1981 Arizona Wildcats football team

1981 Arizona Wildcats football
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Record	6–5 (4–4 Pac-10)
Head coach	Larry Smith (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Steve Axman (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Moe Ankney (2nd season)
Home stadium	Arizona Stadium

1981 Pacific-10 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 10 Washington $	6	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 16 Arizona State	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. 14 USC	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Washington State	5	–	2	–	1			8	–	3	–	1
UCLA	5	–	2	–	1			7	–	4	–	1
Arizona	4	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Stanford	4	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
California	2	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Oregon	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Oregon State	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second season under head coach Larry Smith, the Wildcats compiled a 6–5 record (4–4 against Pac-10 opponents), finished in a tie for sixth place in the Pac-10, and outscored their opponents, 253 to 205.^[1][2] The team played its home games in Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona.

A memorable highlight of the season occurred in October when Arizona upset #1 USC, which was Arizona's first win over a top-ranked opponent in school history. It was also the Wildcats’ first win over the Trojans in program history. Losses to Fresno State and rival Arizona State in the final two games of the regular season were factors that prevented the Wildcats from going to a bowl game, although Arizona finished with a winning record (at the time, a 6–5 record did not always guarantee a bowl appearance due to very few bowls).^[3]

The team's statistical leaders included Tom Tunnicliffe with 1,420 passing yards, Vance Johnson with 654 rushing yards, and Bob Carter with 427 receiving yards.^[4] Linebacker Ricky Hunley led the team with 121 total tackles.^[5]

Before the season

Arizona finished the 1980 season (Smith’s first year with the Wildcats) with a 5–6 record, and featured the Wildcats’ upset victory over UCLA. The team entered 1981 with expectations that they would improve on their record, with fans believing that Smith was building a success with the program.^[6][7]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	5:00 p.m.	No. 12 UCLA	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	CBS	L 18–35	49,311	[8]
September 19	7:00 p.m.	California	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	KZAZ	L 13–14	40,096	[9]
September 26	7:00 p.m.	Cal State Fullerton*	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	KZAZ	W 37–16	36,279	[10]
October 3	7:00 p.m.	Stanford	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	USA	W 17–13	41,110	[11]
October 10	12:30 p.m.	at No. 1 USC	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	W 13–10	56,315	[12]
October 17	1:00 p.m.	at Oregon	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR		W 18–14	24,264	[13]
October 24	7:30 p.m.	No. 16 Washington State	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	ESPN	L 19–34	50,265	[14]
October 31	7:00 p.m.	UTEP*	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	KZAZ	W 48–15	35,642	[15]
November 14	8:30 p.m.	at Oregon State	Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR		W 40–7	18,339	[16]
November 21	1:00 p.m.	Fresno State*	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	KZAZ	L 17–23	38,107	[17]
November 28	7:30 p.m.	at No. 18 Arizona State	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ (rivalry)	USA	L 13–24	72,445	[18]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

Personnel

1981 Arizona Wildcats football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 81 Brad Anderson So G 60 Frank Kail Sr QB Tom Tunnicliffe So	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 3 Danny Copeland Jr LB 89 Ricky Hunley So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Larry Smith Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

UCLA

See also: 1981 UCLA Bruins football team

In the home, conference, and season opener, the Wildcats hosted UCLA. Arizona upset the Bruins in the previous year that prevented UCLA from earning the top ranking. This time, UCLA (who was ranked 12th) got vengeance, and defeated the Wildcats to avenge the loss, which meant that the Wildcats would not earn home upset victories over the Bruins in consecutive seasons.^[19][20]

USC

See also: 1981 USC Trojans football team

Arizona visited top-ranked USC in the Wildcats’ first road game of the season.^[21] After the Trojans took an early 10–0 lead, the Wildcats scored 13 unanswered points to shock the college football world for a huge upset victory. It was Arizona's first win over a top-ranked team in program history and it was their biggest win since joining the Pac-10 in 1978.^[22] A few hours after the game ended, the team returned to Tucson and was met by a crowd of raucous fans for wild celebrations at both the Tucson airport and the Arizona campus.^[23][24][25] It was the second straight year that Smith's Wildcats upset top-5 team, as they defeated UCLA (the other Los Angeles school), who was ranked second at the time, in the previous season.^[26]

Washington State

See also: 1981 Washington State Cougars football team

The Wildcats hosted 16th-ranked Washington State in a late October homecoming matchup, looking for another upset victory of the season. However, Arizona would be outplayed and outcoached by a tough Cougars squad in the first half. In the second half, the Wildcats attempted a comeback. Unfortunately, they would come up short and suffered a defeat that snapped a four-game winning streak after an 0–2 start to the year.^[27]

Arizona State

See also: 1981 Arizona State Sun Devils football team and Arizona-Arizona State football rivalry

In the season finale, Arizona traveled to face Arizona State (ranked 18th) in the rivalry game. It was first time since the 1979 Fiesta Bowl that the Wildcats returned to Tempe.^[28]

In the previous season, Smith remarked that ASU was the “NFL team in Arizona” after the Sun Devils embarrassed the Wildcats in Tucson. When Arizona entered the field, the Sun Devil Stadium crowd serenaded Smith with chants of “Who’s the NFL team in this state?” and fans held up signs that referenced Smith’s remarks.^[29]

In the game itself, Smith’s remarks proved to be true as the Wildcats struggled and lost to ASU yet again on a rainy night, perhaps denying the Wildcats a chance to earn a bowl bid.^[30][31][32] Also, the loss extended ASU's dominance in the rivalry dating back to 1949, with the Wildcats losing for the 24th time in 33 meetings, leading to Smith referring to Arizona as the “little brother” to ASU during a postgame interview, and calling ASU the “big brother” as they were the better rival team during the time.^[33]

Season notes

• Arizona returned to wearing white helmets and blue jerseys at home full-time after previously donning red helmets and jerseys. They began wearing the helmets that featured a large red “A” on them. The team believed that wearing blue would distinguish themselves from several Pac-10 teams that wear red helmets and/or jerseys at home.^[34] The Wildcats would continue to wear the “Red ‘A’” helmets until the end of the 1989 season and began wearing helmets with the school’s current “Block ‘A’” logo on it in 1990.
• This was the first season that Arizona Stadium’s end zones were painted with wordmarks. One end zone featured “Arizona” in red letters and the other had “Wildcats” in blue.^[35] The end zones had been blank since the stadium opened in 1929.
• The Wildcats played its first four games of the season due to Pac-10 scheduling. Arizona would not begin another season with four consecutive home games until 2004, though the following season began with three straight games at home before Arizona hit the road.
• The win over USC was Smith’s first and only one as Arizona’s coach and the only victory over the Trojans in the 1980s, as the Wildcats would defeat USC again until 1990, in which, ironically, Smith was the USC coach (he left the Wildcats for the Trojans before the 1987 season). The victory would be voted as the Wildcats’ top football win of the decade.^[36]
• After this season, the Wildcats would not defeat a top-ranked opponent until 1992 when they would upset Washington.
• This season was the last in which Smith lost to Arizona State. The Wildcats would not lose to the Sun Devils again until 1991 (despite tying the 1987 contest), and started a reign of dominance over their rival that began the following season.
• The Wildcats’ loss to Arizona State was the only loss for Arizona on the road, and prevented a perfect road record, as Arizona's other four losses occurred at home. Interestingly enough, in 1975, a loss to ASU also denied the Wildcats an unbeaten record on the road during that season.^[37] Arizona would not finish a season with an undefeated road record until 1998.
• As Smith referred to ASU as Arizona’s “big brother” after the Wildcats’ season-ending loss which continued ASU’s dominance in the rivalry, ASU fans began to troll him after the season (as well as into 1982) as a result (with the “big brother” remarks likely a reference to the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, or 1984, which featured a character named “Big Brother”).^[38] It would not be until 1986 that Smith remarked that the Wildcats were the “big brother” team, as they would begin to become dominant, though in the 1984 season that the remarks would live up to its name when Arizona went on to defeat ASU that year.

After the season

Although their record wasn’t good enough for a bowl game appearance (perhaps due to the loss to ASU), the Wildcats continued to rebuild during the offseason, with Smith promising to never lose to ASU again as long as he remained Arizona’s coach, which turned out to be true.^[39] Arizona would also continue its resurgence by bringing in recruiting classes that would help the program restore its formula of winning once more.^[40] It would ultimately lead to a memorable 1982 season in which the Wildcats would compete and win out against elite opponents.

References

1. "1981 Arizona Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
2. "Arizona Football 2016 Media Guide" (PDF). University of Arizona. 2016. p. 107. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
3. "Cats' 6-5 record not quite good enough for bowl berth". Arizona Daily Star. December 9, 1981.
4. "1981 Arizona Wildcats Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
5. 2016 Media Guide, p. 86.
6. "Smith to build bright future for Cats as '81 football season approaches". Arizona Daily Star. August 25, 1981.
7. "Wildcats look to improve as football season approaches". Tucson Citizen. September 2, 1981.
8. "Bruins hold off Arizona". The Daily Breeze. September 13, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Small caliber California outguns Arizona 14–13". The Sacramento Bee. September 20, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Pete Donovan (September 27, 1981). "The last half proves to be the worst for Cal State Fullerton, 37–16". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Holland runs, passes Wildcats over Cardinals 17–13". The Sacramento Bee. October 4, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Arizona jolts USC off top". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 11, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Wounded Ducks stay close, fall 18–14 to Arizona". The Sunday Oregonian. October 18, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Washington State rolls on with 34–19 win over Arizona". The San Francisco Examiner. October 25, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "UA unearths first-half offense for victory". The Arizona Daily Star. November 1, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Cats stomp Beavers in windy, rainy game". The Arizona Republic. November 15, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Fresno State picks apart Arizona in 23–17 upset". The Arizona Republic. November 22, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "No. 18 Arizona State downs Arizona, 24–13". The Des Moines Register. November 29, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "Revenge: UCLA tops Arizona, avenges 1980 loss". Los Angeles Times. September 13, 1981.
20. "Wildcats drop opener to Bruins; UA unable to pull back-to-back upsets of UCLA at home". Tucson Citizen. September 14, 1981.
21. "Wildcats face tough test against #1 Trojans in first road game of year". Arizona Daily Star. October 9, 1981.
22. "Cats shock No. 1 USC, 13–10". Arizona Daily Star. October 11, 1981.
23. "Tucson celebrates UA's big win over USC". Tucson Citizen. October 12, 1981.
24. "Fans go crazy after Cats' impossible victory over mighty Trojans". Arizona Daily Star. October 11, 1981.
25. "Wildcats stun No. 1-ranked Trojans". The Arizona Republic. October 11, 1981.
26. "A Wild Upset: Wildcats take down top-ranked USC; Arizona has now shocked both LA schools within two seasons". Arizona Daily Wildcat. October 12, 1981.
27. "Wildcat rally falls short". Arizona Daily Star. October 25, 1981.
28. "Cats prepare for first visit to Tempe since '79 Fiesta Bowl defeat; UA looks for revenge against Devils". Arizona Daily Wildcat. November 25, 1981.
29. "UA coach gets roasted after remarks about ASU". The Arizona Republic. November 29, 1981.
30. "Smith gets taunted by ASU fans after comments about Sun Devils and NFL in another rivalry loss". Tucson Citizen. November 30, 1981.
31. "ASU bests UA again". The Arizona Republic. November 29, 1981.
32. "ASU denies Wildcats' bowl chances in the rain". Arizona Daily Star. November 29, 1981.
33. "UA continues to be ASU's 'little brother' after yet another rivalry loss, making ASU 'big brother'". Arizona Daily Wildcat. November 30, 1981.
34. "Wildcats' new look for football could inspire team for more victories this fall". Arizona Daily Star. July 28, 1981.
35. "Arizona Stadium to have wordings in the end zones starting this fall". Arizona Stadium. July 23, 1981.
36. "Ranking the top 10 Wildcat football wins of the '80s". Tucson Citizen. December 30, 1989.
37. "Wildcats nearly perfect on road until ASU defeat". Tucson Citizen. November 30, 1981.
38. "Big Brother is watching Smith: ASU fans roast UA coach after remarks". The Arizona Republic. December 1, 1981.
39. "Smith hopes to win more in '82 and to 'not lose to ASU again'". Arizona Daily Star. December 10, 1981.
40. "Arizona football believes they'll build a winning team". The Arizona Republic. January 13, 1982.