1980 Arizona Wildcats football team

The 1980 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first season under head coach Larry Smith, the Wildcats compiled a 5–6 record (3–4 against Pac-10 opponents), finished in a tie for sixth place in the Pac-10, and were outscored by their opponents, 275 to 215.[1][2] The team played its home games in Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona.

1980 Arizona Wildcats football
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
1980 record5–6 (3–4 Pac-10)
Head coach
CaptainHubie Oliver
Home stadiumArizona Stadium
1980 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 16 Washington $ 6 –1 –0  9 –3 –0
No. 13 UCLA 5 –2 –0  9 –2 –0
No. 11 USC 4 –2 –1  8 –2 –1
Arizona State 5 –3 –0  7 –4 –0
Oregon 4 –3 –1  6 –3 –2
Stanford 3 –4 –0  6 –5 –0
Arizona 3 –4 –0  5 –6 –0
Washington State 3 –4 –0  4 –7 –0
California 3 –5 –0  3 –8 –0
Oregon State 0 –8 –0  0 –11 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included Tom Tunnicliffe with 1,204 passing yards, Hubert Oliver with 655 rushing yards, and Tim Holmes with 545 receiving yards.[3] Linebacker Jack Housley led the team with 104 total tackles.[4]

Before the season

Arizona finished the 1979 season with a 6–5 record, and lost to Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl. During the offseason, head coach Tony Mason was discovered as being allegedly involved in a cash payment scandal by giving boosters money to players, which was illegal under NCAA rules. As a result, Mason was fired and replaced by Smith, who was coaching at Tulane.[5] [6] Smith was a former assistant coach at Arizona under Mason’s predecessor Jim Young. In a press conference, Smith promised to rebuild the program and bring the team to a winning success.[7]

Schedule
DateOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 20Colorado State
L 13–1548,511
September 27at California
W 31–2441,000
October 4at Iowa*
ESPNW 5–359,950
October 11No. 2 USC
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
NBCL 10–2754,789
October 18Washington State
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
L 14–3847,132
October 25No. 4 Notre Dame
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
CBSL 3–2056,211
November 1No. 4 UCLA
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
ABCW 23–1742,876
November 8at Washington
L 22–4549,341
November 15Pacific
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
W 63–3539,576
November 22at Oregon State
W 24–715,300
November 29Arizona State
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ (rivalry)
ABCL 7–4453,108
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

at Iowa
Arizona at Iowa
1 234Total
• Wildcats 2 300 5
Hawkeyes 0 003 3
See also: 1980 Iowa Hawkeyes football team


Notre Dame

Notre Dame took down the Wildcats in their first and, to date, only trip to Tucson.[8]

UCLA

Arizona upset the second-ranked Bruins for Smith’s first big win as the Wildcat coach (UCLA was set to become the top-ranked team had they won).[9]

Arizona State
Arizona State at Arizona
1 234Total
• Sun Devils 14 17130 44
Wildcats 0 070 7
See also: 1980 Arizona State Sun Devils football team


[10]

Season notes
  • Smith’s first season was known as a “rebuilding year“, leading to the team’s 5–6 record.
  • The season was the only one in the 1980s that Arizona finished with a losing record.
  • Also, this season started a decade of resurgence for the Wildcats, fulfilling Smith’s promise when he was hired before the season started (see above).
  • The victory over UCLA was the first big win under Smith, which became overshadowed by Arizona’s upset of USC during the following season.
  • Arizona did not lose to ASU at home again until 1992.
  • This was the last season until 2012 that Arizona wore red helmets and also the last season until 2005 that they wore red jerseys.

References
  1. "1980 Arizona Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  2. "Arizona Football 2016 Media Guide" (PDF). University of Arizona. 2016. p. 107. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  3. "1980 Arizona Wildcats Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  4. 2016 Media Guide, p. 86.
  5. "Mason out as UA football coach in wake of alleged fraud scandal". Arizona Daily Star. April 15, 1980.
  6. "Smith introduced as new UA football coach". Arizona Daily Star. April 28, 1980.
  7. "New football coach promises change, hopes to bring success back to Tucson". Arizona Daily Wildcat. April 30, 1980.
  8. "#4 Notre Dame 20, Arizona 3: Irish top Wildcats in desert". Chicago Tribune. October 26, 1980.
  9. "Wildcats shock #2 Bruins for major upset". Arizona Daily Star. November 2, 1980.
  10. "Sun Devils Club Arizona with Defense". The Register-Guard. Eugene. November 30, 1980. p. 3B. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
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