2000 Arizona Wildcats football team

After defeating Utah on the road to start the season, the Wildcats hosted Ohio State in the home opener. After outplaying the Buckeyes in the first half to lead 17–10 at halftime, Arizona would struggle as Ohio State took control and shut out the Wildcats in the second half and Arizona’s record evened at 1-1.[8] To date, this is Ohio State’s first and only trip to Tucson and it remains the most recent meeting between the two teams.

Arizona visited the Coliseum to face 22nd-ranked USC. In the opening minute, the Wildcats struck first on a 75-yard pass from Jenkins to Wade. They would add another long score later in the quarter to break it open. Arizona’s defense would shut down the Trojans’ elite offense and blocked two extra points after USC scored its touchdowns, and earned a victory over USC for the second consecutive season.[9]

The Wildcats, now back in the rankings (22nd), hosted Washington State in their next game. They would battle the Cougars back and forth for most of the game as they would trade scores all night. With the game tied at 33 late in the fourth quarter, Arizona had a chance at the win, but would miss a field goal that hit the goal post and the game went to overtime.

After both teams traded touchdowns in the first two overtime periods, the Wildcats scored in the third frame to regain the lead. However, they would fail on a two-point try, leaving Washington State with a chance to win with a touchdown and the two-point conversion. On the Cougars’ first play, the Wildcats would intercept a pass to end the game and gave Arizona a wild victory.[10] The win put the Wildcats in first place in the Pac-10 and moved them a step closer for a potential chance at the Rose Bowl.

After their wild win over Washington State, the Wildcats traveled to Oregon to take on the seventh-ranked Ducks in a place where Arizona had not won since 1986, and became a difficult test for them in the quest for their goal. Oregon seemed to have the upper hand early, leading 14-0 before halftime. The Wildcats got back in it in the second half with ten unanswered points and had a chance to take the lead and possibly win it late for the upset, but would come up short as the Ducks held on for the win.[11]

Arizona returned home to host UCLA. In the Bruins’ previous visit to Tucson (1998), they took down the Wildcats that kept Arizona out of the Rose Bowl/national title picture. Arizona would play tough and led late in the fourth quarter before UCLA drove down the field and scored with less than a minute remaining to grab the victory.[12] The Wildcats were also hurt by turnovers, as Jenkins would throw four interceptions that led to the loss.

Looking to get back to the win column, the Wildcats traveled to Seattle to play Washington in another tough road test, as the Huskies were ranked eighth and in the hunt for the conference title. Arizona would outplay Washington in the early part of the game, and led 22–10 in the third quarter on Wade’s punt return for a touchdown and an upset was within the Wildcats’ reach. However, the Huskies showed why they were contending for the Rose Bowl, as they would storm back by the fourth quarter with a 22–7 run and took the lead with a touchdown with over a minute to play. Arizona had a final chance to possibly tie it, but Washington would block a field goal attempt as time expired to give the Wildcats yet another devastating defeat and ended their Rose Bowl hopes for good.[13] The Huskies’ win turned out to be revenge for their loss to Jenkins and the Wildcats in the teams’ previous game in Seattle in 1998 when Arizona won on Jenkins’ wild touchdown despite Washington winning in Tucson in 1999.[14]

For homecoming weekend, as well as Veteran’s Day (November 11), the Wildcats hosted tenth-ranked Oregon State while continuing to look for a win after three consecutive heartbreaking losses. However, in another difficult test, Arizona would be no match for the Beavers, and only scored on three field goals for the whole game. Fans, angered by yet another loss, chanted for Tomey to be fired as the final minutes ran down. The defeat put the Wildcats in danger of missing a bowl game with a 5–5 record, and needed a win against their rivals in the finale to extend the season.[15]

Arizona hosted rival Arizona State in the “Duel in the Desert”, needing a win to become bowl-eligible while a loss would end the season with speculation that Tomey would be out as coach.[16]

The Sun Devils, who had announced that they would part ways with their coach, Bruce Snyder, after the season due to wins and losses, faced the Wildcats by not having to deal with Canidate and Northcutt anymore (as both were in the NFL) and also tried to end the year on a high note.[17]

In the game, both teams would start slow. As it went on, ASU would outsmart Arizona with a trick play by having the kicker running for a touchdown after faking a field goal try. The play would shift momentum, as the Wildcats committed costly mistakes, including a fumble that was recovered for a touchdown by ASU, that would ultimately seal their fate.[18] The loss would end the season with a five-game losing streak for the Wildcats.

After the game ended, Tomey resigned as coach, citing “public pressure” from the Tucson community due to the program’s inability to fulfill its goal to reach the Rose Bowl after several near-misses at it, which included the successful 1993 and 1998 seasons.[19] Tomey finished with a record of 8–3–1 against ASU as coach.