[tps_title]No. 1: The win clinched Arizona’s first outright title[/tps_title]
It was not the outright Pac-12 championship, putting Arizona in the Rose Bowl.
But it was the next best thing, claiming the title of one of the toughest divisions (Pac-12 South) in college football.
For Arizona to finish 7-2 in the Pac-12 with better records than UCLA, ASU and USC shows how far Rodriguez has taken the program in such a short time.
Championships and Arizona did not mix before last season.
The Wildcats were labeled co-champions of the Pac-10 in 1993 with a 6-2 record but did not represent the conference in the Rose Bowl because it lost to UCLA, which won the tie-breaker.
Although Arizona went on to lose big to Oregon in the Pac-12 title game, the Wildcats can be assured that no asterisk is necessary next to their name in the Pac-12 South standings. They own that division title.
[tps_footer]
ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He has also written articles for Bleacher Report and Lindy’s College Sports.[/tps_footer]
Recommended for you
