Five memorable Arizona football games played on Pac-12 Network over the years

The end of an era.

Arizona’s spring game on Saturday at Arizona Stadium to put a bow on its five-week spring practice schedule was the final live football event broadcasted on Pac-12 Network, as the Wildcats prepare to officially join the Big 12 this summer.

The Pac-12 Network was founded in 2012 and has been headquartered in San Francisco. The conference’s network has televised or streamed Pac-12 football championships and conference tournaments for sports such as basketball, baseball and softball, among others.

Over the years, the Arizona football program has played a handful of memorable games on the conference’s network. Here’s a look at five of those contests:

The start of the Fifita era

Date: Sept. 23, 2023

Score: Arizona 21, Stanford 20

Location: Stanford Stadium (Stanford, California)

The rundown: As a 20-point favorite, Arizona was in danger of losing the Pac-12 opener to a struggling Stanford team that alternated two quarterbacks throughout the game. The Wildcats used two quarterbacks, but not by design. During Arizona’s final drive of the third quarter, quarterback Jayden de Laura, who struggled throughout the game, was tackled on the Arizona sideline after rolling out and injured his ankle. Backup second-year quarterback Noah Fifita was thrust into his first meaningful collegiate snaps, then led Arizona on a nine-play, 67-yard touchdown drive to take a 21-20 lead. Fifita later threw a 7-yard pass to receiver Jacob Cowing for a first down on the final possession to run out the clock and seal the win.

With de Laura sidelined with an ankle injury, Arizona went down to the wire with national runner-up Washington and a Top-10 USC team with Fifita as the quarterback. The Wildcats thumped Washington State by 38 points in Pullman with Fifita, which was the start of their seven-game winning streak to end the season; Arizona went 10-3 with a thrilling come-from-behind win over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl in 2023. The game against Stanford, when turnover-prone de Laura injured his ankle, changed the trajectory of Arizona’s season — and potentially head coach Jedd Fisch’s career.

He said it: “A lot of coaches, a lot of my teammates, the offensive guys made sure I was good and comfortable, and I just appreciate all of the faith they had in me, between my teammates and my coaches.” — Fifita

Arizona loses to ‘little brother’ NAU

Date: Sept. 18, 2021

Score: Northern Arizona 21, Arizona 19

Location: Arizona Stadium

The rundown: Not even a full calendar year after losing to rival Arizona State 70-7, which led to the firing of head coach Kevin Sumlin, Arizona lost to FCS counterpart NAU and extended its losing streak to 15 games. The streak ended at 20 later that season. The loss to NAU, which used a backup freshman quarterback to beat the Wildcats, marked Arizona’s first setback to the Lumberjacks since 1932, when NAU was known as the Northern Arizona State Teachers College.

He said it: “It’s embarrassing. You don’t want to lose to what most people consider your little brother up north. NAU is an FCS school, and they’re a great school. But it’s been 15-1, now 15-2, in the last 17 (meetings).” — Arizona wide receiver Stanley Berryhill III

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Cats end 20-game skid

Date: Nov. 6, 2021

Score: Arizona 10, Cal 3

Location: Arizona Stadium

The rundown: It wasn’t pretty. It was a slog to the finish. The 13 combined points between Arizona and Cal marked the lowest-scoring game for the Wildcats since the 1992 Territorial Cup game. But Arizona’s historic 20-game losing streak finally ended after the Wildcats edged a Golden Bears team decimated by positive COVID-19 tests. The Wildcats also dealt with personnel adversity during the game. Due to several injuries on the offensive line, center Josh McCauley moved to left tackle, and quarterback Will Plummer battled shoulder and hand injuries, but still finished the game. Running back Michael Wiley scored the only touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter and Arizona held off Cal to win its only game of the season — and the first-ever win under Fisch.

He said it: “It’s hard to describe. First of all, there’s so much love in that locker room. They’re so excited. They were just surrounding each other, they were dancing, they were cheering, they were so happy for each other. You felt so much love between them.” — Fisch

The birth of Mr. October

Date: Oct. 7, 2017

Score: Arizona 45, Colorado 42

Location: Folsom Field (Boulder, Colorado)

The rundown: Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate had already played one full season with the Wildcats, but was still a backup as a second-year player in 2017. The Tate era at Arizona was in full effect after he subbed in for the injured Brandon Dawkins in the first half at Colorado, where Tate rushed for 327 yards, an FBS record for a quarterback, and accounted for five touchdowns in the shootout win over the Buffaloes. CU running back Phillip Lindsay had 281 rushing yards and three touchdowns, but his performance was overshadowed by Tate’s outing. Tate went on to become the first player to win Pac-12 Player of the Week in four consecutive weeks and received the nickname Mr. October — and became a hopeful to win the Heisman Trophy entering the 2018 season under Sumlin, but couldn’t replicate similar success to his one season as the starter under Rich Rodriguez. However, against Colorado over Tate’s career, he completed 60 of 76 passes (79%) for 908 yards, 365 rushing yards and 13 total touchdowns.

He said it: “It was like a blur. A lot of people don’t realize that it was a tough game. ... The game was closer than expected, and I didn’t even know I had the record until the postgame interview when the lady told me, so it was pretty shocking from that aspect.” — Tate

‘Hill Mary’

Date: Sept. 20, 2014

Score: Arizona 49, Cal 45

Location: Arizona Stadium

The rundown: After trailing Cal 31-13 in the Pac-12 opener, most of the fans exited Arizona Stadium and assumed the Wildcats were about to lose their first game of the season. Along with a crucial interception from cornerback Tra’Mayne Bondurant and kicker Casey Skowron’s onside kick that was recovered by the Wildcats, Arizona scored a whopping 36 points in the fourth quarter and won the game in walk-off fashion with a 47-yard Hail Mary pass from quarterback Anu Solomon to wide receiver Austin Hill, which was dubbed “Hill Mary.” Solomon completed 47 of 73 passes (a school record) for 520 yards and five touchdowns. Arizona went on to win the Pac-12 South Division and lost to Oregon in the Pac-12 championship before falling to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.

He said it: “Everything that could’ve happened to go our way, went our way. … Everything that could’ve happened for us to even have a shot at a Hail Mary — it was just crazy how everything transpired. It was a team effort, but it was also a super choke job on Cal’s part.” — Hill