Top 5 Most Memorable Wins of the Rich Rodriguez Era
By Brad Malone
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Honorable Mention
Arizona 42 (No. 5) Oregon 16
Going into this one I thought the Cats had a chance, but not a great chance. The Cats had lost the previous week at home to lowly Washington State. Tucson wasn’t prepared for what happened that overcast Saturday afternoon against the Ducks.
All I was worried about in this one was dressing warm enough and getting to my seat with beefy nachos before kickoff. If you have never had the beefy nachos at Arizona Stadium or McKale Center, do yourself a favor and order them the next time you go to a game. Even if you don’t like sports (why don’t you?), the beefy nachos are worth the trip to the campus on game days.
When the game started I was eating my nachos and was happy as a little kid. I wasn’t mentally prepared for what happened next. On the first play from scrimmage the unthinkable transpired. Marcus Mariotta threw an interception. The future Heisman Trophy winner had not thrown an interception in what seemed like a decade.
The turnover took place thanks to Shaquille Richardson tapping the pass backwards while falling out of bounds. Just behind him was Scooby Wright, who ended up catching the ball in bounds. It is one of the signature plays of the Rich Rod era so far.
That play was the beginning of the end for the Ducks. Arizona dominated the game. Ka’deem Carey became Arizona’s all-time leading rusher that afternoon. He finished with 206 yards on the ground and four touchdowns.
Next: No. 5 : Casey Skowron To the Rescue