One ride to the first real test of the Brent Brennan era, Arizona seemed built to play in the Big 12. By the end of the night, the Wildcats were more than happy to have this game not count toward the standings.

Arizona, ranked 20th, scored on its first possession and never again, losing 31-7 to No. 14 Kansas State on Friday night. The loss snapped UA’s nine-game winning streak, which was tied for the longest in school history and the longest active streak in FBS.

The Wildcats’ battle went convincingly to the home team, which handed Arizona its first loss since a triple-overtime defeat at USC last October. Quarterback Avery Johnson made it three mobile passers in as many games, making life difficult for UA as the sophomore threw for 156 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 110 yards.

K-State (3-0) had 235 yards on the ground, the most Arizona has allowed since 2022.

Arizona (2-1) had 324 yards of offense, its fewest in more than two years. Noah Fifita threw for 268 yards on 26 of 42 passes, but was intercepted once and went without a touchdown pass for the first time since the first game of the winning streak. Tetairoa McMillan tied his career high with 11 catches for 138 yards, and Montana Lemonious-Craig had six catches for 75 yards, but UA couldn’t get anything done on the ground after the first drive.

Quali Conley had 48 yards and a TD on 14 carries, while Arizona ran for 56 yards, its lowest total of the season.

For the first time since being eliminated in Colorado in 2021, UA failed to reach double figures.

Penalties were again a problem for Arizona, which committed seven in the first half and nine in the game, several of which blocked drives on offense or extended them on defense. And special teams had one of its worst games in recent memory, with a punt return TD.

Arizona trailed 14-7 at halftime, but Arizona pulled behind by two midway through the third period on a 9-yard touchdown catch by Kansas State’s Brayden Loftin. It was the second TD to a tight end who had started the game in the backfield, and came at the end of a drive that saw K-State complete a 48-yard pass on 3rd^rd and 12 and a facemask penalty that put the ball in the red zone.

A 1-yard run by DJ Giddens made it 28-7 in the final minute of the third, a second consecutive scoring drive of 80-plus yards for K-State. Arizona then gave it away on downs inside the K-State 40 early in the fourth, leading to a 35-yard field goal.

UA would lose the ball on its final two drives, gaining just 137 yards in the second half.

Arizona scored for the third straight game on its opening drive, going 73 yards on 14 plays and reaching the end zone nearly half the time in the first quarter. Quali Conley scored on a 1-yard run for his fourth TD of the season to give UA a quick 7-0 lead.

Kansas State was equally methodical and successful, tying the score at 7-7 with 1:01 left in the first half thanks to a 3-yard touchdown catch by the tight end. Will Swanson to cap off a 15-play drive.

A 3-and-out by Arizona and a line drive by kicker Tyler Loop—as a punter, netting three times in three games, which led to Kansas State taking a 14-7 lead when Dylan Edwards caught the punt on the bounce and went 79 yards untouched for a TD and a 14-7 lead early in the second half.

Fifita was intercepted in the endzone on the ensuing drive, but K-State could not capitalize and missed a 48-yard field goal. Arizona’s final drive of the first half stalled at midfield despite having gained 53 yards due to 30 yards on penalties, but they again averted disaster when K-State’s Johnson failed to notice the clock was running out and ran out of bounds at the UA 14 to end the first half.

The UA has next week off and will be back in action on September 21 for the Big 12 season opener against No. 12 Utah.