Arizona puts itself in early trouble with costly penalty, turnover against No. 8 Washington State

PULLMAN – It’s hard enough to play No. 8 Washington State in its own back yard, but Arizona made it even tougher on Saturday with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that helped extend the Cougar’s first drive that ended with a James Williams touchdown.

On the next drive, Washington State’s Marcus Strong intercepted Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate. The Wildcat defense then twice-in-a-row got called for 15-yard facemask penalties against freshman running back Max Borghi.

The two penalties set up Borghi’s 1-yard scoring plunge to make it 14-0 WSU early in the first quarter.

With the touchdown, Borghi pulled within one touchdown of the record number of scores by a freshman. He currently trails the 12 touchdowns scored in 1999 by receiver Deon Burnett.