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CATCH UP ON THE COUNTDOWN BY VISITING: ARIZONA’S TOP 100 INDIVIDUAL RECORDS
Only 85 days separate us from the start of Rich Rodriguez’s fifth season at Arizona, when the Wildcats play 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.
Compiling the list was no easy task, but it was feasible to do with the information provided in the record books by the Arizona media relations department, and we appreciate that.
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A large bulk of Anu Solomon’s total offense record against Cal in 2014 came via the pass with 520 yards with him adding 46 on the ground.
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In past years, we have counted down the top games and highlighted players and some of the top plays in Wildcat 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:
No. 85
Total Offense, Most Yards Gained: 566, Anu Solomon vs. Cal, Sept. 20, 2014 (520 yards passing/46 rushing)
NCAA record: 751, Connor Halliday, Washington State, vs. Cal, Oct. 4, 2014 (734 passing, 17 rushing)
Anu Solomon’s performance in Arizona’s “Hill Mary” win against Cal in 2014 included record-breaking numbers.
The game that goes down as one of the best finishes in college football history includes a memorable performance by quarterback Anu Solomon, a redshirt freshman that season. His total offense record in the game Sept. 20, 2014, happened largely because of the pass, including a 47-yard “Hail Mary” touchdown pass to Austin Hill as time expired.
The pass, dubbed by Arizona fans as “Hill Mary”, contributed to Solomon’s 520 yards passing in the the game. Solomon added 46 yards rushing on 16 attempts to finish with 566 yards in total offense. The rushing yardage, that included one 14-yard scamper, led the Wildcats in the game.
Solomon attempted a school-record 73 passes in the game and he also had the most rushing attempts. Nick Wilson rushed for 11 times for 33 yards.
The total offense record is a quarterback’s record and Solomon took full advantage of that in the memorable meeting with the Golden Bears, a game in which the Wildcats came back from a 22-point deficit and outscored Cal 36-14 in the fourth quarter.
Two weeks later, Cal’s beleaguered defense allowed an NCAA-record 751 yards in total offense to Washington State quarterback Connor Holliday (734 yards passing and 17 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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