MANHATTAN, Kan. — The Wildcats won. It just wasn’t the visitors from Tucson.

No. 20 Arizona fell to 14th-ranked Kansas State 31-7 on Friday night at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, snapping a nine-game winning streak that dates back to last season.

The setback is Arizona’s first loss under head coach Brent Brennan. While Friday night was a game between two Big 12 teams, it was a previously scheduled non-conference game, so the loss will not count against UA’s record in the Big 12 standings.

After not playing at full strength last week against Northern Arizona and putting pressure on quarterback Noah Fifita, the UA offensive line used its starting lineup from the season opener. Left tackle Rhino Tapa’toutai, who suffered a leg injury in the season opener against New Mexico, returns along with left guard Wendell Moe, center Josh Baker, right guard Ryan Stewart and right tackle Jonah Savaiinaea; Baker missed last week after starting the previous 28 games.

Protection for Fifita was cleaner on Friday, and run blocking for the UA was effective. Arizona set the tone with a well-balanced 14-play, 73-yard touchdown drive that ate up 7:34 of the clock, with seven passes and seven runs. Running back Quali Conley scored his fourth touchdown of the season.

Arizona receiver Tetairoa McMillan had more receiving yards on the UA’s opening drive than he did last week (11). McMillan finished Friday night with 11 catches for 138 yards. McMillan passed Theopolis “T” Bell for fifth all-time in UA receiving yards.

A week after going 0-for-10 on third-down conversions, Arizona went 5-for-14 on Friday, but was 1-for-4 on fourth-down plays.

Kansas State, which entered Friday as one of the top 20 rushing teams in college football, rushed for 235 yards, led by its triple-threat rushing attack of DJ Giddens, dual-threat quarterback Avery Johnson, who Brennan called “ridiculously explosive,” and Dylan Edwards, who returned a punt 71 yards for a touchdown, the first punt return the UA has allowed for a touchdown since against Colorado in 2021. Johnson finished the night with a career-high 110 rushing yards.

KSU outrebounded Arizona 235-56 on 40 attempts to UA’s 19. Senior running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt was sidelined for the second straight game due to eligibility concerns. Conley had 14 of Arizona’s 19 rushing attempts for 48 yards.

Arizona entered Friday as the seventh-most penalized team in the FBS. Brennan said last week that Arizona “has to play football the right way or it’s going to cost us a chance or a game.”

Arizona didn’t commit a penalty in the first quarter. Then Arizona was hit with an avalanche of penalties, with seven penalties for 59 yards in the second quarter. Arizona had nine penalties for 74 yards on Friday. Arizona has been awarded 28 penalties for 169 yards in three games this season.

With a chance to tie the game, Fifita threw his third interception of the season. Fifita attempted a deep pass over the middle to sophomore receiver Malachi Riley on a seam route, but a pursuing Kansas State cornerback Keenan Garber leaped into the end zone to intercept the Arizona quarterback.

Despite a slew of second-quarter penalties and a turnover, Arizona had a chance with a missed 48-yard field goal by Chris Tennant and poor clock management by KSU. Kansas State had a chance to take the lead with two possessions at halftime — three early in the second half — but Johnson struggled on the final play of the first half, running away for the final 11 seconds of an empty-nose drive.

Trailing 14-7, Arizona forced a three-and-out to start the second half, but the offense stalled. Here’s how Arizona’s drives ended after the opening touchdown:

• Point
• Interception
• Point
• Point
• Point
• Turnover in declines
• Turnover in declines
• Turnover in declines

Kansas State nearly scored in the second half after their first-half debacle with two touchdowns and a 35-yard field goal. KSU scored 31 unanswered points en route to handing Arizona their first loss of the season.

Arizona (2-1) has a week off before taking on No. 12 Utah in Salt Lake City for the Big 12 season opener.

• Arizona starting strong safety Dalton Johnson was sidelined Friday. Free safety Gunner Maldonado, who was sidelined last week, started in Johnson’s place with sophomore Genesis Smith starting at free safety.
• Arizona wore candy-red helmets with the “Cats” script logo. Friday marked the first time they wore red helmets in four seasons. Arizona is 18-18 since 2013, when they wore red helmets.