The Bearcats’ perfect start ended hard in Tucson.
Cincinnati was handled 34-7 by Arizona on Oct. 3, 2026, suffering its first loss of the season and its first road defeat of the year. The night never really tilted back in UC’s favor after Arizona grabbed control early and kept widening the gap.
Arizona set the tone immediately with a scoring drive capped by fourth-year running back Kedrick Reescano’s 10-yard touchdown run. Cincinnati’s first possession went nowhere, ending in a three-and-out and a punt.
The Bearcats did get a brief lift on the Wildcats’ next series when fifth-year Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita was intercepted by fifth-year UC safety MJ Cannon. But the momentum didn’t last. Cincinnati couldn’t cash in, and the drive stalled with fourth-year quarterback JC French IV taking a sack.
UC did move the ball better in the second quarter, but nothing stuck. French later went to the end zone on fourth down in what looked like a touchdown, only for the play to be ruled out of bounds. Arizona added a field goal before halftime and carried a 10-0 lead into the break.
There was another chance for Cincinnati to swing things after fifth-year cornerback Jacob Finley punched the ball loose from fourth-year Arizona running back Antwan Roberts Jr. on a long run. The ball bounced around the end zone before fifth-year UC linebacker Antwan Peek Jr. batted it out of bounds, which drew a penalty. Fifita then finished the sequence with a quarterback run to make it 17-0.
The Bearcats kept coming up short on fourth down, including another failed try when French fell short of the line to gain. From there, Arizona kept piling on. Fifita connected on his first touchdown pass of the game to third-year wide receiver Brandon Phelps to stretch the lead to 24-0 in the third quarter, then hit fourth-year tight end Tyler Powell for another score in the fourth to make it 34-0.
Cincinnati finally found the end zone late, with French leading a drive that ended in the Bearcats’ only points of the night.
The loss dropped UC to 4-1. The Bearcats now head into a bye week before traveling to Morgantown on Oct. 17 to face West Virginia.
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