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Arizona vs. Top Ten teams in Tucson

  • History is not kind to Arizona football teams that host Top Ten football teams. The Wildcats are 9-22 in such games at Arizona Stadium, including 2-4 in non-conference matchups (as will be the case Saturday when Iowa comes to Tucson).

    The last non-conference Top 10 team Arizona beat was No. 6 Oklahoma on Sept. 16, 1989. Doug Pfaff's late field goal beat the Sooners 6-3. The Wildcats have only hosted one other Top 10 non-conference team since that matchup -- No. 2 Miami, Fla., in 1991. The Hurricanes beat the Wildcats 36-9.

    After the UA's Desert Swarm defense shut down No. 1 Washington 16-3 in Tucson in 1992, the Wildcats lost 10 straight games in Tucson against teams ranked in the AP Top 10. That streak ended with Arizona's 52-14 rout over No. 7 UCLA on Nov. 5, 2005, which was in Mike Stoops' second year with the Wildcats.

    Stoops is 3-3 vs. Top 10 teams in Tucson with notable wins against the Bruins, No. 4 Cal in 2006 and No. 2 Oregon in 2007. Sixth-ranked USC is the last Top 10 team to play in Tucson on Oct. 25, 2008. They beat the Wildcats 17-10.

    Will Iowa make Arizona's record 9-23 vs. Top 10 teams in Tucson, or will the Wildcats finally reach double-digits in victories against such teams at Arizona Stadium?

    Here's the list of how Top 10 teams have fared in Tucson (research was done with the UA football media guide supplied by the Arizona media relations department):

    10/28/67 No. 10 Indiana 42, Arizona 7 (33,566 attendance)

    10/31/70 No. 7 Air Force 23, Arizona 20 (36,000)

    12/5/70 No. 9 ASU 10, Arizona 6 (38,500)

    10/11/80 No. 2 USC 27, Arizona 10 (54,789)

    10/25/80 No. 2 Notre Dame 20, Arizona 3 (56,211)

    11/1/80 Arizona 23, No. 2 UCLA 17 (42,876)

    9/18/82 No. 1 Washington 23, Arizona 13 (48,984)

    11/27/82 Arizona 28, No. 6 ASU 18 (58,515)

    10/5/85 Arizona 28, No. 6 SMU 6 (52,114)

    11/22/86 No. 14 Arizona 34, No. 4 ASU 17 (58,267)

    10/1/88 No. 3 USC 38, Arizona 15 (52,314)

    10/22/88 No. 1 UCLA 24, Arizona 3 (49,922)

    9/16/89 Arizona 6, No. 6 Oklahoma 3 (50,931)

    11/11/89 No. 9 USC 24, No. 25 Arizona 3 (52,606)

    10/26/91 No. 2 Miami, Fla. 36, Arizona 9 (53,349)

    11/7/92 No. 12 Arizona 16, No. 1 Washington 3 (58,510)

    9/23/96 No. 5 USC 31, Arizona 10 (58,503)

    11/23/96 No. 4 ASU 56, Arizona 14 (59,920)

    10/18/97 No. 10 Washington 58, Arizona 28 (50,585)

    10/10/98 No. 5 UCLA 52, No. 10 Arizona 28 (58,738)

    11/11/00 No. 10 Oregon St. 33, Arizona 9 (44,109)

    10/6/01 No. 8 Oregon 63, Arizona 28 (45,258)

    10/5/02 No. 8 Oregon 31, Arizona 14 (47,356)

    10/26/02 No. 9 Washington St. 21, Arizona 13 (46,462)

    11/15/03 No. 2 USC 45, Arizona 0 (39,201)

    10/23/05 No. 7 Cal 38, Arizona 0 (52,049)

    11/5/05 Arizona 52, No. 7 UCLA 14 (55,775)

    9/23/06 No. 3 USC 20, Arizona 3 (58,801)

    11/11/06 Arizona 24, No. 8 Cal 20 (56,021)

    11/15/07 Arizona 34, No. 2 Oregon 24 (50,387)

    10/25/08 No. 6 USC 17, Arizona 10 (57,427)

    31 games (9-22 overall, 2-4 non-conference)

    Javier Morales

  • Great stuff, Javier. I went to high school with Doug Pfaff and his dad helped me pick out the diamond for my wife when I got engaged. I was at that 1991 Miami game and was not too pleased. I like our chances this weekend though despite the history. Maybe it's just me, but I'm seeing a different brand of Arizona football this year (even compared to last year) as size, speed, depth and yes, talent, is really starting to come together.

    If Arizona can find that magic ingredient of FOCUS I think the 'Cats can be extremely dangerous in 2010 because of this "perception" that the defense is young and inexperienced.

    National Basketball Recruiting Analyst & Publisher of Wildcat Sports Report

    Gary Randazzo

  • And if Pete Carroll and USC weren't totally corrupt and IF we had never hired Mackovic.... we are likely .500 or better.

    "Arizona has no tradition" - Bill Walsh "We have a tradition of kicking Bill Walsh's ass" - Teddy Bruschi

    wineknow

  • I tell you what, I think the football gods are ready to pay back the Trojans in spades for their past decade. Not only did USC's defense again look weak, but its offense was borderline awful against Virginia. Somehow, USC's almighty offensive line struggled all night with Virginia 250-pound average defensive line.

    And Matt Barkley came crashing back down to earth tonight after his 5 TD throws last week. So far, I'm not impressed by USC at all, but admittedly my preseason expectations for the Trojans was extremely low anyway.

    National Basketball Recruiting Analyst & Publisher of Wildcat Sports Report

    Gary Randazzo

  • Some interesting notes off this list:
    -- Arizona played three No. 2 teams in Tucson in 1980 (losing to USC and Notre Dame and beating UCLA).
    -- The Trojans are 7-0 vs. the UA as a Top 10 team when playing in Tucson.
    -- This will be the 32nd game vs. a Top 10 team in Tucson in the last 43 years. It will be Stoops' seventh such contest in his seven years at the school, so the Cats are playing these top teams in Tucson at a greater clip under Stoops than the history trend.

    Javier Morales

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