Seen and heard: Jacob Cowing becomes Mr. 3,000; Dorian Singer ends TD drought; HOFers honored

News and notes from Arizona’s first Pac-12 victory of the season on Saturday against Colorado.

Jacob Cowing becomes Mr. 3,000

During Arizona’s win over Colorado on Saturday, Arizona Stadium showed “Mr. 3,000” on the video board — and it wasn’t Bernie Mac playing for the Milwaukee Brewers.

With a 19-yard catch on the Wildcats' second drive, Cowing — a transfer from UTEP — went over 3,000 career receiving yards.

He joins Bobby Wade, Dennis Northcutt and Mike Thomas as 3,000-yard receivers to play for the Wildcats.

Cowing has also caught passes in 37 consecutive games, tied for the second-longest active streak in FBS. He tied his career-high with 12 catches for 167 yards and a touchdown. His 11 receptions is the most he’s had in a game since his 11-catch, 170-yard performance against Rice last year.

The big number

2.5 — The over/under for Arizona’s 2022 win total entering the season. The Wildcats have hit the over in the first half of the season.

The Southern Arizona Chapter of the National Football Foundation have turned a room at the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility into a shrine honoring the Wildcats’ hall of famers.
Tim Kish

NFF Southern Arizona chapter dedicates room at Arizona Stadium to HOF members

A room in the Sands Club at the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility has been converted into a shrine dedicated to UA’s members of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Last week, the National Football Foundation Southern Arizona chapter unveiled its display, which honors Hall of Famers Tedy Bruschi, Rob Waldrop, Chuck Cecil and Ricky Hunley, along with past coaches Darrell Mudra — who died last month at age 93 years old — Warren Woodson and Jim Young.

NFF's Southern Arizona chapter received the framed certificates of Arizona’s College Football Hall of Fame members from Atlanta, and had a national cartoonist draw portraits of them.

The move to honor Arizona’s Hall of Fame members is one of several tasks NFF Southern Arizona executive director Tim Kish, who was the UA’s interim head coach in 2011 after Mike Stoops was fired, wanted to tackle.

“We wanted to connect all three levels of football in the greater Tucson area," said Kish, 68. “We wanted to promote, invest and support our time, money and resources in youth football, high school football and U of A football."

NFF Southern Arizona attends youth football games and jamborees and high school football games. The organization has partnered with the Arizona Bowl to attend a notable high school football game every week and name a player of the game from each team.

NFF Southern Arizona is also linked to 45 high schools “south of Casa Grande” and Kish, along with other board members and a select UA football player, have held speaking events at 26 of those schools.

“That’s 26 more than we’ve done in year’s past, so I’m super proud of our board for stepping up and making this happen,” Kish said.

In the spring, NFF will honor 10 student-athlete seniors in Southern Arizona who’ve excelled in athletics, academics and community service with financial aid for college.

“I thought this retirement thing was going to be pretty easy,” said Kish, who returned to Tucson after serving as Oklahoma's linebackers coach. “I’m super happy to be involved in this. My livelihood was football for 43 years. I was blessed and humbled by every experience I’ve had. This is my way of giving back to a community I care deeply about — and our board cares about — and it’s through the vehicle of football.

“It doesn’t get any better than that for me.”

Carey ran wild 10 years ago

Arizona’s contest with Colorado marked a decade since Ka’Deem Carey’s record-setting rushing performance against the Buffaloes in 2012. The Tucson native and former All-American rushed for an Arizona and Pac-12 single-game record 366 yards in the UA’s 56-31 win over CU at Arizona Stadium. Carey also had five touchdowns in Arizona’s second matchup with Colorado as a Pac-12 member.

“At that time of my career, I was due for a record-setting game,” Carey told the Star in 2020. “In my head, I was ready to bust for a big game. Every day I woke up like that, so when I woke up that morning with Colorado on the schedule, I was like, ‘All right, let’s see what they got for us.’ When I went out there and they kept giving us those holes, I went, ‘Take advantage, because this is your big game.’ That’s exactly what I did.”

Added Carey: “When you get to run around the yard — the gridiron — the way I did that day, it just reminds me of when I was little playing Pop Warner, and you always wanted to have that day growing up and show everyone your talent. That was a day I got to show a little bit of Ka’Deem Carey’s talent. That game was definitely top three in my head, because I had too much fun and handled business on a great day.”

Fisch sticks

Since Saturday was “Breast Cancer Awareness Game,” members of the Zona Zoo wore pink t-shirts and were given pink “thunder sticks.”

For the record: 4-8-2

Arizona’s is 4-8-2 all-time when playing on Oct. 1. As a member of the Border Conference, Arizona, coached by Bob Winslow, tied Utah 12-12 in 1949. The Wildcats also had a draw at Cal in 1983, when Arizona fumbled away a 26-3 second-half lead to tie 33-33.

Another big number

705 — Yards Arizona wide receiver Dorian Singer had over his year-plus career until catching his first career touchdown at the UA. Singer had 301 yards last season and had 287 through four games entering Saturday. Singer finished Saturday night with 163 yards — 122 in the first half — and one touchdown.