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By Craig Degel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
August 30, 1996
It's that time of year again.It does not get much better than this time of year. Yes, the college football season has begun.
There are those who will say that college basketball is far more exciting than the football season. Well, the month of March is truly exciting but the four months leading up to the tournament can't compare to the 15 Saturdays from Labor Day to Thanksgiving weekend. Then there are bowl games.
Every game means life or death in the race for a national title. In basketball, conference foes meet each other twice a year. In football, you get the job done the first time or live with the sting of a loss for a whole year.
Seasons can be made with just one victory. Former Arizona defensive lineman Tedy Bruschi, who this year will be at linebacker for the New England Patriots, once said that the Wildcats could go 0-10 and a victory over Arizona State would make it a good season.
The rivalries are unparalleld. Southern Cal-UCLA. Michigan-Ohio State. Florida-Florida State. Nebraska-Oklahoma. Army-Navy - hey, stop laughing that's a great game no matter how bad they are.
This season promises to be another great year.
Okay, enough beating around the bush, here's what's going to happen this year.
Nebraska will not win the national championship. Sports Illustrated picked Tennessee to win it all which means the Volunteers won't either. Florida has the Fun'N'Gun offense but their defense is so bad it makes it look like everyone they play has a Fun'N'Gun, too. Colorado has too tough of a schedule.
Who does that leave?
Please forgive me but it leaves Notre Dame.
Cakewalk schedule, good quarterback, good rushing attack, good defense. All that adds up to a championship year for Lou Holtz and company.
Now I just have to hope that this isn't the year that Southern Cal figures out how to beat the Irish.
This being the 100th anniversary of Arizona athletics, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look back and some of the outstanding football teams in Wildcat history.
1902, 1908, 1945 - Arizona's only undefeated teams. The 1902 team wasn't even scored upon. However, these teams had schedules that included powerhouses like Tucson Indian School, Fort Huachuca and Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo.
1961 - All-American quarterback Eddie Wilson led the Wildcats to an 8-1-1 record and a national ranking of 17. The year included victories over Arizona State, Texas-El Paso, Oregon and New Mexico. The loss came to West Texas State in Canyon, Texas. The Wildcats tied Nebraska 14-14 in Lincoln.
1974 - The Wildcats, on route to a 9-2 season were ranked as high as ninth in the polls but consecutive October losses to Texas Tech and Brigham Young dropped the Wildcats to 18th by season's end.
1975 - Much the same team. Exactly the same record. It was another 9-2 season for the Wildcats after a loss to New Mexico and a season ending loss to an Arizona State team that finished its season 12-0. The Wildcats ended the season at 18 in the polls.
1983 - Actually this is the Wildcat team that could have been. All-American Rick Hunley and the rest of the Wildcats were ranked as high as third in the nation early in the year after starting 5-0-1 but consecutive losses to Stanford, Oregon and Washington dropped UA out of the polls.
1992 - Arizona 16, No. 1-ranked Washington 3. Enough said.
1993 - The Wildcats started the season 7-0 but a 20-point loss to UCLA and a lost opportunity against California kept UA from a trip to the Rose Bowl. However, the Wildcats proved themselves a national power by embarassing Miami 29-0 in the Fiesta Bowl. The victory propelled the team to a No. 9 rankings in the polls.
Craig Degel is a journalism and history junior and sports editor of the Arizona Daily Wildcat
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