Arizona Football: Top 5 Gut-wrenching losses, with silver linings
By Brad Malone
No. 4: The Ducks Strike Back on Nov. 21, 2009
Oregon 44
Arizona 41 (Double OT)
Late in the fourth quarter and holding onto a seven-point lead, Arizona appeared to be in the driver’s seat for a long-awaited Rose Bowl birth.
The Ducks needed to go 80 yards with 3:11 left to force overtime.
Hundreds of students started to make their way from the student section onto the field, preparing for a celebration that would rival any Arizona win in the stadium’s history. What the students didn’t seem to grasp was that until the clock reads 0:00, the game is not officially over.
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Oregon quickly marched down the field and scored with six seconds left to force overtime.
The students went back to their seats and watched the Cats lose in double overtime.
Silver Lining
The next week Arizona defeated rival ASU in Tempe when Alex Zendejas kicked a field goal as time expired giving the Cats a 31-28 victory.
A week later Mike Stoops picked up his first win against Pete Carroll’s USC Trojans when the Cats won a close one at the Coliseum.
Not So Silver Lining
Had Arizona won the Oregon game, the Cats would have made their first trip to the Rose Bowl. Also, a much higher and thicker wall was built in front of the ZonaZoo so it would NEVER happen again!
Next: No. 3: UCLA Does No Favors