If recent history has anything to do with it, Arizona Football is in for another close shave against the Nevada Wolf Pack on Saturday at 4 p.m., in the biggest little city in the world.
Tomorrow’s game is the third time in four seasons these two schools have met on the gridiron.
Last year, the Cats held on late for a 35-28 win over the Wolf Pack in Tucson. The game Arizona fans look at most fondly is when the two schools met in the 2012 New Mexico Bowl.
It was the first year for Rich Rodriguez at Arizona. The Cats made some noise early in the year when they unexpectedly defeated a ranked Oklahoma State team in Tucson, but the biggest surprise came when the Cats defeated the Top 10 USC Trojans at Arizona Stadium later in the season.
The Cats ended the regular season on a low point when they lost the Territorial Cup to the school up North. After that loss, the Cats were 7-5 and were invited to Albuquerque for some post season festivities.
I was unable to make the trek to the Land of Enchantment. Luckily Tucson’s iconic independent movie house, the Loft Cinema, decided to show the game in their 500-seat theater that has the biggest screen in Southern Arizona. And it was in HD!
Much like the game in Albuquerque, there was a lot of room to spread out in the massive theater because of the dismal attendance.
The Cats quickly got behind the eight-ball and trailed 21-0 before they got off the bus.
As the game went on, few folks did their best Saturday Arizona Stadium impression and ducked out of the theater a little early. I hope they had a radio in their car because they missed something that only happens once or twice in a lifetime.
Nevada had no business losing this game. They had over 400 yards rushing and nearly 700 yards of total offense.
Last night, I was watching the replay of the game on the Pac-12 Network. The game clock ticked down to under 2:00, the Cats trailed by 13, and I kept thinking, ‘How did the Cats win this game’?
Arizona Wildcats
Was it all a dream?
Then it all came back to me as I was watching Matt Scott drive the Cats quickly downfield.
With 0:48 left the Cats cut the lead to 48-42 when Scott found Austin Hill in the end zone for a two-yard score.
The Cats still needed a small miracle with a combination of a meltdown of epic proportions to pull this one-off.
They got their miracle when John Bonano delivered a perfect onside kick. Hard hitting Marquis Flowers recovered and the Cats had a new life with under a minute left.
By this time everybody who was in the lobby at the Loft was making their way inside to see what all the fuss was about.
In a blink of an eye, Scott moved the chains down the field and with 0:19 the Cats took the lead on a Tyler Slavin two-yard touchdown reception from Scott.
The extra point was good!
Arizona leads 49-48.
The Cats sealed the victory when Flowers intercepted the final pass of the game.
Matt Scott throws the ball …
Football fans of schools like Ohio State or Alabama would probably scoff at a New Mexico Bowl berth, but to me that victory is one of my fondest Arizona Football memories.
It was the perfect way to start the Rich Rod era and I couldn’t have been happier for Scott, who waited his turn to shine after NFL Pro Bowler Nick Foles took his starting job his sophomore season.
Foles deserved the chance and Scott would later come in handy when Foles was sidelined with an injury.
When the Mike Stoops regime decided to redshirt Scott for his senior season in 2011 they had no idea they would not be around to see what Scott could do by himself at the helm in 2012.
Their strategy was Rich Rod’s gain. Scott was the perfect quarterback to fit into Rich Rod’s breakneck offensive style. Partly because of the Stoops decision, Rich Rod was able to compete in the Pac-12 at a high level right away.
When Rich Rod and Scott lifted the New Mexico Bowl Trophy in victory, I was a proud Wildcat fan.
It didn’t matter to me that it looked like they had super glued a pottery vase from the Picacho Peak gift shop to the base of a trophy mantle. What did matter was I had just witnessed a once in a lifetime comeback, twice in a lifetime if you count the Hill Mary.
It was the beginning of what I hope is a long tenure in Tucson for Rich Rod and his staff.