The 2011 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
in the
2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The regular season began on September 1, 2011 and ended on D ...
. The team played their home games in
Arizona Stadium
Arizona Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in the southwestern United States, located on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. It is the home field of the Arizona Wildcats of the Pac-12 Conference.
Original ...
in
Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
. This was the first year for Arizona in the newly reconfigured
Pac-12 Conference
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...
; they played in the Pac-12 South Division. They finished the season 4–8, 2–7 in Pac-12 play.
The team was coached by interim head coach
Tim Kish
Tim Kish (born July 1, 1954) is a retired American football coach. Kish previously served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at the University of Arizona before being promoted to interim head coach upon the firing of head coach Mik ...
for the last six games of the season after eighth-year head coach
Mike Stoops
Michael Joseph Stoops (born December 13, 1961) is an American football coach and former player, who is the Linebacker, inside linebackers coach at the University of Kentucky. Stoops also served as the head football coach at the University of Ariz ...
was fired as head coach on October 10 after starting the season 1–5 (their sole victory was against
FCS Northern Arizona
Northern Arizona is an unofficial, colloquially-defined region of the U.S. state of Arizona. Generally consisting of Apache, Coconino, Mohave, Navajo, and Gila counties, the region is geographically dominated by the Colorado Plateau, the sout ...
). Including the
previous season, the Wildcats under Stoops had lost 10 consecutive games against FBS opponents, with their last victory over a FBS team taking place nearly a year earlier on October 30, 2010, against
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
. Kish, the team's defensive coordinator, was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
Kish finished the season 3–3, including a
Duel in the Desert
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon rules.
During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and lat ...
victory over
Arizona State
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
to reclaim the
Territorial Cup
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...
.
Rich Rodriguez
Richard Alan Rodriguez (; born May 24, 1963), also known as Rich Rod, is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Jacksonville State University. Rodriguez previously was the head football coach at Salem Uni ...
was named the Wildcats' new full-time head coach starting in 2012.
Schedule
Roster
Game summaries
Northern Arizona
On September 3, Arizona pulled away from Northern Arizona as they outscored the Lumberjacks 27–0 in the second half. Quarterback
Nick Foles
Nicholas Edward Foles (born January 20, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona and was selected in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft ...
threw for 412 yards on 34 for 42 passing and had three of his five touchdown passes in third quarter to help the Wildcats defeat the Lumberjacks 42–10. Arizona struggled a bit during the second quarter – a quarter in which the Lumberjacks outscored them 10–0 – after take a 14–0 lead during the first quarter. Northern Arizona's Cary Grossart threw for 179 yards on 20 of 26 passing, and Zach Bauman ran for 99 yards on 27 carries during the game. For Arizona,
Juron Criner
Juron Criner (born December 12, 1989) is a former American football wide receiver. Born in Las Vegas, Nevada, Criner attended Canyon Springs High School and played college football at the University of Arizona. He played for the Oakland Raiders ...
had six receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown, and David Roberts had 7 catches for 58 yards.
Oklahoma State
This game was a rematch of the
2010 Alamo Bowl, just nine months earlier, which Oklahoma State won 36–10.
Stanford
Oregon
Oregon's 56 points is the most points Arizona has allowed at home since LSU scored 59 points in 2003 at Arizona Stadium.
USC
Oregon State
UCLA
Since 1927, UCLA is ahead of Arizona 19–14–2 in this series. The Wildcats have a 10–8 advantage in games played in Tucson, including the last three wins in the Desert. This was
Tim Kish
Tim Kish (born July 1, 1954) is a retired American football coach. Kish previously served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at the University of Arizona before being promoted to interim head coach upon the firing of head coach Mik ...
's first game as head coach for Arizona. Before halftime, a
streaker dressed as a referee and ran off the field, and a fight ensued, leading to two players being ejected and four Arizona players being suspended.
Washington
Utah
Colorado
Arizona State
Arizona Wildcats vs. Arizona State Sun Devils - Recap. ESPN.com.
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Louisiana–Lafayette
Rankings
References
{{Arizona Wildcats football navbox
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
Arizona Wildcats football seasons
Arizona Wildcats football
The Arizona Wildcats football program represents the University of Arizona (UA) in the sport of American college football. Arizona competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Pac- ...