Arizona 34-24 Washington State (Sep 26, 2026) Final Score

Team pages: Arizona · Washington State

Arizona3-134

Washington State1-324Final

Sat, Sep 26 · Gesa Field, Pullman, Wash. · Crowd 23,903

Arizona beat Washington State 34-24.

We had Arizona favored. It won.

Next: Arizona beat Cincinnati 34-7, Sat Oct 3

Next: Washington State lost to Fresno State 26-6, Sat Oct 3

Top comment in the game thread

Us getting finished off by a 51 yard field goal from a kicker that all the UA fans hate seems like a fitting end to this one.

Q4 2:37 · r/CFB game thread · Sat, Sep 26

How it swung

The turning point: Fifita intercepted by Bal at the Arizona 25 and returned for a TD, Washington State leads 14-0 (Q1, 2:05). Arizona went from 50% to 30% to win. Fans right then: “Thanks to arm punt that was a short pick-6.” r/CFB game thread

Before kickoff, our ratings gave Arizona a 58% chance, and the closing betting line (Arizona was a 11.5-point favorite) put it at 82%.

Arizona came back from 14 down, at one point just a 28% chance in the first quarter.

Washington State led by 14, was as high as 72% in the first quarter, and still lost.

Pick-six

Washington State · Q1 2:05Blocked field goalQ2 3:36Blocked field goalQ3 6:00

FinalArizona 34-24 Washington StateArizona wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.

The two plays that swung it

1Q1 2:05InterceptionPenaltyFifita intercepted by Bal at the Arizona 25 and returned for a TD, Washington State leads 14-0Arizona 50% → 30% (−20)
2Q3 6:00Salgado-Medina 43-yd field goal no good, blockedArizona 62% → 47% (−15)

The two plays that swung it

1Q1 2:05InterceptionPenaltyFifita intercepted by Bal at the Arizona 25 and returned for a TD, Washington State leads 14-0Washington State 50% → 70% (+20)
2Q3 6:00Salgado-Medina 43-yd field goal no good, blockedWashington State 38% → 53% (+15)

What fans said, play by play

The line in bold above each quote is written by our model from the thread’s comments and the play-by-play.

Q1 10:33Pinnick runs for a touchdown, giving Washington State a 7-0 lead#STOP THE COUNT!r/CFB game thread
Q1 2:57The quarterback threw an interception directly to a defender.Why'd he throw it to that guy who is not on our team?r/CFB game thread
Q1 2:05Washington State fans chanted 'fuck the wildcats' on the stream.Thanks to arm punt that was a short pick-6.r/CFB game thread
Q2 1:43Officials overturn Pinnick interception, Arizona fans celebrate fair callWhat a terrible throw lmaor/CFB game thread
Q2 0:27Stevens kicks a field goal to give Washington State a 17-14 leadSTEVENS I NEVER DOUBTED YOU!!!r/CFB game threadActually huge, we really do need to be able to kick and he needs to know we can trust him. that 3rd down play call was still bad thoughr/CFB game thread
Q3 9:25Arizona's Salgado-Medina misses a 42-yard field goal as fans mock the kickerYour field goal kicker sucksr/CFB game thread
Q3 4:02Fifita throws deep touchdown to Smith as Arizona takes leadSigh… that was a really nice catchr/CFB game thread
Q4 7:15Arizona fans rip Danny Gonzales for Cover 0 blitz on 4th and longCover 0 on 4th and 10 with man press is a choicer/CFB game threadZero blitz on 4th and long *thousand yard stare*r/CFB game thread
Q4 2:37Arizona's Salgado-Medina kicks a 51-yard field goal to make it 34-24I’ve never said anything bad about Michael Salgado-Medinar/CFB game threadQuoted at the top of the page.

Arizona’s chance to win after every play.

How to read this chart

Starts from the pregame line (Arizona -11.5), at 68% for Arizona (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores. Outlined diamonds mark rare plays. Under the scores, r/CFB comments per minute from fans with a Washington State or Arizona flair (572 and 503); both sides share one scale, regulation only. A gold diamond marks a play fans were reacting to.

Watch the plays

The bar and the arrow show Arizona’s chance to win after each play; the logo is the team the play helped.

Every drive

Arizona scored on 6 of its 14 drives; Washington State on 3 of its 12.

Arizona’s drives are teal, Washington State’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

From Washington State’s side

Washington State’s best moment: Fifita intercepted by Bal at the Arizona 25 and returned for a TD, Washington State leads 14-0 (Q1 2:05). It lifted Washington State’s win chance by 20 points.

How Washington State fans took it: “I’m starting to believe our playoff chances may be in jeopardy” r/CFB game thread

“I’d expect any previous PAC-12 team that comes into Pullman to get the same treatment.”

A Washington State fan

How fans reacted

Quiet

Fans had the most to say in the opening quarter.

Jump to the loudest stretch

The jump was quiet; the crowd was quiet.

Too close to call on 49% of plays.

What it cost

Washington State’s chance to make the playoff fell from 3% to 1%.

Make the playoff

Arizona · won4% → ▲5%

Washington State · lost3% → ▼1%

Win the conference

Arizona · won4% → 4%

Washington State · lost15% → ▼14%

Before the game (September 25, 2026) → after this result, in our model.

Box score

Arizona 34, Washington State 24

Washington State covered +11.5 by 1.5. The total, 58, went over 47.5.

Team totals	Arizona	Washington State
Total yards	447	335
Passing	22 of 36, 297 yds	24 of 41, 241 yds
Rushing	38 for 150 yds	30 for 94 yds
First downs	24	23
Third down	7 of 15	5 of 15
Fourth down	0 of 0	1 of 2
Turnovers	1	2
Penalties	5 for 65 yds	7 for 56 yds
Time of possession	34:02	25:58

Arizona leaders

Passing Noah Fifita 22 of 36, 297 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Ismail Mahdi 10 for 63 yds; Kedrick Reescano 7 for 34 yds
Receiving Tre Spivey 7 for 129 yds, 2 TD; Caleb Smith 4 for 86 yds, 1 TD

Washington State leaders

Passing Caden Pinnick 24 of 41, 241 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Kirby Vorhees 9 for 39 yds; Caden Pinnick 13 for 35 yds, 1 TD
Receiving Branden Ganashamoorthy 4 for 67 yds, 1 TD; Darrius Clemons 4 for 57 yds

No rain and calm

58° at kickoff · no rain recorded · wind 3 mph from the northeast, gusts to 10

The usual here around this date is 60°, with about 7 in 10 games between 49° and 69°.

September game-day temperatures at Gesa Field

Drag along the chart, or step through the game.

First quarter, 2:05 left5:14 p.m.

Arizona 0, Washington State 14 · Washington State 70% to win

no rain · wind 3 mph from the north-northeast · 57°

Fifita intercepted by Bal at the Arizona 25 and returned for a TD, Washington State leads 14-0

Measured at Pullman/moscow Rgnl airport, 2.5 miles away. Rain is NOAA's radar-and-gauge estimate at the stadium and wind is an airport reading; neither is measured on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet; rain radar from NOAA MRMS, through Iowa State University. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last three games

Arizona · 2-1

Rated 27th in our preseason ratings, 28th now.

2-1 in its last three — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.

W 42-17 vs Northern Illinois #108 of 668

won by 25 as a 34.5-point favorite

L 17-28 @ BYUTop 25 #9 of 668

lost by 11 as a 6.5-point underdog

W 35-7 vs Northern Arizona #152 of 668

won by 28 as a 33.5-point favorite

Last three games

Washington State · 1-2

Rated 43rd in our preseason ratings, 49th now.

1-2 in its last three — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.

W 48-7 vs Duquesne #212 of 668

won by 41 as a 38.5-point favorite

L 7-34 @ Kansas State #25 of 668

lost by 27 as a 17.5-point underdog

L 10-24 @ WashingtonTop 25 #25 of 668

lost by 14 as a 23.5-point underdog

Week by week

Washington State

Wk 1Lat Washington10-24
Wk 2Lat Kansas State7-34
Wk 3Wvs Duquesne48-7

Arizona

Wk 1Wvs Northern Arizona35-7
Wk 2Lat BYU17-28
Wk 3Wvs Northern Illinois42-17

Power rating by week

Arizona is rated 2.7 points ahead as of week 3. Our power rating by week; higher is better.

Matchups

Biggest mismatch: Washington State’s success rate against Arizona, 82 points

Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.

Washington State’s success rate against Arizona’s defense
Washington State offense, 3rd percentile · Arizona defense, 85th
Washington State’s passing EPA against Arizona’s defense
Washington State offense, 8th percentile · Arizona defense, 85th
Washington State’s explosive plays against Arizona’s defense
Washington State offense, 41st percentile · Arizona defense, 2nd

Season profile, all the rows

Season profile

ArizonaWashington State

EPA/play, offense

EPA/play, defense

Success rate, offense

Success rate, defense

Explosive-play rate, offense

Explosive-play rate, defense

Rush EPA, offense

Rush EPA, defense

Pass EPA, offense

Pass EPA, defense

The series

Arizona leads the series 28-19

47 meetings since 1963 · Arizona won the last meeting

2023Arizona 44-6
2022Washington State 31-20
2021Washington State 44-18
2018Washington State 69-28
2017Arizona 58-37

Each line is Washington State’s chance to win through that meeting. Older meetings have no play by play, so no line.

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Arizona fans are feeling it more than most fanbases this week (79th among FBS fanbases), in line with the numbers.

Arizona favored by 11.5 · Total 47.5

How games like this usually go

Arizona by 11.5, and it went to form

Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game

The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 385 games since 2025 with a favorite of 7.5 to 14.5 points.

The market

The spread moved 2 points toward Washington State.

The total fell 1 point.

The books’ cut: 4.2%, the margin built into the odds

Weather at kickoff

Cool and dry. Feels like 52° at kickoff.

Arizona at Washington State · Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026 · Gesa Field, Pullman

52°feels like at kickoff
Dryno rain at kickoff
93weather score, Comfortable
Bestof the day's 4 kickoff times

At kickoff, Sept. 26, 2026.

Weather score: 0 to 100, higher is better, for the first 3 hours and 20 minutes of the game. Ideal is 100, Comfortable 90 to 99, Mixed 75 to 89, Rough 50 to 74, Harsh under 50.

Kickoff times that Saturday

Games in this time zone used 4 kickoff times that day, local time (kickoffs within 30 minutes of each other count as one). This game, ringed, was the best of the day's four kickoff times. At Gesa Field that day, a 7:30 pm or 8 pm kickoff would have scored 87, against 93 at 4:30 pm.

4:30 pm: 93, Comfortable (this game)
6 pm: 89, Mixed
7:30 pm: 87, Mixed
8 pm: 87, Mixed

Weather score at each kickoff time.

Tap a dot to read that kickoff time.

At kickoff, Sept. 26, 2026. Wind is not drawn here; gusts are in each score.

Home field

Washington State is worth +5.2 points (±4.0) more at home than on the road since 2018 — top third of FBS, 70th percentile.

63% at home, 34% on the road against FBS opponents (26-15 home, 15-29 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads -1.4 at home vs. away over 93 games — inside the ±6.6 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

The visitors travel about 1,055 miles to get here.

Last meeting in our History pages

Arizona 44, Washington State 6Oct 14, 2023

Our History pages cover 3 of their meetings since 2016.

Arizona beats Washington State 34-24