1966 Arizona Wildcats football team

The 1966 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. In their eighth and final season under head coach Jim LaRue, the Wildcats compiled a 3–7 record (1–4 against WAC opponents), finished in fifth place in the WAC, and were outscored by their opponents, 250 to 192. The team captains were Woody King and Roger Calderwood.[1][2] The team played its home games in Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona. LaRue was fired after the season due to a poor win–loss record.[3]

1966 Arizona Wildcats football
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Record3–7 (1–4 WAC)
Head coach
CaptainWoody King, Roger Calderwood
Home stadiumArizona Stadium
Seasons
← 1965
1967 →
1966 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Wyoming $ 5 0 0 10 1 0
BYU 3 2 0 8 2 0
Arizona State 3 2 0 5 5 0
Utah 3 2 0 5 5 0
Arizona 1 4 0 3 7 0
New Mexico 0 5 0 2 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion

The team's statistical leaders included Mark Reed with 2,368 passing yards, Brad Hubbert with 501 rushing yards, and Jim Greth with 1,003 receiving yards.[4]

Schedule

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DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 17at Iowa*L 20–3145,000[5]
September 24Kansas*L 13–3533,147[6]
October 1at WyomingL 6–3613,283[7]
October 8at New MexicoW 36–1522,075[8]
October 22Utah
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
L 19–2428,600[9]
October 29BYU
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
L 14–16[10]
November 5at Oregon State*L 12–3113,067[11]
November 12Washington State*
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
W 28–1823,000[12]
November 19Iowa State*
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
W 27–2423,904[13]
November 26Arizona State
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ (rivalry)
L 17–2033,500[14][15]
  • *Non-conference game

[16]

Season notes

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  • Arizona played three teams in the season that would be future conference foes for the Wildcats (Utah, Oregon State, and Washington State), although Utah and Arizona were in the same conference at the time (WAC), and both eventually joined Washington State and Oregon State to form the Pac-12 (Arizona joined the conference in 1978 while Utah joined in 2011).
  • The Wildcats failed to win a conference home game in the season.

References

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  1. ^ "1966 Arizona Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  2. ^ "Arizona Football 2016 Media Guide" (PDF). University of Arizona. 2016. pp. 102, 106. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  3. ^ "UA fires football coach LaRue, cites 'wins and losses'". The Arizona Republic. December 1, 1966.
  4. ^ "1966 Arizona Wildcats Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  5. ^ "Iowa storms past Arizona, 31–20". The Sioux City Journal. September 18, 1966. Retrieved September 15, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Kansas hammers Arizona". Lincoln Journal Star. September 25, 1966. Retrieved September 15, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Wyoming's Egloff leads lopsided win over Arizona". Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph. October 2, 1966. Retrieved September 15, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Kansas hammers Arizona". Albuquerque Journal. September 25, 1966. Retrieved September 15, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Arizona ruins Lobos' WAC opener, 36–15". Albuquerque Journal. October 9, 1966. Retrieved September 15, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Abe Chanin (October 30, 1966). "Reed Outpasses Carter, But Cats Lose, 16–14". The Arizona Daily Star. pp. 1A, 1E – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Pifer's yards spark Beavers". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. November 6, 1966. p. 1B.
  12. ^ "Arizona races past WSU 28–18". The Tacoma News Tribune. November 13, 1966. Retrieved September 15, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "I.S.U. loses Arizona air fight, 27–24". The Des Moines Register. November 20, 1966. Retrieved September 15, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "ASU Beats Cats 20–17; Reed's Heroics Fail". The Arizona Republic. November 27, 1966. p. 1A – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "State tops Arizona 20–17 on pass in final minutes". The Sacramento Bee. November 27, 1966. Retrieved September 15, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "1966 NCAA Football Statistics (Arizona)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved September 15, 2024.