Wacky things tend to happen whenever Arizona and Cal meet up to play football.
Just ask former Wildcats linebacker Colin Schooler, who broke up a pass in the back of the end zone to give Arizona a 45-44, double-overtime win over the Golden Bears in 2017.
“Man, it was a crazy game. I know the time before that, there was a Hail Mary, then that game happened. There’s something about ‘Pac-12 After Dark,’ road game, double-overtime,” Schooler told ESPN Tucson this week. “It was a crazy atmosphere and we showed a lot of grit. We played more than a full game, so that’s one I’ll always remember.”
Arizona’s Pac-12 opener on Saturday against Cal won’t quite be a late-night special with the game kicking off at 2:30 p.m.. But considering how the last game in Berkeley resulted, a thriller could be in store. That game five years ago is among the top five most memorable matchups between the Wildcats and Golden Bears. Here’s our list, in no particular order:
2017: Schooler’s defensive heroics secures ‘W’
Score: Arizona 45, Cal 44, double-overtime
Location: Berkeley
What went down: Former Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate had 166 passing yards and rushed for 137 yards, including a 76-yard touchdown run in the first half; he finished the night with three touchdowns and an interception. After starting running back J.J. Taylor was ejected for targeting, backup Zach Green rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Arizona’s inexperienced defense had enough for one stop on a two-point conversion in double-overtime. Schooler deflected the pass just under the goal post.
He said it: “We figured their defense had problems stopping our offense, so they would rather bend on offense versus their defense at that point in the game. Normally when you’re the home team, you play for overtime and you’re more conservative. But going for two, they came out, we called timeout and said, ‘This is it, this is for the game. Win this play, we win the game.’ They came out in an empty set — most of the time, it’s a pass, so we were prepared and made a play on the ball and got to finish the game in style.” — Schooler
1983: UA fritters away massive lead
Score: Arizona 33, Cal 33 (tie)
Location: Berkeley
What went down: Arizona led the Golden Bears 26-3 following a Ricky Hunley pick-six. Cal then scored four touchdowns to tie the game 33-33 with 48 seconds left. Quarterback Gale Gilbert passed for a career-best 344 yards. Arizona missed a potential game-winning 62-yard field goal.
He said it: “It was just a case of big plays. They changed the momentum. I’m not pleased with the defense.” — Former UA head coach Larry Smith
UA safety Christian Young celebrated after the Wildcats knocked off Cal last fall.
2021: Cats snap losing streak
Score: Arizona 10, Cal 3
Location: Tucson
What went down: Arizona, riding a 20-game losing streak that went back to the 2019 season, was desperate for a win — and if there was ever a time to end a program-worst losing streak, it was against a Cal team that was missing 24 players, including starting quarterback Chase Garbers, because of COVID-19 protocols. The Golden Bears only had 63 players available. Of course, Arizona struggled, too: quarterback Will Plummer exited the game twice with an injury, and the Wildcats were without down three starting offensive linemen. UA running back Michael Wiley rushed for the game-winning touchdown, and Arizona cornerback Treydan Stukes deflected Cal’s pass on the final fourth down of the game to secure the long-awaited win.
He said it: “It’s been a monkey on the back. You can’t avoid it, even if you want to. As much as we talk about one game, each game is a championship opportunity, for them just to be done with that ... they sung ‘Bear Down’ about as loud as possible. These guys know that, ‘Hey, that’s behind us.’ Now let’s go out and see how many more we can get.” — UA coach Jedd Fisch
2006: Antoine Cason’s pick-six lifts Wildcats past loaded Bears
Score: Arizona 24, No. 8 Cal 20
Location: Tucson
What went down: Cal led Arizona 17-3 at halftime following a 95-yard punt return by DeSean Jackson, who also had a 62-yard touchdown reception. The Wildcats rallied to tied the game 17-17 following a pair of Chris Henry rushing touchdowns. With just under 13 minutes to play, Cal quarterback Nate Longshore was intercepted by Arizona star cornerback Antoine Cason. Cason, the future Thorpe Award winner, returned the pick 39 yards up Cal’s sideline for a go-ahead touchdown. Arizona stunned an eighth-ranked Cal team that had future NFL stars in Jackson, running backs Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett, center Alex Mack and defensive tackle Brandon Mebane.
He said it: “Playing against Cal at that time, they were always in the top 15, top 20 during the years that I was there. … They were always a pretty good team. Being able to have five interceptions against them in four years, I feel like I own Cal.” — Cason
Austin Hill snagged a 47-yard Hail Mary pass to give Arizona a wild 49-45 victory over Cal in 2014.
2014: ‘Hill Mary’ completes comeback
Score: Arizona 49, Cal 45
Location: Tucson
What went down: Arizona trailed Cal 45-30 with 5:21 left to play before scoring 19 consecutive points to pull off a stunning win. On the final play of the game, Anu Solomon heaved a 47-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Austin Hill. The “Hill Mary” completed a 33-point fourth-quarter performance by the Wildcats. The following week, Arizona upset No. 2 Oregon in Eugene. The Wildcats went on to win the Pac-12 South Division.
He said it: “It was a team effort, but it was also a super choke job on Cal’s part. If they would’ve just stopped us from doing one thing that luckily happened in our favor, we would’ve lost that game and had no chance. I don’t like to use the word luck, because we put ourselves in position to win that game. But there was definitely some crazy stuff to happen in order for us to even be in position for a Hail Mary to happen. Looking back on it, it was just a crazy sequence of events.” — Hill
