FOLLOW @JAVIERJMORALES ON TWITTER!
[rps-paypal]
[ezcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]
CATCH UP ON THE COUNTDOWN BY VISITING: ARIZONA’S TOP 100 INDIVIDUAL RECORDS
Only 77 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.
[/ezcol_1half]
[ezcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””]
Among the many records at Arizona for Nick Foles is his 387 pass completions as a senior in 2011
[/ezcol_1half_end]
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.
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:
No. 77
Most Passes Completed, Season: 387, Nick Foles, 2011 (12 games, 560 attempts)
NCAA record: 512, Graham Harrell, Texas Tech, 2007 (13 games, 713 attempts)
Nick Foles’ name is spread throughout Arizona’s record book.
This is now Nick Foles’ fifth entry in the Arizona Wildcats individual records ranking and he will have some more.
The others to date in our Arizona Wildcats football ranking:
81. Highest Completion Percentage, Game: 78.4, Nick Foles, vs. Stanford, Oct. 17, 2009 (40 of 51)
82. Fewest Passes Had Intercepted (Pct. of Attempts), Career (500 att): 2.36 percent, 2009-11 (33 in 1,396 attempts)
91. Most Pass Completions, career: 933, 2009-11
97. Total Offense in Career — 9,712 yards, 2009-11 (10,111 passing/-290 rushing/-9 receiving)
Nick Foles’ 387 completions in 2011 topped the previous Arizona record of 327 set by Willie Tuitama in 2007. Anu Solomon eclipsed the 300 mark as a redshirt freshman in 2014 with 320. He had only 205 last year in an injury-riddled season.
Interesting to note that the top seven pass completion seasons in Arizona history have all occurred since 2007. It started when offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes was running his “Air Raid” offense. Rich Rodriguez now uses his innovative quick-read spread offense that is predicated on the pass with a good mixture of the run.
The record before Tuitama, Foles, Matt Scott and Solomon came on board was Jason Johnson’s 239 completions in 2002. Hard to fathom: Johnson’s mark broke the Arizona record at the time of only 193, set by Mark Reed way back in 1966.
That’s an indication more than anything how Arizona’s offense has completely changed in the last eight years.
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.
Recommended for you
