A pair of Arizona Wildcats victories make SI’s list of top-25 games of 2014
Jan 16, 2015, 5:21 PM | Updated: 5:48 pm
The Arizona Wildcats’ first 10-win season since 1998 came with plenty of improbable, nail-biting victories.
Two of those wins made Sports Illustrated’s list of the top-25 games of the 2014 college football season.
UA’s stunning 31-24 upset win at No. 2 Oregon on Oct. 2 was ranked eighth on SI’s list, while the Wildcats’ 49-45 comeback win Sept. 20 vs. Cal, which was capped by a “Hill Mary” touchdown pass in the final seconds, came in at No. 11.
Arizona’s victory over the Ducks was the second-highest ranked Pac-12 game, just one spot behind ASU’s “Jael Mary” win over USC.
Take your pick of plays from Arizona’s enormous upset of Oregon in early October, but the excessive celebration penalty given to Ducks linebacker Tony Washington with the Wildcats driving (which led to a touchdown) still stands out. This result, which featured breakout performances from quarterback Anu Solomon, linebacker Scooby Wright III and tailback Terris Jones-Grigsby, showed the Wildcats were officially ahead of schedule.
Twelve days earlier, UA scored 36 fourth-quarter points, including a 47-yard Hail Mary TD pass from Solomon to wide receiver Austin Hill, to rally past the Golden Bears.
Baylor’s 61-58 win over TCU on Oct. 11 was No. 1 on SI’s list.
