The last time Arizona hosted a team ranked in the top 5 of the Associated Press poll was in 2013, when No. 5 Oregon visited on a rainy day but it was a feeling of all sunshine for the Wildcats.
Arizona, coached by Rich Rodriguez, dominated Oregon 42-16 in front of 45,777 fans who braved the overcast day.
The highest rated team to visit Tucson since was No. 7 Washington in 2023 and the Wildcats lost 31-24. That was the season under Jedd Fisch in which the Wildcats finished 10-3 with an Alamo Bowl win over Oklahoma.
Arizona is 5-11 against teams ranked in the top 5 of the AP Top 25 poll, dating to 1980, when three No. 2-ranked teams visited Tucson — USC, Notre Dame and UCLA.
Arizona lost to USC 27-10 and Notre Dame 20-3 that year at what was then Arizona Stadium, but the Wildcats pulled the biggest upset of the program at the time in the 23-17 victory over UCLA.
Here is a brief run down of the five victories against top 5 teams in Tucson, starting with that historic win over UCLA in 1980.
SCORE: Arizona Wildcats 23, No. 2 UCLA Bruins 17
DATE: Nov. 1, 1980
SITE: Arizona Stadium, 42,876 fans in attendance
Top-ranked Alabama lost earlier in the day to Mississippi State 6-3, opening the door for UCLA to claim the No. 1 spot. The second-ranked Bruins, however, competed against a Wildcat team that “was wild-eyed,” UCLA coach Terry Donahue was quoted as saying in an Associated Press article. Arizona upset the Bruins, claiming its first victory over a team ranked in the Top 10 in the program’s history. The Wildcats, 0-14 previously against Top 10 teams, lost twice already at home that season to second-ranked teams — USC and Notre Dame. They were 0-4 in Tucson and 2-4 overall that season entering the game against the Bruins (6-0 overall). The Wildcat offense, which had only three touchdowns in the previous four games, got on track behind Arizona freshman quarterback Tom Tunnicliffe, only 18 and in his second collegiate start. He completed 12 of 18 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns. Arizona freshman linebacker Ricky Hunley was selected the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week for his performance for the Wildcats. Hunley registered 14 tackles, seven unassisted, and got to UCLA quarterback Tom Ramsey for losses three times.
SCORE: No. 14 Arizona Wildcats 34, No. 4 ASU Sun Devils 17
DATE: Nov. 22, 1986
SITE: Arizona Stadium, 58,267 in attendance
A sign made by an Arizona fan read, “You Can’t Smell Roses With A Broken Nose.” That sign was lofted high in Arizona Stadium as the Wildcats were delivering a knockout blow of historical proportions. The punch that put an exclamation point on the victory was Chuck Cecil’s 106-yard interception for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. The Sun Devils were 9-0-1 entering the game, already clinching a spot in their first Rose Bowl, and were challenging for a national championship. The Wildcats (7-2) had not beaten their arch-rivals this convincingly since 1964 when Jim LaRue’s team pounded Frank Kush’s 8-1 team 30-6 in Tucson. The victory was the fifth straight by the Wildcats over their archrival during “The Streak” and earned them a berth in the Aloha Bowl against North Carolina, in which they won to notch their first bowl victory in school history. An over-capacity crowd of 58,267 — the second-largest ever at Arizona Stadium at the time — saw the Wildcats convert four ASU turnovers into 24 points, highlighted by Cecil’s return. His interception of a Jeff Van Raaphorst pass tied an NCAA record at 100 yards.
SCORE: No. 12 Arizona Wildcats 16, No. 1 Washington Huskies 3
DATE: November 7, 1992
SITE: Arizona Stadium, 58,510 in attendance
The definitive voice of college football broadcasts — Keith Jackson — punctuated the ABC-TV telecast of Arizona’s dominating 1992 win over No. 1 Washington this way: “And now you know why they play the games …” But was the one-sided victory really an upset? “I don’t think it was an upset,” Arizona coach Dick Tomey said after the game. “We expected to win.” Washington was ranked No. 1 with an incredible 22-game winning streak, but anybody who followed college football closely that season knew Arizona belonged on the same field. The Desert Swarm was No. 1 in the nation against the run and No. 4 overall. “I’ve never been more confident going into a game,” Tomey said. This statement coming from a coach whose team less than two months earlier tied an Oregon State club that finished 1-9-1. Washington beat its first eight opponents in 1992 by an average margin of 20.1 points. The Huskies annihilated the Wildcats 54-0 the previous season in Seattle. Still, the Wildcats believed they were the better team and who could argue? The Wildcats played conservatively on offense — using the run in 54 out of 66 offensive plays — and decisively won the ball-control and field-position battle behind their defense and the punting of Josh Miller. Miller, an All-Pac-10 selection, Miller pinned the Huskies back continuously with his 47.3-yard average over eight punts. Washington never started a drive beyond its own 31-yard line. Billy Johnson ran for 99 yards and Chuck Levy added 37 as Arizona gained 197 yards on the ground. The kicking of Arizona’s Steve McLaughlin, who missed a 51-yarder as time expired that would have beaten Miami earlier that year, put the Wildcats in position to win with three field goals. He made a 34-yard field goal in the first half, the only scoring by halftime. The game’s only touchdown was on George Malauulu’s 1-yard keeper with 48 seconds remaining.
SCORE: Arizona Wildcats 34, No. 2 Oregon Ducks 24
DATE: Nov. 15, 2007
SITE: Arizona Stadium, 50,387 in attendance
While Oregon’s national title dream ended, hope for Mike Stoops’ career at Arizona reawakened. The Wildcats started 2-6 that season, Stoops’ fourth at Arizona, and the Wildcat fans became restless. A three-game winning streak, culminating with this electrifying win over No. 2 Oregon at Arizona Stadium and in front of ESPN cameras, started to make people in Tucson believe in Stoops. Oregon became the highest-ranked visitor to lose at Arizona since the Wildcats knocked off No. 1 Washington in 1992. Antoine Cason returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown and an interception 42 yards for another score as the Wildcats shook up the national title race. Red-clad students poured out of the stands on to the field as the Wildcats ambushed a ranked team in Arizona Stadium for the fourth straight season under Stoops — all in November. “November has been good to us,” Stoops told reporters afterward. “It is nice to show what kind of team we have at Arizona.”
SCORE: Arizona Wildcats 42, No. 5 Oregon Ducks 16
DATE: Nov. 23, 2013
SITE: Arizona Stadium, 50,387 in attendance
The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizona’s fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. This was a big one for Arizona. For Oregon, it was a crushing blow, to its national title hopes and maybe its BCS bowl chances, too. Ka’Deem Carey ran for 206 yards and four touchdowns while becoming Arizona’s all-time leading rusher, and the Wildcats pulled off a monumental upset by taking advantage of numerous Oregon miscues, shocking the fifth-ranked Ducks 42-16. “A good win, honestly,” Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said. “This was a great opportunity for our guys and they took it.” It was hard to see this one coming. Arizona was coming off consecutive home losses, the most disappointing a week before against Washington State. Carey was the workhorse for Arizona as he has been all season, carrying a school-record 48 times while scoring on runs of 6, 1, 9 and 2 yards to break Art Luppino’s career record of 48 total touchdowns set from 1953-56. Carey also reached 3,913 career yards rushing, breaking the mark of 3,824 set by Trung Canidate from 1996-99. B.J. Denker threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns, ran for 102 more and Arizona had 304 yards rushing, a season-high against Oregon. Mark Mariota’s first of two interceptions came on a spectacular play, kick-starting Arizona for the monumental upset. It came on Oregon’s first play from scrimmage, when Bralon Addison dropped a pass near the sideline. Arizona cornerback Shaquille Richardson snared the carom and flipped it back to teammate Scooby Wright III as he was falling out of bounds. It ended Mariota’s Pac-12 record streak of passes without an interception at 353 and Carey followed with a 6-yard touchdown run.
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