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1988 Arizona Wildcats football team

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1988 Arizona Wildcats football
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Record7–4 (5–3 Pac-10)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorRip Scherer (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorLarry Mac Duff (2nd season)
Home stadiumArizona Stadium
Seasons
← 1987
1989 →
1988 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 USC $ 8 0 0 10 2 0
No. 6 UCLA 6 2 0 10 2 0
No. 16 Washington State 5 3 0 9 3 0
Arizona 5 3 0 7 4 0
Arizona State 3 4 0 6 5 0
Washington 3 5 0 6 5 0
Oregon 3 5 0 6 6 0
Oregon State 2 5 1 4 6 1
Stanford 1 5 2 3 6 2
California 1 5 1 5 5 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1988 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second season under head coach Dick Tomey, the Wildcats compiled a 7–4 record (5–3 against Pac-10 opponents), finished in a tie for third place in the Pac-10, and outscored their opponents, 279 to 218.[1][2] The team played its home games in Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona.

The team's statistical leaders included Ronald Veal with 669 passing yards, Alonzo Washington with 651 rushing yards, and Derek Hill with 508 receiving yards.[3] Linebacker Chris Singleton led the team with 118 tackles.[4]

Despite a 7–4 record, the Wildcats were left out of a bowl game due to a lack of bowls available at the time and that most of the bowls involved ranked teams.

Before the season

[edit]

The Wildcats completed the 1987 season and Tomey’s first year with a 4–4–3 record and tied Arizona State in the rivalry contest. The team spent the offseason looking to improve on their record and return to their winning ways as they did under previous Arizona coach (and then-current USC coach) Larry Smith.[5]

Despite the offseason being held in the shadow of Arizona’s basketball team as a result of its first Final Four appearance and Tomey and his players supporting them, the team continued to rebuild and prepared for the upcoming season.[6]

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 3at Oregon StateW 24–13
September 10Texas Tech*TBSW 35–19
September 17at No. 4 Oklahoma*L 10–2875,004
September 24Eastern Michigan*
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
KMSBW 55–0
October 1No. 4 USC
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
L 15–38
October 15Washington State
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
KMSBW 45–28
October 22No. 1 UCLA
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
ABCL 3–24
October 29California
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
KMSBL 7–10
November 5at WashingtonESPNW 16–13
November 12Oregondagger
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
KMSBW 41–27
November 26Arizona State
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ (rivalry)
TBSW 28–1856,978
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

[edit]
1988 Arizona Wildcats football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB Stuart Betty
OL John Brandom
RB Remy Carrasco
RB David Eldridge
OL Rob Fiory
RB Art Greathouse
RB Mario Hampton
WR Derek Hill
WR Kyle Jan
WR Kip Lewis
RB Reggie McGill
TE George Mihalopoulos
OL Glenn Parker
OL Doug Penner
OL Doug Pritchard
RB Bart Recktenwald
OL Dave Roney
RB Melvin Smith
RB Mike Streidnig
RB Aaron Thomas
OL Joe Tofflemire
OL Paul Tofflemire
QB 10 Ronald Veal So
RB Alonzo Washington
QB Bobby Watters RSr
RB Ron Wembley
OL Rod Woods
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB Zeno Alexander
DB Todd Burden
LB Darren Case
DB James DeBow
DB Scott Geyer
DL Ken Hakes
DB Jeff Hammerschmidt
DL Brad Henke
DL Reggie Johnson
DB Darryl Lewis
LB Arnulf Mobley
LB Donnie Salum
LB Chris Singleton
LB Kevin Singleton
DL Dana Wells
DB Chris Wright
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K Gary Coston
K Robert Epstein
P Bret Holley
K Doug Pfaff
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Season summary

[edit]

At Oregon State

[edit]

Texas Tech

[edit]

After earning a win in the opener at Oregon State, Arizona played its first home game of the season against Texas Tech. This was the first meeting between the two teams since they played in nine straight seasons from 1971–79. After falling behind early, the Wildcats dominated the rest of the way and came away with the win.[7]

At Oklahoma

[edit]
Arizona Wildcats (1–0) at #4 Oklahoma Sooners (1–0)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Arizona 3 0 7010
Oklahoma 7 7 7728

at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma

  • Date: September 17, 1988
  • Game attendance: 75,004
Game information

[8] [9]

The Wildcats traveled to Oklahoma in their first ever matchup against the Sooners. Despite playing tough, Arizona could not keep up with the fourth-ranked Sooners and eventually lost.[10]

Eastern Michigan

[edit]

USC

[edit]

The Wildcats welcomed former coach Larry Smith back to Tucson as Arizona hosted the fourth-ranked Trojans.[11] Several mistakes became a disaster for the Wildcats and USC capitalized on them to break the game open and win big, and Tomey lost to his predecessor for the second consecutive year.[12][13]

Washington State

[edit]

UCLA

[edit]

Arizona hosted top-ranked UCLA in a big test for the Wildcats. Unfortunately, the Wildcats did not have an answer against the Bruins and avoided a shutout with a late field goal, and leading to yet another loss to a top-ten ranked opponent.[14]

California

[edit]
California Golden Bears (4–3) at Arizona Wildcats (4–3)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
California 0 3 0710
Arizona 0 0 077

at Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Arizona

  • Date: October 29, 1988
  • Game attendance: 47,182
  • [15]
External videos
video icon Full game
Team Category Player Statistics
California Passing Troy Taylor 15/30, 184 Yds, TD, INT
Rushing Chris Richards 17 Rush, 52 Yds
Receiving Vince Delgado 1 Rec, 55 Yds, TD
Arizona Passing Bobby Watters 8/24, 106 Yds, INT
Rushing Alonzo Washington 15 Rush, 70 Yds
Receiving Reggie McGill 4 Rec, 46 Yds

At Washington

[edit]

On the road at Washington, Arizona visited the Huskies. In a game that was dominated by both teams’ defense, the Wildcats pulled through with a late field goal and finally captured their first win over Washington in team history.[16]

Oregon

[edit]

Arizona State

[edit]
Arizona State Sun Devils (6–4) at Arizona Wildcats (6–4)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Arizona St 6 12 0018
Arizona 0 21 0728

at Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Arizona

  • Date: November 26, 1988
  • Game attendance: 56,978
  • [17]

After getting a big homecoming win against Oregon, the Wildcats hosted Arizona State in a rivalry duel. Late in the first half before intermission, with the Sun Devils leading 18–14, Wildcat quarterback Ronald Veal threw a Hail Mary pass that was caught by receiver Derek Hill, who then ran to the end zone for a touchdown and Arizona led 21–18 at the break. The play gave the Wildcats the lead for good as they would not trail again and won it and extended their unbeaten streak over ASU to seven (including the 1987 tie).[18][19] Veal’s Hail Mary pass was referred to Arizona fans as the “Hail Veal”, “Hill Veal”, “Veal Mary” or simply “The Pass”, which was added to many other memorable play in the rivalry’s history.[20] The win ended the regular season and Arizona became bowl-eligible.

Team Category Player Statistics
Arizona St Passing Paul Justin 18/27, 225 Yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Bruce Perkins 18 Rush, 93 Yds, TD
Receiving Steve Martin 4 Rec, 71 Yds
Arizona Passing Ronald Veal 6/15, 148 Yds, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Alonzo Washington 24 Rush, 150 Yds, TD
Receiving Derek Hill 3 Rec, 116 Yds, 2 TD

Awards and honors

[edit]
  • Dana Wells, DL, Pac-10 defensive player of the year and Morris Trophy winner (defense), First-team All-Pac-10
  • Joe Tofflemire, OL, Pac-10 Morris Trophy winner (offense)

Season notes

[edit]
  • The Wildcats improved on their 1987 record and achieved their goals with a winning season in 1988.
  • Three of Arizona’s four losses were to ranked teams, all of which were ranked in the top ten.
  • Arizona had somewhat of a difficult schedule, but managed to win more games. Even though the Wildcats won seven games, they were snubbed from a bowl spot, with losses to ranked opponents, strength of schedule, and a lack of bowls at the time, were factors in them missing the postseason.[21]
  • This season was the first in which a former Arizona coach faced his successor at least two seasons after leaving the school.[22] Smith’s Trojans had also defeated Tomey’s Wildcats in 1987.
  • Due to Pac-10 scheduling, the Wildcats played eight home games and only three road ones. At one point during the season, Arizona played at home for five consecutive games, which was the longest span for the team since they 1979, when they also played five straight home games.[23]
  • Arizona’s win over ASU was Tomey’s first of several victories against his rivals. The final score (28–18) was identical to the 1982 meeting that began the Wildcats’ dominance over the Sun Devils.[24]
  • With nose tackle Dana Wells being awarded the Pac-10 defensive player of the year, Arizona won the conference’s defensive award for the third straight season.
  • Arizona would sweep the Pac-10’s Morris Trophy awards, with lineman Joe Tofflemire winning on the offensive side and Wells on the defensive.
  • Although it was overshadowed by its basketball counterpart due to its Final Four run earlier in the year, the football program managed to end the season on a winning note.[25]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "1988 Arizona Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  2. ^ "Arizona Football 2016 Media Guide" (PDF). University of Arizona. 2016. p. 108. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  3. ^ "1988 Arizona Wildcats Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  4. ^ 2016 Media Guide, p. 86.
  5. ^ "UA football seeks improvement for '88 season". Arizona Daily Star. April 15, 1988.
  6. ^ "Wildcat football prepare for '88 season looking to win more after being overshadowed by basketball during offseason". Arizona Daily Star. August 18, 1988.
  7. ^ "Wildcats overcome early deficit, top Texas Tech in home opener". Tucson Citizen. September 11, 1988.
  8. ^ SoonerStats.com Archived 2016-10-26 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-Oct-23.
  9. ^ Gainesville Sun. 1988 Sep 18. Retrieved 2017-Aug-27.
  10. ^ "Cats see no consolation in defeat; Arizona falls to Sooners, 28–10". Arizona Daily Star. September 18, 1988.
  11. ^ "Smith returns to Tucson as Wildcats host USC". Arizona Daily Wildcat. September 30, 1988.
  12. ^ "Trojan horses power USC past Arizona". The Arizona Republic. October 2, 1988.
  13. ^ "Trojans triumphant in Smith's return to Arizona Stadium". Arizona Daily Star. October 2, 1988.
  14. ^ "Top-ranked Bruins whip Wildcats". Arizona Daily Star. October 23, 1988.
  15. ^ "Golden Bears pin 10-7 loss on Wildcats." Eugene Register-Guard. pg. 7C. 1988 Oct 30. Retrieved 2022-Dec-18.
  16. ^ "Late FG kick lifts Arizona to first win against Washington". Tucson Citizen. November 6, 1988.
  17. ^ "Arizona Conquers Sun Devils, 28-18." Eugene Register-Guard. pg. 8E. 1988 Nov 27. Retrieved 2022-Dec-18.
  18. ^ "UA makes it seven straight". Arizona Daily Star. November 27, 1988.
  19. ^ "Arizona strikes again, continues streak over ASU". The Arizona Republic. November 27, 1988.
  20. ^ "The Pass: Wildcats' 'Veal Mary' leads to another win over ASU". Arizona Daily Wildcat. November 28, 1988.
  21. ^ "Wildcats left out of postseason picture". Arizona Daily Wildcat. December 9, 1988.
  22. ^ "Wildcats prepare for No. 4 USC, Smith's return to Tucson". Tucson Citizen. September 29, 1988.
  23. ^ "Home Sweet Home: Cats' '88 football schedule unveiled, features mostly home games". Arizona Daily Star. March 5, 1988.
  24. ^ "Veal, Hill come up big for Wildcats in win vs. ASU". Tucson Citizen. November 27, 1988.
  25. ^ "Despite being in basketball's shadow, Wildcat football played successful in '88". Arizona Daily Wildcat. December 1, 1988.