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What’s more beautiful? The Catalinas in the background or the scoreboard indicating Arizona 31, ASU 10, after Chuck Cecil’s 100-yard interception return for a touchdown in 1986. Photo courtesy of Anne Greasley

Arizona by the numbers with only 1 day until kickoff:

Robert Golden

• No. 1 for Arizona is junior cornerback Robert Golden, who was a 13-game starter at strong safety in 2009 after switching to the position from cornerback in spring ball. Highlight to season was 79-yard interception return for a touchdown two and a half minutes into the victory over Stanford. It was the seventh-longest INT return for a touchdown in school history and longest in 13 seasons.
• Arizona won its first game against a No. 1-ranked team on Oct. 10, 1981. The Wildcats upset USC and Marcus Allen 13-10 at The Coliseum. Overall, the UA is 2-6 against No. 1 teams in the history of the program.
• Twice, Arizona has attempted only one pass in a game and both were against Oregon in 1978 and 1993.
• The renowned Desert Swarm defense was No. 1 in the nation in 1993 with only 236.9 yards allowed.
• Other national rankings of which the UA finished No. 1:
  • Team rush defense, 30.1 yards allowed, 1993
  • Scoring defense, 8.9 points a game, 1992
  • Team passing offense, 177.7 yards a game, 1941
  • Punt returns, 17.7 yards per return, 1960
  • Kickoff returns, 26.7 yards per return, 1954
  • Fourth-down conversion defense, 10 percent allowed, 2006
  • Total offense (individual), Fred Enke, 1,941 yards, 1947
  • Rushing offense, Art Luppino, 1,359 yards, 1954
  • Rushing offense, Art Luppino, 1,313 yards, 1955
  • Passing efficiency rating, Eddie Wilson, 140.8, 1960
  • Passing efficiency rating, Eddie Wilson, 134.2, 1961
  • Pass receiving, Hank Stanton, 50 for 820 yards, 1941
  • Pass receiving, Dave Hibbert, 61 for 606 yards, 1958
  • All-purpose rushing, Art Luppino, 2,193 yards, 1954
  • All-purpose rushing, Art Luppino, 1,702 yards, 1955
  • Scoring, Art Luppino, 166 points, 1954
  • Punt returns, Dennis Northcutt, 18.96 yards
  • Kickoff returns, Art Luppino, 20 for 632 yards, 1954

NOTE: Statistics and records reflect information provided in the 2009 Arizona football media guide online. The 2010 media guide has yet to be made available on the Internet.

No. 1 best play in UA history

(in my lifetime, according to me … By Javier Morales)
And the winner is … Chuck Cecil‘s 100-yard interception return for a touchdown against ASU in 1986. Arizona Stadium has never been more loud in my almost 35 years of experience attending games there. The legendary interception came with 8:56 remaining, as the fourth-ranked Sun Devils, unbeaten and heading to their first Rose Bowl, drove for a touchdown that could have narrowed Arizona’s lead to 24-17. Cecil stepped in front of Jeff Van Raaphorst‘s pass 7 yards deep in the end zone. He eluded a few ASU tacklers, broke free to the right sideline, and then sprinted to the end zone in what is the most electrifying moment in UA football history, especially in Tucson. The Wildcats won 34-17 and afterward, Cecil remarked: “I hate ASU.”
Why is this play No. 1?: It is the signature play of “The Streak” which turned the tide in the modern era of the series following ASU’s dominance of Arizona in football in the 1960s and 1970s. How often does a former walk-on intercept a pass and run the entire length of the field for a touchdown? Answer: Practically once in a lifetime. Last-second kicks happen all the time — not to take anything away from Max Zendejas and his numerous, important clutch performances — but what Cecil did in 1986 may never happen again in our lifetime. It has not to this point.

TOLEDO BLADE: >>A familiar name on Cats’ staff >>Dantin named starting QB for Toledo vs. Arizona >>Lake High graduate Mathews pushes past tough times. >>Back to basics: UT’s Beckman returns to defensive roots >>Rockets use grayshirts to boost depth Toledo Truth: >>This will mark the first time in history that a Pac-10 school will visit a MAC school’s stadium for a football game. Toledo is also the first MAC school to host a Big Ten school when Indiana visited the Glass Bowl in 1996. In 1997, Toledo became the first MAC school to beat a Big Ten school at a MAC stadium when the Rockets defeated Purdue 36-22. Purdue finished 9-3 and played in the Alamo Bowl that year. Toledo is also the first MAC school to host a game with Ohio State. It was not at the Glass Bowl, but Toledo hosted a neutral site game against Ohio State last season, the first of its kind for a MAC program against the Buckeyes. Toledo is also the first MAC school to defeat Penn State in 2000, a 24-6 win at Happy Valley. Toledo was also the first MAC school to defeat Pittsburgh, when the Rockets shocked the No. 9 Panthers 35-31 in 2003. Lastly, in 2008, Toledo became the first MAC school to defeat Michigan, when the Rockets beat the Wolverines at the Big House with a final score of 13-10.

E-mail WILDABOUTAZCATS@GMAIL.COM to inquire about placing an ad for thousands of Wildcat fans to read. >>Dish HD for Life: Great specials on HD TV from Dish. >>Arizona Cancer Center: Ways to give. >>St. Baldrick’s Organization: Help children with cancer.

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>>The Other Guys

Arizona by the numbers with 21 days until kickoff:

Gino Crump

• Junior wide receiver Gino Crump, a Washington, D.C., native who transferred from West Virginia, wears No. 21 for the Wildcats. With the untimely departure of Delashaun Dean, Crump figures to play more of a prominent role with the Wildcats. Bob Hertzel, a columnist for the Times West Virginian, wrote this about Crump in March 2009 before Crump left the Mountaineers after he questioned his role with the team: “Redshirt wide receiver Gino Crump out of Washington, D.C., looks like a name you better learn.”
• Art Luppino, documented in our Day No. 22 segment, scored a season-record 21 touchdowns for the Wildcats in 1954.
• The UA’s record for average yards after reception is 21, held by Keith Hartwig in 1976. He caught 54 passes for 1,134 yards.
• Jason Bondzio holds the UA record for most kicking points in a season with 100 in 2007. He made 21 field goals and 37 extra-point attempts. Bondzio is one of only three UA players to score at least 100 points in a season. Luppino, a tailback, holds the school record of 166 in 1954 and drop-kicker/receiver Harold “Nosey” McClellan scored 121 in 1921.
• Arizona’s highest scoring game is 74 in 1921 against UTEP. The Cats scored 11 touchdowns in the 74-0 drubbing in Tucson.
• Chuck Cecil intercepted 21 passes in his career (1984-87), which still stands as the UA record
• Dubious mark: The UA’s most punts in a game is 21 at Texas Tech in 1935.
• Twice Arizona has overcome a 21-point deficit, which is a school record greatest comeback. The Cats trailed 21-0 in both games in the second quarter. They won 32-28 in 1950 against Hardin-Simmons and 31-28 against San Diego State in 1997.

E-mail WILDABOUTAZCATS@GMAIL.COM to inquire about placing an ad for thousands of Wildcat fans to read. >>Dish HD for Life: Great specials on HD TV from Dish. >>Arizona Cancer Center: Ways to give. >>St. Baldrick’s Organization: Help children with cancer.

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Important Developments on July 19

J.F. “Pop” McKale was the UA’s AD from 1914-57

POP GOES … TO THE WORLD SERIES (Tucson Daily Citizen, 1957) — If Pop McKale could have one single wish come true, he’d probably put in a bid to see a major-league World Series. And, at the same time, if Pop were asked to name the last thing he had any desire to do, it would be to ride in an airplane. This fall, however, he’ll do both — thanks to some scheming friends. A group is raising a good-sized purse to send Pop to the World Series as one means of honoring him on the occasion of his retiring as athletic director from the University of Arizona. Pop’s well-meaning friends have added a stipulation, however. He must make the trip by plane. Over the past 20 years or so, Pop has done everything possible to avoid planes. If transportation meant a choice between walking and floating around in the clouds, Pop walked. When some of his teams flew or when he accompanied Arizona teams to the College World Series, Pop always took a train or drove his own car. Now with his first major-league World Series as a prize, Pop’s friends are sure he not only will be willing to fly but that he’ll be first in line to greet the stewardess.

Today’s Wildcat Birthdays:

>> Ethan Chavez, sophomore UA baseball outfielder, turns 20

E-mail WILDABOUTAZCATS@GMAIL.COM to inquire about placing an ad for thousands of Wildcat fans to read. >>Dish HD for Life: Great specials on HD TV from Dish. >>Arizona Cancer Center: Ways to give. >>St. Baldrick’s Organization: Help children with cancer.

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Chuck Cecil, now the Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator, will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame tonight

Former UA safety Chuck Cecil will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame tonight, starting at 5:15 p.m. at South Bend, Ind. Cecil is one of the most inspirational Wildcats in school history because he started his career as an undersized walk-on. UA athletic director Greg Byrne and ex-UA football coach Dick Tomey are expected to attend the induction ceremony. You can access the site shown directly at CollegeFootball.org.

E-mail WILDABOUTAZCATS@GMAIL.COM to inquire about placing an ad for thousands of Wildcat fans to read. >>Dish HD for Life: Great specials on HD TV from Dish. >>Arizona Cancer Center: Ways to give. >>St. Baldrick’s Organization: Help children with cancer.

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Writer takes look at when Cats snatched win from jaws of defeat

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=545c16b9-3697-4dd1-a10d-fd49d43c02d4" target="_new" title="">Late Heroics Vault U.S. to World Cup Knockout Stage</a>

By Javier Morales

Where were you when Landon Donovan made his game-winning goal against Algeria on Wednesday morning? His 91st-minute goal, which gave the U.S. a 1-0 victory over Algeria in the World Cup, carried the significance of a historical moment caught in time, like when JFK was shot or where you watched the last episode of Cheers.

For the record, I was sitting at my kitchen table watching the game with my daughter running around me. I didn’t jump or scream. I got out of my seat, however, and walked closer to the TV. I looked on not believing the moment. My first reaction: “Where are the refs? What are they going to call now?”

The goal in injury-time allowed the U.S. to stave off elimination and win its group at the same time. Donovan snatched victory from the jaws of defeat — or tie (that does not sound as good).

Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat — the ultimate Landon Donovan moment — is like winning in basketball after trailing by seven points with only 37 seconds remaining without a shot clock and a three-point line.

Please read the rest of this entry at TucsonCitizen.com

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Ex-UA All-American to face Sorenstam-Kerr winner

>>No. 2 Francona vs. No. 1 Finch-Daigle (poll open through Thursday)
>>No. 2 Sorenstam vs. No. 1 Kerr (poll open through Wednesday)
>>No. 7 Jefferson vs. No. 1 Bruschi (poll closes end of Tuesday)
>>No. 3 Cecil vs. No. 1 Elliott. Winner: Elliott
>>Final Four
>>The Field of 32 bracket
>>Mike Candrea Regional
>>Frank Busch Regional
>>Cedric Dempsey Regional
>>Jerry Kindall Regional

Top seed Sean Elliott, the only remaining Tucsonan in the Bear Down Leader competition field, remains firmly alive, getting past the ever-popular No. 3 Chuck Cecil by an 86-14 percent margin in the Jerry Kindall Regional final.

Sean Elliott was a Godsend for Lute Olson and UA basketball program

The longtime San Antonio Spur, who is a broadcaster for that team, may face former teammate Steve Kerr in the Final Four. Kerr is currently leading Annika Sorenstam in their Elite Eight matchup.

Elliott is part of a small elite group from the UA’s home city to wear a Wildcat uniform. Of the 32 athletes in the bracket, only three others hail from Tucson — Lacey Nymeyer-John, Ron Hassey and the late Mike Dawson.

Former UA coach Lute Olson admitted to reporters in Jan. 1988, when the Wildcats climbed to No. 1 in the rankings, that his program was fortunate to have Elliott grow up in Tucson.

“No question, you have to be lucky to do this as quickly as we’ve done it,” Olson told reporters at the time. “There’s no other way. We found Steve Kerr when nobody else wanted him. That’s a stroke of luck and we were lucky to have Sean Elliott grow up right here. If he’s from Southern California, we don’t get him.”

HOW ELLIOTT GOT HERE:

• Defeated No. 8 Rob Waldrop by an 89-11 percent vote in the first round, No. 5 Nancy Evans by a 90-10 percent vote in the Sweet 16, and No. 3 Chuck Cecil by an 86-14 percent vote in the Elite Eight.

REMINDER: The Bear Down Leader competition was created to acknowledge some of Arizona’s finest past and present who represent the Wildcat athletic community the best.

Terry Francona

Jennie Finch-Daigle

Annika Sorenstam

Steve Kerr

Richard Jefferson

Tedy Bruschi

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The former walk-on vs. the All-American

>>Elite Eight schedule
>>The Field of 32 bracket
>>Mike Candrea Regional
>>Frank Busch Regional
>>Cedric Dempsey Regional
>>Jerry Kindall Regional

CHUCK CECIL
Excerpt from Sports Illustrated article on Oct. 11, 1993
Chuck was not allowed to play Pop Warner ball, and it wasn’t until the family moved from central California to the San Diego area during Chuck’s junior year in high school that the boy was turned loose on a football field.
“He kept asking me when we’d have hitting drills,” recalls Rey Hernandez, his defensive coach at Helix High in La Mesa, Calif. “Bugging me all the time. Finally we had the drill, and he took out three players, injured them. Against Monte Vista he took out their two best receivers, and there went their passing attack.”
The story was the same in college. Recruited mostly by Ivy League schools and the military academics, Cecil made the squad at Arizona by dominating in drills. “They had to yell at me a lot,” he says. At Arizona he had 21 interceptions, running one of them back for a 100-yard touchdown. In his sophomore season he played with a left thumb so badly broken that a doctor later said it looked as though it had been “smashed with a hammer.”

SEAN ELLIOTT
Excerpt from Sports Illustrated article on Jan. 31, 2000
He didn’t ask the coach or front office for permission, because he knew that the answer would be no. He didn’t tell his teammates, because they would have tried to talk him out of it. On Jan. 11, less than five months after undergoing a kidney transplant, San Antonio Spurs forward Sean Elliott scuffed the bottom of his sneakers, tucked in his practice jersey and sneaked onto the Alamodome court to join the reigning NBA champions in one-on-one drills. “One-on-ones are great for getting in shape,” Elliott said later. “You play defense, and then, a second later, you’re on offense. There’s no downtime.”
Spurs coach and general manager Gregg Popovich was occupied with other players and had no idea that the 31-year-old Elliott had slipped onto the floor for such a strenuous drill, in which players pair off, driving hard to the hole and banging under the boards. After 10 minutes assistant coach Hank Egan ordered Elliott to the sidelines. “There was no way I’d authorize any contact drills for him,” says Popovich, who didn’t learn of Elliott’s foray until he was told by a reporter a week later. “If this was your son, would you let him?”
In the months following the Aug. 16 surgery, Popovich and the Spurs had watched Elliott climb the Alamodome steps and collapse in exhaustion upon reaching the top; they had passed him in the weight room and heard him grunt as he worked to regain the 20 pounds that had melted from his 6’8″ frame; and they had seen him gulp down a small mound of pills each day so that his immune system would not reject the kidney that his 33-year-old brother, Noel, had donated when Sean’s were failing as a result of focal segmental glomerulo-sclerosis. They knew about the yoga classes he hoped would keep him flexible, about the hundreds of wind sprints. They admired Elliott’s determination.

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

• Cecil: Defeated No. 6 Joe Magrane by a 90-10 percent vote in the first round, and No. 2 Ricky Hunley by a 66-34 percent vote in the Sweet 16.
• Elliott: Defeated No. 8 Rob Waldrop by an 89-11 percent vote in the first round, and No. 5 Nancy Evans by a 90-10 percent vote in the Sweet 16.

TOMORROW: No. 7 Richard Jefferson vs. No. 1 Tedy Bruschi in the Cedric Dempsey Regional final

REMINDER: The Bear Down Leader competition was created to acknowledge some of Arizona’s finest past and present who represent the Wildcat athletic community the best.

Chuck Cecil

Sean Elliott

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