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CATCH UP ON THE COUNTDOWN BY VISITING: ARIZONA’S TOP 100 INDIVIDUAL RECORDS
Only 15 days separate us from the start of Rich Rodriguez’s fifth season, when the Arizona Wildcats football team plays Brigham Young on Sept. 3 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.
As is customary on this Web site, we will count down the days with an interesting element associated with each day. This year the topic is the top 100 individual records in Arizona’s storied football past.
In past years, we have counted down the top games and highlighted players and some of the top plays in Arizona Wildcats football history. A couple of years ago in our top 100 countdown, we showcased the 1914 team that was responsible for Arizona becoming the “Wildcats”.
Back to this year’s countdown of the top 100 individual records in the 117 years of Arizona football:
Anu Solomon’s game-winning Hail Mary pass to Austin Hill against Cal in 2014 drew most of the attention but lost among that in the game was his NCAA-record 47 completions for a freshman quarterback.
ARIZONA MOST COMPLETIONS IN A GAME
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No. 15
Most Pass Completions, Game: 47, Anu Solomon vs. California, Sept 20, 2014 (73 attempts)
Pac-12 record: 58, Connor Holliday, Washington State, vs. Oregon, Oct. 19, 2013 (89 attempts)
NCAA record: 58, Holliday and Andy Schmitt, Eastern Michigan vs. Central Michigan, Nov. 28, 2008 (80 attempts)
Anu Solomon’s 47 completions against Cal in 2014 broke the previous school record of 45 set by Matt Scott at Stanford in 2012.
It took less than one season in his active college career for Anu Solomon to get his name in the NCAA record book. His 47 completions against Cal in 2014, the most notable one the last-second Hail Mary connection with Austin Hill to win the game, tied a previous national record for a freshman quarterback.
Solomon, a redshirt freshman that year, tied the record set by Louisiana Tech’s Luke McCown against vs. Auburn on Oct. 21, 2000. McCown attempted 65 passes in that game won by Auburn 38-28.
The memorable Hail Mary pass to Hill was one of a school-record 73 attempts by Solomon that enabled the Wildcats to defeat the Golden Bears 49-45 at Arizona Stadium. Solomon also set a school record for yards passing (520).
“He was off at times but he never panics,” Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said after the game about Solomon. “He made some good plays, too. Particularly in the fourth quarter.”
Other records set by Solomon listed in this countdown:
46. Most Passing Yards, Game: 520, vs. California, Sept. 20, 2014
48. Most Touchdown Passes, Season: 28 in 2014, tied with Nick Foles, 2011, and Willie Tuitama, 2007.
52. Most Passes Without An Interception, Consecutive: 232, 2014-15 (Nine games from Boise State, Dec. 31, 2014, to Washington, Oct. 31, 2015)
61. Most Passing Yards by Freshman: 3,793, 2014
65. Most Attempts Without Interceptions, Game: 72, vs. USC, 2014
85. Total Offense, Most Yards Gained: 566, vs. Cal, Sept. 20, 2014 (520 yards passing/46 rushing)
ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
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