Behind Nick Foles’ nearly perfect first half, the Wildcats are hanging with No. 6 Stanford as they trail the Cardinal 16-10 at the break.
Foles completed his first 17 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown and finished the half 18-for-21 for 198 yards. Stanford struck first as Luck led the Cardinal on a nine-play, 57-yard drive capped by a 20-yard field goal by kicker Jordan Williamson.
It appeared as if Stanford was set to punch it in with a first-and-goal from the Arizona 3-yard line. But cornerback Trevin Wade, who finished the half with five tackles and two touchdown-saving pass break-ups, nearly intercepted Luck’s two-yard pass leading to a Stanford field goal.
Arizona’s offense looked stagnant, turning in its second consecutive three-and-out and opening the door for an Anthony Wilkerson 24-yard touchdown run on a Stanford 4th and 2.
The Wildcats bounced back, however, as Foles led Arizona on a seven-play, 69-yard drive capped by a 27-yard field goal by Jaime Salazar. During the drive Foles completed all four of his passes for 70 yards, setting the table for an impressive second quarter.
Stanford answered with a 45-yard-field goal by Williamson before Foles and the Wildcats put together their best drive of the game. Foles completed all eight of his passes for 84 yards capped by a six-yard touchdown pass to Juron Criner, who led the Wildcats with four catches for 35 yards in his first game back from an appendectomy.
Williamson followed up the UA drive with his third field goal of the game, this time form 33 yards out.
It looked like Arizona was going to put points on the board to close out the half after Foles drove the Wildcats to the Stanford 37-yard line with 22 seconds left, but after a Foles sack and Stanford pass interference, Salazar missed a 45-yard field goal to close out the half.