The Oregon State Beavers saw a bit of their 18-point halftime lead against the Arizona Wildcats slip away in the third quarter, but they still ended the period on top with a 30-20 lead. The Wildcats will have possession to start the fourth quarter.
Arizona returned the second-half kickoff, but fumbled the ball away just five plays later. Oregon State punted the ball back after going 3-and-out, but Arizona again gave the back to the Beavers when Wildcats quarterback Nick Foles threw in an interception. The Beavers did capitalize on the turnover this time and scored on a 20-yard field goal by kicker Trevor Romaine.
Then the Wildcats started mounting their charge back into the game. Arizona pieced together an 83-yard drive and scored a 13-yard rush by Keola Antolin (plus a two-point conversion), and the Wildcats defense followed up by intercepting Beavers quarterback Sean Mannion at the Oregon State 28-yard line and returning the ball for a touchdown. The lead was cut to 30-20.
The Beavers had a chance to knock in another field goal with 1:24 left in the quarter, but Romaine missed a 42-yard attempt and gave the ball back to the Wildcats. Arizona will begin the game's fourth quarter on its own 34-yard line.