Noah Fifita throws for 5 TDs, Arizona blasts Weber State 48-3 after weather delay
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Noah Fifita threw for 373 yards and five touchdowns in less than three quarters, Javin Whatley caught two touchdowns and Arizona rolled to a weather-delayed 48-3 win over Weber State on Saturday night.
Lightning led to a delay of more than two hours, but it did little to slow down Arizona (2-0) against the FCS Wildcats (0-2).
Arizona raced out to a 24-0 first-quarter lead, pushed it to 34-0 by halftime and racked up 556 total yards. Its defense had a second straight dominating game, holding Weber State to 184 total yards while forcing two turnovers, including a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown by Jay’Vion Cole.
“Staying mission focused, that was the main thing for us in the locker room,” Arizona linebacker Max Harris said of the delay. “Adversity’s going to hit, it’s going to come in different ways and just stay mission focused.”
Offensive coordinator Seth Doege wanted Arizona to sharpen up its passing game after last week’s 40-6 win over Hawaii and Fifita responded with a highly-efficient performance. The third-year starter completed his first 14 passes and finished 17 for 22 after throwing for 161 yards on 13-of-23 passing last week. He connected with Whatley five times for 168 yards.
“It was exciting to see those explosive plays,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said. “Noah had great command of the offense the entire game. It was good to see him operating and executing at such a high level.”
Fifita hit Whatley on a 31-yard TD pass on Arizona’s opening drive and found him again on its next play from scrimmage for an 85-yard score. Fifita connected with Tre Spivey on a 10-yard touchdown late in the first quarter and added a 13-yard scoring pass to Brandon Phelps in the second.
Arizona didn’t let up until late.
Ismail Mahdi opened the second half by turning a third-and-22 screen pass into a 27-yard touchdown and Cole’s pick-6 made it 48-0.
“I thought it was great the way we executed in the first half on offense,” Brennan said. “I thought we were better in the red zone than last week, better on third down and all that stuff is really exciting for me,”
Sloan Calder’s 33-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter prevented Arizona’s first shutout since 2013.
Penalty problems
Arizona had issues with penalties last week and struggled again in Week 2.
The Wildcats negated two rushing TDs by Fifita with holding penalties and linebacker Jabari Mann was ejected in the second quarter for a targeting penalty on Weber State quarterback Jackson Gilkey.
Arizona had 10 penalties for 80 yards.
The takeaway
Weber State: The Wildcats were blown out by James Madison last week and were no match for the bigger, faster Arizona Wildcats.
Arizona: The Wildcats had no trouble getting going after the weather delay, beating up on an FCS opponent before facing a tough game on a short week against Kansas State.
Up next
Weber State plays at McNeese State next Saturday.
Arizona hosts Kansas State next Friday.
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By JOHN MARSHALL
AP Sports Writer
