BYU is aiming high after achieving its best start since 2020.
Jake Retzlaff threw for 218 yards and two touchdowns, while the 14th-ranked Cougars forced four turnovers to defeat Arizona 41-19 on Saturday.
Darius Lassiter caught five passes for 86 yards, and Parker Kingston not only caught a touchdown pass but also threw one on a trick play for BYU (6-0, 3-0 Big 12).
The Cougars have qualified for a bowl game after missing the postseason last year, but they are looking for even more.
“It’s cool, but a bowl game is not what we want,” Kingston said. “We want to go to the playoff and we want to go to the national championship. That’s what we’re looking forward to, and not really settling on a bowl game this year.”
Noah Fifita led Arizona with 275 yards passing and one touchdown, but he also had three interceptions and lost a fumble.
“I got to fix a lot of things,” Fifita said. “I got to get better individually. So, (I’m) just not even close to where I want to be individually, and not close to where we need to be offensively.”
Tetairoa McMillan had five catches for 78 yards for the Wildcats and moved into fourth place on the school’s career receiving yards list.
Arizona (3-3, 1-2 Big 12) has lost four straight games to BYU.
BYU forced turnovers on two of its first three defensive plays in the second half, similar to how they gained momentum against Kansas State earlier this season.
Jakob Robinson of BYU intercepted a pass after batting the ball to himself, which led to a 9-yard touchdown catch by Chase Roberts. Then, Harrison Taggart recovered a fumble after Isaiah Glasker stripped Fifita on a sack, resulting in a 33-yard field goal by Will Ferrin that increased BYU’s lead to 24-7 just two minutes into the third quarter.
“Coming in here, we knew that the turnover thing was going to be a big deal and that was something that we didn’t handle great,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said.
LJ Martin scored on a 1-yard run, and Glasker scored on a 21-yard interception return in the fourth quarter to secure the win for the Cougars.
