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Arizona's 24-20 win over the Kansas Jayhawks Saturday afternoon at Arizona Stadium for homecoming didn't have the style points like previous victories this season. 

Heck, it was flat-out ugly at times, but the Wildcats gutted out a win to become bowl eligible for the first time under head coach Brent Brennan. 

It's the third time in the last nine seasons Arizona is going to a bowl game. The Wildcats went to the Foster Farms Bowl in '17 and the Alamo Bowl in '23. The Wildcats have won back-to-back games since suffering back-to-back losses to BYU and Houston.

Brennan started his postgame press conference by yelling, "Yeah! Let's go! ... What an awesome day in Arizona Stadium. ... It's a really, really special day." 

"There's so many good things that we should be excited about," he added. "I know it wasn't perfect and that's OK. ... But we're going to enjoy this. We're going to enjoy every part of this. The excitement in that locker room, the joy coming off the field, the joy on the field at the end of the game during the last moment and (the clock) hit zeros and everyone got to experience that, it was magic. Absolute magic."

Here are notable storylines, statistics and quotes from Arizona’s win over Kansas, along with an injury report and a look at what’s next for the Wildcats.

Resilience, grit power the Wildcats late

The Wildcats flirted with danger. 

With just over a minute left in the first half, Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita attempted a pass to running back Kedrick Reescano near the right sideline, but Kansas defensive end Leroy Harris III dropped back in coverage, jumped the pass and intercepted Fifita for a 77-yard touchdown, which was nullified after KU defensive back Jalen Todd was flagged for holding.  

The pick-six would've given the Jayhawks a 24-7 lead at halftime. Kansas also started the second half on offense. The penalty kept Arizona's drive alive. Following a 7-yard run by Fifita, the UA QB threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to running back Quincy Craig, who ran a flat route and dove for the right pylon. Fifita's second touchdown of the game tied Nick Foles and Willie Tuitama for Arizona's career touchdowns record.

"Noah Fifita is everything to this program," Brennan said. "He's an incredible leader, he's an incredible human being, he's an incredible person in this community, he cares about the U of A, he's loyal, he's chosen to stay. The whole world tried to buy him the last two offseasons, he chose to stay. He's so special." 

Arizona went into the halftime break trailing 17-14 and forced a three-and-out to start the second half. Even though running back Ismail Mahdi had a 38-yard run and freshman wide receiver Gio Richardson had a 22-yard reception at the Kansas 25-yard line, the UA offense stalled and settled for a 41-yard field goal by kicker Michael Salgado-Medina to tie the game at 17.

Kansas had a chance to take a 23-17 lead late in the fourth quarter with a 30-yard field goal by Laith Marjan, but the missed field goal kept the game at 20-17 in favor of Kansas. Marjan was a perfect 14-for-14 before the miss. He made field goals from 50 and 46 yards against Arizona.

"That crowd mattered in that moment," Brennan said. "That crowd impacted that moment. That's what we're talking about when we say we're building a real challenging, hard advantage at Arizona Stadium."

Just before the missed field goal, KU quarterback Jalon Daniels fumbled the football inside the red zone (shades of the end of regulation of Arizona's double-overtime loss to BYU), was injured and was removed from the game by officials. 

"If Jalon was in the game, we were going for it (on fourth down on the Arizona 11-yard line)," said Kansas head coach Lance Leipold.

"It's not like if the helmet comes off, we can use a timeout to put them back in the game," Leipold said. "With an injury, we could not. We were going to put a different quarterback in." 

Instead of installing its backup quarterback for a play and risk a turnover, the Jayhawks opted to kick a field goal with their kicker who didn't miss all season until the biggest moment of the game. 

The missed field goal put a shot of energy into Arizona Stadium, specifically the UA sideline. But the job wasn't finished. The Wildcats trailed 20-17 and needed to drive the length of the field to either win the game or send it to overtime. 

Fifita was in a zen-like state of mind. 

"Everyone is going crazy and there's lots of emotion, he looks like he's fishing at the lake — he's just calm," Brennan said of Fifita. "He's totally focused on what's ahead. Because of that, the guys feel that from him. He's a really special player and an even better human being."  

The stage was set for Fifita to set Arizona's career passing touchdowns record in game-winning fashion. Instead, Arizona relied on its rushing attack, which wasn't impactful for most of the game. 

"I saw the (offensive line) open up a nice hole for me to get through," said Craig, who had two touchdowns on five touches on Saturday. "The rest was was simple, just find my way to the end zone." 

Craig's game-winning touchdown run "was definitely one of my favorite touchdowns I've experienced, because it was a comeback win. It was a team win," he said. Saturday marked Craig's first time finding the end zone since Arizona's season-opening win over Hawaii in August. 

It was the only touchdown of the second half for either team. Arizona scored on four of its 11 drives and punted a season-high eight times against Kansas. The Wildcats also had a season-high four three-and-outs. 

Arizona's 323 yards of total offense is the fewest in a win since they had 265 against Cal in 2018. Arizona had 165 rushing yards and 158 passing yards. It's the second time this season Arizona finished a game with more rushing yards than passing yards — first since the season opener against Hawaii. 

"The thing I'm excited about is how we responded late in the game," Brenna said. "That last drive, we ran the ball to win the game. How fantastic is that? ... How incredible was that when that thing split and Quincy housed it? The way the stadium and the sideline erupted, if you don't like college football, there's something wrong with you, because that was incredible."

Sometimes it's not about how you start, it's how you finish.  

"We knew it was going to be a dogfight and going back-and-forth, throwing punches," Craig said. "How can we finish the game? We started fast, but how can we finish the game? How can we do it with this next play and next drive? We got it done in the end and that was the goal."

Said Brennan: "All week, we talked about about what a physical game this was going to be. I said it over and over again, because we have a ton of respect for Kansas and we knew who they are: super well-coached, outstanding in all three phases, they're the best special teams in the Big 12 statistically, so we knew it was going to be an incredible battle, but our players just kept responding and kept finding ways to respond in some really tough moments."

If the Wildcats didn't have unlucky penalties at the end of their walk-off loss to Houston or didn't fritter away a two-possession lead to BYU, it's conceivable Arizona is sitting at 8-1 and is considered one of the top-tier teams in the Big 12 race. Both games ended on the final play of the game.

Fifita had two other near interceptions, but one was dropped and the other was ruled an incomplete pass after official review. Between Fifita's near interceptions and Daniels' injury in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats caught breaks they didn't have in their previous two setbacks.

Karma from the football gods? Brennan doesn't buy it. 

"What I choose to believe is that we learned from the BYU and Houston experience," said the Arizona coach. "We went into this game respecting the hell out of Kansas, and we knew we were going to have to keep swinging, keep standing up. They were going to land punches and we had to keep answering the bell — and they did. That's what I'm most excited about." 

Wildcats' defense rises in second half

The last part of Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales' mantra is "keep them out of the freaking end zone." He's said it several times since he was promoted from linebackers coach earlier this year, and his players have echoed it throughout the season. 

They accomplished that in the second half on Saturday. Kansas' final touchdown was a 24-yard pass from Daniels to wide receiver Emmanuel Henderson Jr.  to take a 14-7 lead with 11:17 left in the second quarter.

In the second half, Arizona held Kansas to a field goal and forced the Jayhawks to punt thrice, "which is outstanding defense," Brennan said. 

Arizona has pitched 12 shutout quarters this season — they've played 36 this season (excluding overtime). Arizona didn't allow a touchdown in 22 of those 36 quarters.  

Linebackers Max Harris and Taye Brown and strong safety Dalton Johnson led the team with nine tackles apiece. 

Arizona senior defensive back Treydan Stukes had three pass breakups on third-down plays on Saturday — all three forcing the Jayhawks to punt. The third pass breakup was on a deep pass to the end zone from Daniels to Henderson late in the third quarter. In addition to three pass breakups, Stukes also had four tackles. Stukes and Johnson combined for five of Arizona's six pass breakups. 

'Cats Going Bowling'

Brennan shut down the idea of him manifesting a bowl berth by on the "Wildcat Walk" before the game. 

"That is a common question I get about my shoe choice," Brennan said. "Those are saddle shoes and they're swaggy as hell. That's my jam. I've been a saddle shoe guy for a long time. You only notice after we win our sixth game? I've been wearing those same shoes every game this year." 

The shoes Brennan wore were spikeless FootJoy golf shoes. Brennan found it "disheartening" that once he was hired by Arizona last year, "FootJoy went out of the saddle shoe design, they stopped doing it, so I can't get the red and blue (shoes) or else I'd be rocking those everywhere," he said.

"You can call them bowling shoes all you want, but I know what I'm doing," Brennan joked.

After the game, Arizona Stadium had a "Cats Going Bowling" graphic on the video board to celebrate the program's first postseason berth since hiring Brennan.  

The Pac-12 bowl affiliations still apply for the Wildcats this year, so Arizona could conceivably play in the Las Vegas Bowl at Allegiant Stadium or the LA Bowl, which is hosted by UA great Rob Gronkowski at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. 

Representatives from the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl and Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl were in attendance for the Arizona-Kansas game. The Sun Bowl is on New Year's Eve at noon in El Paso, Texas, and the winning coach gets doused in Frosted Flakes cereal. The Independence Bowl is on Dec. 30 at noon in Shreveport, Louisiana.

"This is a really special group of guys," Brennan said. "I give our players and our assistant coaches a ton of credit. They built this team. It started in December and January and it's been 10 or 11 months of finding ways to get connected. ... The beauty about it, this team gets a little bit of a longer lifespan, and that's special."

Added Brennan: "This is a stepping stone. Yay, we got to six (wins). That's not good enough for me, that's not good enough for these kids. We want to keep playing good football. How can we continue to improve, continue to find ways to elevate Arizona football? That's what we're doing." 

By the numbers

1:ÌýFifita needs one more touchdown to set Arizona's career passing touchdown record. 

2-9:ÌýArizona's record under Brennan when trailing at halftime. The only other win was against Northern Arizona last season.

3: Arizona now has three Big 12 wins, passing last season's total. 

6:ÌýArizona tight end Sam Olson caught his first touchdown in six games. Olson now has two touchdown receptions this season, matching his total from last season. 

7.6:ÌýAverage distance (yards) for ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV on third-down plays against Kansas. The Jayhawks' average distance was 6.8 yards.

17:ÌýKansas had 17 quarterback pressures on Saturday, according to Pro Football Focus. 

52:ÌýFifita's completion percentage against Kansas, which is the lowest since the win over Kansas State in September. 

70:ÌýDaniels launched the ball roughly 70 yards into the back of the end zone on the final Hail Mary of the game.

201:ÌýSeveral Arizona fans followed a popular trend in college football and created a "shirtless section" in Section 201 at Arizona Stadium. The trend started last month at Oklahoma State and has spread throughout college football over the last few weeks. Brennan didn't notice the shirtless section and said, "My eyes don't normally go to the stands during the game." 

They said it

Brennan, on the buy-in from the UA players and administration: "Lots of people chose to be here and lots of people chose to stay. They chose to come or they chose to stay because they believe in the University of Arizona and they believe what we're doing with our football program. I don't think you get that if you don't have alignment from your president, your (athletic director), head coach, you have to have it from the top down. ... You have to have support and have to have everyone rowing in the same direction." 

Brennan, on Craig staying prepared despite not scoring in seven straight games: "That speaks to the unselfish nature of this team. One of the special things about this team is how they celebrate each other's successes. There's not jealousy there. I've been a part of teams where inside the same position group, guys were literally hoping someone fails, so they can get a chance; it's not like that with this team. ... We're trying to win as a team, not individually."  

Craig, on Fifita tying Arizona's career touchdowns record: "He's a hard-working guy and he's very humble. He's always working on his craft and I'm just happy to see that he accomplished something like that." 

Brennan, on the challenge of facing Kansas' defense: "That's one of those things you know about playing in the Big 12 conference, everybody can play, everybody is good. Any given Saturday, just look across the conference. We knew these guys were good up front. ... That front seven, we knew was going to be a challenge for us." 

Brown, on Arizona getting to a bowl game: "It's exciting. We've worked very hard since January to accomplish this. But this isn't where we stop. We're going to keep going and win out the rest of the season." 

Craig, on Arizona becoming bowl eligible: "It's definitely not over. We're going to get back to it. We have a 24-hour rule, we're going to experience this, be great with it and get after it again." 

Injury report

Arizona cornerback Marquis Groves-Killebrew, who has played 148 defensive snaps in six games, missed his second straight game with an undisclosed injury. Other Wildcats who missed Saturday include wide receiver Chris Hunter, offensive lineman Jordan Brown and redshirt freshman defensive end Eduwa Okundaye.

With just under six minutes left in the second quarter, Harris exited the game with a leg injury after a Kansas player dove into his right knee. Harris, flanked by trainers, struggled to walk off the field.

Harris, who has 57 tackles this season, has started all nine games for Arizona. He was replaced by freshman Myron Robinson. Harris returned to the game with a brace on his right leg. Robinson forced the fumble late in the game. 

"(Harris) was an absolute savage tonight," Brennan said. 

Arizona defensive tackle Tiaoalii Savea left the game with a leg injury in the fourth quarter.

Arizona left tackle Ty Buchanan left the game in the second half with an undisclosed injury. Instead of Rhino Tapa'atoutai, redshirt freshman Matthew Lado replaced Buchanan. Lado and left guard Chubba Maae had key blocks on Craig's touchdown run to win the game. 

What’s next

Arizona (6-3) now turns to its road matchup with No. 22 Cincinnati at Nippert Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 15, at 10 a.m. on FS1.   

It will be Arizona's eighth straight game with a kickoff time of 6 p.m. or earlier — the second one with a morning kickoff. The Wildcats faced the Houston Cougars at 9 a.m. last month. 

When Arizona faces Cincinnati this week, it'll be the first-ever matchup between the Wildcats and Bearcats, which joined the Big 12 in 2023 after stints in the American Athletic Conference and Big East. 

Cincinnati is led by third-year head coach Scott Satterfield, who is leading the Bearcats to their first winning season since 2022. Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby has the third-most rushing yards by a Big 12 quarterback this season behind Utah's Devon Dampier and BYU's Bear Bachmeier. Cincy is fourth in the conference in total offense and third in rushing offense. 

The Bearcats (7-2) are coming off a bye week after a 45-14 beatdown by 24th-ranked Utah in Salt Lake City. Cincinnati, now third in the Big 12 standings, suffered its first loss in conference play. 

"One of the things I'm excited about is that we're playing meaningful games in November," Brennan said. "At the University of Arizona, we're playing meaningful games in November. However we get it done, it doesn't matter. Would I like for it to be prettier? Sure. ... But at the end of the day, when we came out here today, the goal was to win. That's what we did, and we're excited about that."