Brandon Dawkins, starting in place of injured Anu Solomon, ran for two touchdowns and threw for another, all in the second half, and Arizona rallied from an 18-point deficit and escaped with a 31-21 victory over Grambling State on Saturday night.
The Wildcats (1-1), 45-point favorites, trailed 21-3 at halftime and looked in danger of their first-ever loss to an FCS school.
But the Tigers (1-1), who lost quarterback DeVante Kincade to injury late in the first half, committed six second-half turnovers, four of them in a row in the third quarter. Backup Trevon Cherry threw three interceptions and fumbled the ball away once.