Arizona Wildcats enter November in control of destiny for first time since 1985

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Arizona is in control of its own destiny in the Pac-12 race heading into November with its game at UCLA this Saturday. It is a plateau the program has experienced only once before.

After researching with the help of shrpsports.com, I have determined the Wildcats were in this spot heading into November in 1985.

Arizona was 2-1 in the standings under Larry Smith, tied in the loss column with UCLA (4-1), Washington (3-1) and USC (2-1) before games scheduled on Nov. 2, 1985. Arizona was coming off an upset loss to winless Stanford giving it the 2-1 record. The Wildcats were not scheduled against USC and Washington that year.

The Wildcats, who finished 8-3-1 in 1985, were essentially eliminated from the race Nov. 9 of that year to UCLA 24-19 in Tucson.

In case you’re wondering about the 12-1 season in 1998, the Wildcats lost to UCLA on Oct. 15 of that season. The Bruins remained unbeaten heading into November.

Here are the scenarios in which Arizona was tied in the loss column heading into November:

PAC-10 STANDINGS
HEADING INTO NOVEMBER

1985
Before games of Nov. 2, 1985. Arizona was upset in the previous week to Stanford. The Cardinal was 1-3 with the win. UA was tied with one loss with UCLA, Washington, ASU and USC.
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1993
Before games of Nov. 6, 1985. Arizona lost to UCLA in the previous week, giving the Bruins the edge in a tie-breaker.
[table “” not found /]

1994
Before games of Nov. 5, 1994. Arizona lost in the previous week to Oregon, so the Ducks had the tie-breaker.
[table “” not found /]

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2014 PAC-10 SOUTH STANDINGS
After UA’s win over Washington State
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VIDEO: Go inside the locker room w/ @CoachRodAZ and @ArizonaFBall after yesterday's win at Washington St. WATCH –> http://t.co/SSkgi2NUyv

— Arizona Athletics (@AZATHLETICS) October 26, 2014

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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He also writes articles for Bleacher Report and Lindy’s College Sports.