1984 Arizona Wildcats football team

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1984 Arizona Wildcats football
ConferencePacific-10
Record7–4 (5–2 Pac-10)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorSteve Axman (5th season)
Defensive coordinatorMoe Ankney (5th season)
Home stadiumArizona Stadium
Seasons
← 1983
1985 →
1984 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 USC $ 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 2 Washington 6 – 1 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 9 UCLA 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Arizona 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Washington State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Arizona State 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Oregon 3 – 5 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Stanford 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Oregon State 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
California 1 – 8 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1984 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona in the Pacific 10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth season under head coach Larry Smith, the Wildcats compiled a 7–4 record (5–2 against Pac-10 opponents), finished in a tie for third place in the Pac-10, and outscored their opponents, 272 to 192. The team played their home games at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona.

The Wildcats were placed on probation by both the NCAA and Pac-10 in May 1983 following the discovery of cash payments to student-athletes and players as well as allegations of fraud involving former Arizona coach Tony Mason in a scandal that rocked the university.[1] Due to the NCAA violations, Arizona was ineligible for the 1984 Pac-10 championship and was banned from playing in a bowl game (including the Rose Bowl). They were also barred from playing games on live television during the season as well as 1985.

Before the season[edit]

The Wildcats completed the 1983 season with a record of 7–3–1 (4–3–1 in Pac-10). They did not participate in a bowl game due to the NCAA sanctions for recruiting violations. Arizona was deeply affected by the penalties when it came to recruiting during the offseason.[2]

Arizona entered the 1984 season believing that they would win despite being on probation, though they would neither be competing for the Rose Bowl nor being shown on television. The NCAA had announced in May 1983 that the Wildcats would be barred from both a bowl game and having games aired live on TV.[3] As a result of the TV ban, Arizona games were not aired on national or cable networks.[4]

Schedule[edit]

DateOpponentSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 1Fresno State*
L 22–2743,477
September 8California
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
W 23–1341,234
September 15at Oregon State
W 27–8
September 22at LSU*
TigerVisionL 26–2778,052[5]
September 29Long Beach State*
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
W 31–2441,910[6]
October 6Oregon
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
W 28–1440,848
October 20at USC
L 14–1765,411
October 27at No. 1 Washington
L 12–2859,876[7]
November 3Utah State*
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
W 45–1044,225
November 10Stanforddagger
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
W 28–1444,836
November 24Arizona State
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ (rivalry)
W 16–1058,132
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel[edit]

1984 Arizona Wildcats football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K Max Zendejas Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt


Game summaries[edit]

LSU[edit]

Arizona traveled to Baton Rouge to play Louisiana State (LSU) in the first meeting between the two schools. The Wildcats fought tough and ultimately came up short against the Tigers.[8]

Oregon[edit]

See also: 1984 Oregon Ducks football team
1 234Total
Oregon 7 007 14
• Arizona 0 10117 28
  • Date: October 6
  • Location: Arizona Stadium
  • Game attendance: 40,848
Scoring summary
Q1OREBarnes 80 yard pass from Miller (MacLeod kick)ORE 7–0
Q2ARIZZendejas 23 yard field goalORE 7–3
Q2ARIZJenkins 6 yard run (Zendejas kick)ARIZ 10–7
Q3ARIZZendejas 30 yard field goalARIZ 13–7
Q3ARIZPrior 6 yard run (Prior run)ARIZ 21–7
Q4OREMiller 11 yard pass from McCall (MacLeod kick)ARIZ 21–14
Q4ARIZAdams 10 yard run (Zendejas kick)ARIZ 28–14

The Wildcats played Oregon at home. After a close first half, Arizona took control in the second half and defeated the Ducks.[9]

Washington[edit]

On the road at Washington, Arizona's offense struggled at times against the top-ranked Huskies’ defense, which to a Wildcats loss.[10]

Arizona State[edit]

See also: Arizona-Arizona State football rivalry

The Wildcats played their season finale against rival Arizona State. In front of an Arizona Stadium crowd, the Wildcats did enough against the Sun Devils in low-scoring contest, and Arizona came out victorious over ASU for the third year in a row.[11][12] The offense managed to get only one touchdown and kicker Max Zendejas, who defeated ASU the previous year with a field goal, made three kicks, including 51 and 32 yard attempts in the fourth quarter, during the win. It was the first time since 1960-62 that the Wildcats defeated their rivals in three consecutive seasons.[13] Arizona finished the season with seven wins, matching their 1983 total.

Season notes[edit]

  • Arizona's seven victories were enough to be bowl-eligible, but due to NCAA sanctions, they were not eligible for the postseason.
  • The loss to LSU would be the closest that the Wildcats would ever come to defeating the Tigers, as they lost big in future meetings in 2003 and 2006.
  • After starting out the season with a 4–4 record, the Wildcats won their final three games to finish with a winning record. As they were banned from the postseason, the team treated their finale against Arizona State as their bowl game, and ultimately won it.[14]
  • All of Arizona's home games this season (as well as 1985) were televised on a local Tucson station and were all aired on a tape delay and broadcast the day after due to the games not airing live as a result of the team's TV ban.[15] None of the Wildcats’ road games were aired on TV due to the ban.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "UA football program aware of Mason cover-up". The Arizona Republic. May 7, 1983.
  2. ^ "Wildcats recruiting affected by NCAA sanctions". Arizona Daily Star. April 12, 1984.
  3. ^ "Smith: Wildcats can still compete for wins in '84 season". Tucson Citizen. July 27, 1984.
  4. ^ "No UA football games on live TV in '84 and '85 due to NCAA ban". Arizona Daily Star. August 20, 1984.
  5. ^ "LSU rallies past Wildcats, 27–26". The Arizona Daily Star. September 23, 1984. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Dick Wagner (September 30, 1984). "Long Beach Comes Close Again but Loses to Arizona". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. III-8. Retrieved February 10, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  7. ^ "Huskies win, then the battle starts". Eugene Register-Guard. (Idaho). wire services. October 28, 1984. p. 7E.
  8. ^ "Wildcats fall short at LSU". Arizona Daily Wildcat. September 24, 1984.
  9. ^ "Cats pull away from Ducks, 28–14". Arizona Daily Star. October 7, 1984.
  10. ^ "Wildcats get terminated by top-ranked Huskies". Arizona Daily Star. October 28, 1984.
  11. ^ "Wildcats edge Devils yet again". Tucson Citizen. November 25, 1984.
  12. ^ "Arizona wins third straight from ASU". Arizona Daily Star. November 25, 1984.
  13. ^ "Three in a row! Wildcats triumph over Sun Devils in close battle". Arizona Daily Wildcat. November 26, 1984.
  14. ^ "UA-ASU game is Wildcats' bowl game". Arizona Daily Star. November 22, 1984.
  15. ^ "KZAZ Channel 11 to air UA football home games on tape delay in '84 and '85 due to live TV ban". Tucson Citizen. August 29, 1984.
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