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CATCH UP ON THE COUNTDOWN BY VISITING: ARIZONA’S TOP 100 INDIVIDUAL RECORDS
Only 44 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:
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Nick Foles’ 10th entry in this countdown (with more to come) makes him the most accomplished Arizona player in terms of records broken in program history.
ARIZONA PASSING LEADERS CAREER YARDS
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No. 44
Most Passing Yards, Career: 10,011, Nick Foles, 2009-2011 (933 of 1396, 33 INTs, 67 TDs)
Pac-12 record: 13,600, Sean Mannion, Oregon State, 2011-2014 (1,187 of 1,838, 54 INTS, 83 TDs)
NCAA record: 19,217, Case Keenum, Houston, 2007-11 (1,546 of 2,229, 46 INTs, 155 TDs)
Nick Foles is the only Arizona quarterback to eclipse 10,000 passing yards in a career and he did that in three years after transferring from Michigan State.
Nick Foles is the only Arizona quarterback to eclipse 10,000 passing yards in a career and he did that in three years after transferring from Michigan State.
RECORD WATCH: Junior quarterback Anu Solomon is 3,563 yards shy of reaching Nick Foles’ career record at Arizona of 10,011 yards. Solomon passed for 3,793 yards as a freshman in 2014, so the possibility exists he could break Foles’ mark in his third season. That is significant because Foles achieved the record in only three seasons after transferring from Michigan State after his freshman season.
Foles’ career-record topped Willie Tuitama’s 9,211 yards achieved from 2005 to 2008. Tom Tunnicliffe held on to the record for 25 years after throwing for 7,618 yards from 1980 to 1983.
Foles broke Tuitama’s record in the 10th game of his senior season, a disheartening 48-29 loss at Colorado that dropped the Wildcats to 2-8 under interim coach Tim Kish, who replaced the fired Mike Stoops midway through that season.
“It does not mean anything to me,” a disgruntled Foles told the Associated Press about the record. “Records are records. The most important thing is winning the game.”
Looking back now, however, Foles must be proud of the individual accomplishment.
Previous Foles records at Arizona listed in this countdown:
48. Most Touchdown Passes, Season: 28, 2011, tied with Willie Tuitama, 2007, and Anu Solomon, 2014
51. Most Touchdown Passes, Career: 67, 2009-11 (35 games) tied with Willie Tuitama, 2005-08 (40 games)
56. Highest Completion Percentage, Career (Min. 500 att): 66.8, 2009-11 (933 of 1396)
71. Highest Completion Percentage Season, More than 200 attempts: 69.1, 2011 (387 of 560)
77. Most Passes Completed, Season: 387, 2011 (12 games, 560 attempts)
81. Highest Completion Percentage, Game: 78.4, 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)
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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