The Arizona Wildcats fell 31-24 to the Mississippi State Bulldogs in overtime. The loss to Mississippi State brings the Pac-12’s 18-game winning streak to an end.
The goal for Arizona football was to win their first-ever road game against an SEC team. Arizona’s only SEC win came against Auburn in 1976. When the Wildcats met the Bulldogs last season it resulted in a tough 39-17 loss.
Arizona had a rough start to the game with quarterback Jayden de Laura throwing three interceptions in the first quarter. Before the first half came to an end the Wildcats had four turnovers. The Bulldogs had a 14-0 lead with seconds left in the first half. De Laura made a hail mary pass to Tetairoa McMillan to get Wildcats to the goal line. On the next play De Laura faked a spike and snuck it in for a touchdown to give the Wildcats some much-needed momentum heading into the locker room.
The second-half didn’t start pretty for the Wildcats as the Bulldogs defense forced Arizona to go three-and-out. Bulldogs wide receiver Lideatrick Griffin snagged a 15-yard touchdown reception to open the second half. De Laura showed confidence and poise through the second half and managed to tie the game with a 17-yard TD pass to Jacob Cowing in the third quarter.
De Laura threw his second touchdown pass of the night to Tetairoa McMillan to tie the game with 9:14 left to play.
Mississippi State kicked a 36-yard field goal and took a 24-21 lead with 6:47 left in the game. De Laura threw his fourth interception of the night late in the fourth quarter. Despite the many messy mistakes throughout the game, De Laura was quick to forget. It was a successful 36-yard field goal for Arizona’s Tyler Loop that forced the game into overtime.
Mississippi State was on offense first in overtime and scored a 29-yard touchdown.
On 4th and 10, Jayden de Laura scrambled in the backfield and managed to fly through the defense on a wild play. After review, he was ruled just short of the first down. Cowbells were clanging as the Mississippi State Bulldogs took down the Arizona Wildcats, 31-24 in overtime.
The Arizona Wildcats host UTEP on Sept. 16.
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