Editor’s note: Until the postponed Pac-12 football season resumes, the Star will revisit Arizona Wildcats games that were significant for one reason or another.
Sept. 18, 2010: Stockpile of sacks and surging Cats
What went down: It was a “Red Out” game. It was the first matchup between ranked opponents in Tucson since 1998. It brought 57,864 fans to Arizona Stadium, the largest crowd since the 2008 Territorial Cup (and one that hasn’t been topped since).
“Tucson has crackled all week with an excitement rarely seen in September,” then-UA football beat reporter Ryan Finley wrote in his preview of the game for the Star.
“We prepare for everybody the same, but everybody knows this team’s no joke,” defensive end Brooks Reed said that week. “They’re a top-10 team, a top-five team possibly, so we’re really going to have to have our heads in it.”
The game lived up to its billing in every way.
No. 24 Arizona defeated No. 9 Iowa 34-27. But the final score barely tells the story.
A host of UA players tackle University of Iowa’s Adam Robinson in the first quarter of the Wildcats’ 2010 win.
The Wildcats roared to a 27-7 halftime lead. One touchdown came on an 85-yard interception return by Trevin Wade, a play he deemed the personal highlight of his UA career. Another came on a 100-yard kickoff return by Travis Cobb.
Then the Cats stalled and the Hawkeyes rallied.
Turnovers on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter turned a 27-14 UA lead into a 27-all tie with 8:12 remaining. Nick Foles’ 4-yard touchdown pass to William “Bug” Wright — who earlier had fumbled and dropped a would-be TD toss — gave Arizona the lead with 3:57 left.
What followed was the stuff of legend.
Arizona sacked Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi four consecutive times – although only three of them counted.
UA defensive players celebrate as they walk away from Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi.
First, Justin Washington dropped Stanzi for a loss of 9 on second-and-3 from the Iowa 44. Reed got him next, only to have the play negated by a false start. Undaunted, Reed teamed with Ricky Elmore to sack Stanzi for a loss of 8 on third-and-17. Washington sealed the deal with his second sack of the series on fourth-and-25.
Arizona Stadium erupted. The Wildcats ran the clock down to 3 seconds. They thwarted the Hawkeyes’ final play at the Iowa 42.
Arizona improved to 3-0 on the heels of back-to-back 8-5 seasons. The Wildcats seemed to be on their way to great things.
From the archives: Arizona games were a big enough deal back then that national columnists sometimes would travel to Tucson to write about them. Here’s a portion of then-ESPN.com columnist Pat Forde’s dispatch from the game:
Broderick Binns rumbled across the goal line to complete a startling pick-six, and the game was all but over.
This was the return of Iowa magic. And Arizona tragic.
The Hawkeyes, left for dead after 2½ quarters, had just scored 20 straight points in less than 15 minutes to tie the Wildcats at 27. Arizona’s biggest victory in more than a decade was evaporating like dew in the desert. After watching a thrilling night unravel in a late spate of penalties and turnovers, a raucous sellout crowd was enveloped by a familiar feeling in these parts.
Dread.
The Wildcats have found many creative ways to lose games in the 12 years since the last meeting of ranked teams in Arizona Stadium. Just last year they let their first-ever Rose Bowl bid slip away on this same field against Oregon when they blew a double-digit fourth-quarter lead. Students ringed the field as the Ducks scored the tying touchdown with 6 seconds left, then won in double overtime.
Iowa, meanwhile, was adhering to its own opposite pedigree. In 2009, the Hawkeyes rallied from 10 down in the second half to beat Northern Iowa. From five down in the fourth quarter to win at Penn State. From seven down in the second half to win at Wisconsin. From 10 down in the fourth quarter to beat Indiana. They scored a touchdown on the final play to win at Michigan State.
So once Iowa defensive end Binns scored with his theft of Arizona quarterback Nick Foles’ slant pass, all 57,864 fans in attendance knew what would happen next. It was inevitable.
Except it wasn’t.
In a startling reversal of fortunes, Arizona made every single big play in the final eight minutes. Iowa fell apart.
“I’m speechless right now trying to figure out what happened out there,” Wildcats coach Mike Stoops said.
Here’s the short synopsis, Mike: Goats became heroes. Heroes became goats. And we may have witnessed a breakthrough moment for a hard-luck program.
Arizona coach Mike Stoops is carried off the field by Ricky Elmore after the UA defense came up big in the final minutes vs. Iowa.
He said it: The way the game played out left many awestruck — including Stoops.
“This win was great in a lot of different ways,” he said afterward. “We got to see the character of the players develop before our eyes. I’m really proud that everyone managed to compete, and when they were challenged, they challenged right back.”
By the numbers: Thanks in part to sacking Stanzi six times, Arizona limited Iowa to 29 net rushing yards. The Hawkeyes had 275 the previous week in a 35-7 win over Iowa State and were averaging 227 yards on the ground.
The aftermath: The Wildcats were brimming with optimism after the game. Stoops declared that “our program is changing,” but he knew the season was just getting started.
“We are a different team inside and out this year,” Stoops said. “We have to earn our respect, and last year we lost some of it with some of our losses. This will all be for naught if we don’t start off conference play strong when Cal comes to town next week.”
The Wildcats edged the Golden Bears 10-9. That win elevated them to ninth in the AP Top 25. A 29-27 loss to Oregon State dropped them to 17th, but the Cats then reeled off three straight wins to get to 7-1.
Arizona wouldn’t win another game that season.
The skid began with a 42-17 loss to Andrew Luck and No. 10 Stanford. Arizona then lost by a field goal, 24-21, to USC.
A visit to No. 1 Oregon resulted in a 48-29 setback. The regular season ended in heartbreaking fashion with a 30-29 double-overtime loss to Arizona State. The game ended when the Sun Devils blocked Alex Zendejas’ extra-point attempt.
The Alamo Bowl against Oklahoma State brought further anguish. Arizona got blown out, losing 36-10.
After opening the 2011 season with a win over NAU, the Wildcats lost five straight. And that was it for Stoops. He was fired.
“I was concerned about the direction of the program and where we were going and felt that needed to be addressed,” then-UA athletic director Greg Byrne said at the time. “We felt this would give everybody a fresh start for the remainder of the season.”
Arizona went 3-3 the rest of the way under interim coach Tim Kish. In December 2011, Rich Rodriguez became the 31st head coach in UA football history.
