SALT LAKE CITY – Noah Fifita threw for 197 yards and two touchdowns and Arizona’s defense stopped No. 10 Utah four times on fourth down to help the Wildcats beat the Utes 23-10 on Saturday night.

The Wildcats never let the pressure get to them, even when the Utes made it a one-score game and had the sellout crowd behind them.

“This is a special win,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said. “There’s so much pressure to perform… but they all started playing this game of football because it’s fun… And, boy, did we have fun tonight.”

Arizona (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) had a stellar defensive performance with two interceptions, eight pass breakups and seven tackles for loss.

“We knew they were going to make some plays and there was going to be some adversity, but we were just enjoying ourselves and making plays and showing off,” Arizona linebacker Jacob Manu said.

Utah (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) again played without quarterback Cameron Rising. Freshman Isaac Wilson moved the ball but couldn’t convert in the red zone and threw a pair of interceptions.

Fifita hit Tetairoa McMillan for a 41-yard pass on third-and-11 and then threw a 35-yard touchdown to Keyan Burnett on another third-and-11 to make it 23-10 with 8:13 to play.

Burnett had a career-high five receptions and 76 yards.

Tao Johnson intercepted Fifita in the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter before Wilson drove downfield and found Caleb Lohner for a 20-yard TD reception to cut the lead to 16-10 with 11:54 to play.

In the third quarter, after Tyler Loop’s 53-yard field goal, Wilson was intercepted by Genesis Smith on the next play. Loop’s ensuing 33-yard field goal gave the Wildcats a 16-3 lead.

Fifita used quick passes to avoid Utah’s pass rush and capped a seven-play, 75-yard drive with a 3-yard TD pass to Jeremiah Patterson to give Arizona a 10–3 halftime lead.

“Noah Fifita is such a great football player and leader,” Brennan said.

Fifita completed all seven passes on the Wildcats’ opening drive, but it was Kedrick Reescano’s 23-yard run that set up the Loop’s 47-yard field goal.

The Wildcats stopped the Utes’ first two possessions on downs, both inside Arizona’s 10-yard line on fourth-and-2.

“The left is pointing that out,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “We were terrible in the red zone. Terrible. Terrible. Until we fix that, we’re going to continue to have problems.”

Utah fans and the team waited to see if Rising would be able to play after hurting his throwing hand on September 7. Again, it was an on-the-fly decision, but Wilson was the one to stop the foul. Rising, a seventh-year senior, has played just four total quarters this season after sitting out all of last season.

Arizona now has a road record of 6-31-1 against AP top-10 teams. The Wildcats’ defense gave up the fewest points to a top-10 team since the program defeated No. 10 Miami 29-0 in the 1994 Fiesta Bowl.