1970 Arizona Wildcats football team

The 1970 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. In their second season under head coach Bob Weber, the Wildcats compiled a 4–6 record (2–4 against WAC opponents), finished in fifth place in the WAC, and were outscored by their opponents, 213 to 168.[1][2] The team played its home games on campus at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona.

1970 Arizona Wildcats football
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Record4–6 (2–4 WAC)
Head coach
Home stadiumArizona Stadium
Seasons
← 1969
1971 →
1970 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Arizona State $ 7 0 0 11 0 0
New Mexico 5 1 0 7 3 0
Utah 4 2 0 6 4 0
UTEP 4 3 0 6 4 0
Arizona 2 4 0 4 6 0
Colorado State 1 3 0 4 7 0
BYU 1 6 0 3 8 0
Wyoming 1 6 0 1 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included Brian Linstrom with 884 passing yards, Willie Lewis with 665 rushing yards, and Hal Arnason with 569 receiving yards.[3]

This was the final season in which Arizona played only ten regular season games, as the NCAA added an eleventh game for all teams beginning in 1971.[4]

Schedule

edit
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 19at No. 8 Michigan*L 9–2080,386[5]
September 26San Jose State*W 30–2938,800[6]
October 3Iowa*
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
W 17–1037,500[7]
October 10BYU
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
W 24–1732,500[8]
October 24at UtahL 0–2415,046[9]
October 31Air Force
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
L 20–2336,000[10]
November 7at New MexicoL 7–3518,110[11]
November 14at UTEPL 17–3315,506[12]
November 21Wyoming
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
W 38–1231,882[13]
December 5No. 9 Arizona State
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ (rivalry)
L 6–1038,500[14]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[15]

Game summaries

edit

UTEP

edit

Arizona went to El Paso and fell behind early and did not recover as UTEP went on to win.[16] To date, this remains the last time that the Wildcats lost to the Miners. Also, the loss led to Arizona failing to win a road game for the second season in a row.[17]

Arizona State

edit

In a low-scoring affair, the Wildcats held ninth-ranked Arizona State in check, but ultimately fell short to end the season.[18] ASU would go on to finish with a perfect record.

Roster

edit
1970 Arizona Wildcats football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
C 52 Jim Arneson So
QB 10 Brian Linstrom Sr
QB 14 Bill Demory So
WR 32 Charles McKee Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 31 Mark Arneson Jr
DE 66 Tim Gaffney Jr
S 25 Jackie Wallace So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

References

edit
  1. ^ "1970 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. p. 106. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  3. ^ "1970 Arizona Wildcats Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  4. ^ "NCAA expands football season; UA, ASU to play eleven games during regular season". The Arizona Republic. June 8, 1971.
  5. ^ "U-M wins; Wolverines slip past Arizona, 20–9". Detroit Free Press. September 20, 1970. Retrieved September 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Arizona staves off San Jose". The Fresno Bee. September 27, 1970. Retrieved September 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Hawks drop season's third; Blow final quarter chances". The Courier. October 4, 1970. Retrieved September 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Linstrom leads 'Cats to victory over BYU". The Arizona Daily Star. October 11, 1970. Retrieved September 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Utes weather storm to upset favored Arizona, 24–0". The Sunday Herald. October 25, 1970. Retrieved September 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Air Force boots by Arizona". The Sacramento Bee. November 1, 1970. Retrieved September 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Soph paces New Mexico to victory". Oakland Tribune. November 8, 1970. Retrieved September 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Runnin' Miners break Arizona jinx, 33–17". The El Paso Times. November 15, 1970. Retrieved September 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Arizona routs Wyoming". Fort Collins Coloradoan. November 22, 1970. Retrieved September 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Arizona State sneaks past tenacious Arizona U., 10–6". The Patriot-News. December 6, 1970. Retrieved September 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "1970 NCAA Football Statistics (Arizona)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  16. ^ "Arizona falls to UTEP, 33–17". Arizona Daily Star. November 15, 1970.
  17. ^ "Wildcats struggling to win on the road". Arizona Daily Wildcat. November 16, 1970.
  18. ^ "Wildcats come up short against No. 9 Devils". Arizona Daily Star. December 6, 1970.