 2:39 left in the third. TCU was back in front, 21-17.

Arizona's offense kept moving the ball in the second half but kept stalling short of the end zone. Fifita hit Richardson for 46 yards to the TCU 9 early in the fourth quarter, but the drive ended with a 23-yard Salgado-Medina field goal on the first play of the period, and TCU still led 21-20.

The Horned Frogs then delivered what looked like the winning drive. Craig led a 10-play, 77-yard march that used 4:59 and finished it with a 2-yard touchdown run with 6:35 to play. Lemmermann's kick made it 28-20, and TCU's defense needed one more stop.

Two minutes of chaos

Arizona's answer started slowly and nearly ended in disaster. Facing fourth and 2 at the TCU 44, Fifita kept the ball and ran for 16 yards to extend the drive. Mizell added catches of 23 and 16 yards, the second on third and 8. Deep in TCU territory, Quincy Craig had the ball knocked loose at the TCU 9 by Kylin Jackson, but Fifita fell on it at the 15.

Moments later, Fifita found Quincy Craig for a 15-yard touchdown with 1:43 left. The 11-play, 60-yard drive cut the deficit to 28-26, but the two-point pass fell incomplete, and TCU still led by two.

Then the kickoff turned the game. Ian French's 35-yard kickoff was muffed by TCU's Ed Small at the TCU 30, and Arizona's Zuri Watson recovered at the 26. TCU used two timeouts as Arizona ran three times, with Quincy Craig and Kedrick Reescano grinding the ball to the TCU 20. Arizona called timeout with 43 seconds left and sent out Salgado-Medina, who drilled the 37-yarder for the lead with 38 seconds remaining.

TCU still had a chance after a touchback, needing only a field goal from its own 25. On first down, Craig's pass was intercepted by Boss at the TCU 36, and Boss returned it 27 yards to the TCU 9. Arizona knelt once to end it.

By the numbers

Fifita completed 24 of 37 passes for 313 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, and Fifita also ran 11 times for 38 yards and a score. Richardson's 171 receiving yards were a team high by a wide margin, including a 46-yarder that set up a field goal. Mizell caught six passes for 78 yards and a touchdown, and Quincy Craig caught four for 47 and the late touchdown. Reescano led the Arizona ground game with 52 yards on 10 carries, and the Wildcats ran for 128 yards as a team.

Jaden Craig completed 28 of 41 passes for 232 yards with one touchdown and one interception and ran for two scores, though TCU managed just 49 rushing yards on 21 carries. Tight end Kari Ashley caught 14 passes for 95 yards, and Dwyer added nine catches for 86 yards and a touchdown. Amante Martin led TCU's running backs with 35 yards on eight carries.

Arizona won despite 10 penalties for 111 yards and a 5-of-14 night on third down. Taye Brown led the Arizona defense with 10 tackles, and Cooper Blomstrom had a first-quarter sack. TCU turned the ball over twice in the final 1:44 after protecting it for most of the night, and Lemmermann went 0 for 2 on field goals while making all four extra points. The full numbers are in the ESPN box score (opens in a new tab).

What it means

The win was a needed bounce-back for Arizona after a 34-26 loss at Texas Tech last week, a game that cost the Wildcats ground in the Big 12 race. It also kept Arizona unbeaten at home this season, following a 39-3 rout of Iowa State two weeks ago. The Wildcats now have seven wins with three games left, and the next one is the biggest of the season: Utah, unbeaten at 8-0 and 5-0 in the Big 12, visits Tucson on Nov. 14. Arizona then plays at Kansas State on Nov. 21 before hosting Arizona State on Nov. 28.

For TCU, the loss was another close one that got away. The Horned Frogs had won 22-16 over Kansas a week ago on a late Craig touchdown run, but they had also dropped a 24-20 decision to West Virginia on a late strip-sack. At 4-5, TCU needs two wins in its final three games to reach bowl eligibility. The Horned Frogs host Kansas State on Nov. 14 and unbeaten Utah on Nov. 21 before closing at Texas Tech.

Sources: ESPN box score, play-by-play and team schedules. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Arizona Athletics.