| Year: | 1986 |
| Team: | Arizona Wildcats |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Pacific-10 Conference |
| Short Conf: | Pac-10 |
| Coachrank: | 10 |
| Aprank: | 11 |
| Record: | 9–3 |
| Conf Record: | 5–3 |
| Head Coach: | Larry Smith |
| Hc Year: | 7th |
| Off Coach: | Chuck Stobart |
| Oc Year: | 1st |
| Def Coach: | Chris Allen |
| Captain: | Byron Evans |
| Stadium: | Arizona Stadium |
| Champion: | Aloha Bowl champion |
| Bowl: | Aloha Bowl |
| Bowl Result: | W 30–21 vs. North Carolina |
The 1986 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. They were coached by Larry Smith in his seventh and final season. The Wildcats ended the season with a 9–3 record (5–3 in Pac-10) and won the Aloha Bowl against North Carolina for their first bowl win ever.
A major highlight of the season was a 34–17 upset victory over rival Arizona State, that denied ASU an unbeaten season and chance at a potential national championship. The game also was known for Arizona returning an interception for touchdown that broke the game open.
After the season, Smith was hired by Pac-10 foe USC as the head coach (see below). He was replaced by Hawaii coach Dick Tomey, had a successful tenure with the Wildcats.
Arizona finished the 1985 season with a record of 8–3–1 (5–2 in Pac-10) and tied with Georgia in the Sun Bowl. The team entered 1986 with high expectations, and had their live television ban lifted following sanctions against them from 1983. They were also eligible to be placed in the poll rankings in the season. In addition, the Wildcats began the year in contention for the Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl.[1]
Undefeated and eleventh-ranked Arizona visited UCLA at the Rose Bowl. The Wildcats led 18-0 earlier in the game and seemed like they would stay unbeaten before the Bruins bounced back to grab the lead before Arizona regained it the fourth quarter. With over a minute remaining, UCLA drove into Arizona territory and scored to retake the lead for good, and Arizona suffered a tough loss to the Bruins for the second season in a row and lost for the first time in 1986.[2]
On homecoming day, the Wildcats hosted USC in a top-20 matchup. Although the Wildcats (ranked 14th) would hang tough with the Trojans (18th), their offense didn't do enough to put up more points and fell short at the end.[3] Smith would become USC's coach after the season (see below).
See also: 1986 Arizona State Sun Devils football team and Arizona-Arizona State football rivalry.
In the regular season finale, Arizona hosted fourth-ranked and unbeaten Arizona State in the annual rivalry game. Entering the game, Arizona State had already clinched both the Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl berth. The Wildcats defense shut down the Sun Devils’ offense for most of the game, including a goal-line stand in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, ASU, down 24–10, drove down the field and attempted to cut into Arizona's lead. Quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst dropped back and lofted a pass to the end zone. However, Wildcat safety Chuck Cecil intercepted the pass and ran back the other way down the sideline for a 100-yard touchdown return to give Arizona a 31–10 lead that sent Arizona Stadium (and Tucson) into a frenzy. The play led to Arizona grabbing momentum and ASU would not recover from it for the rest of the game and the Wildcats went on to win by a score of 34-17 and gave the Sun Devils their first and only loss of the season and ended ASU's chances for a possible national championship.[4] [5] [6] Arizona fans often declare Cecil's pick-six as the greatest moment in Wildcat football history and not just in the UA-ASU rivalry.[7]
Riding high on the momentum after its big victory over Arizona State, the Wildcats traveled out of the country to play Stanford in Tokyo in a special matchup. The Cardinal would narrowly get past Arizona, ending the regular season. This was the first and so far, only time in Wildcat history that the team played a game outside of the United States.[8]
See main article: 1986 Aloha Bowl.
See also: 1986 North Carolina Tar Heels football team.
In the Aloha Bowl in Hawaii, Arizona faced North Carolina (whom, like Arizona, are best known for their prestigious men's basketball programs). The Wildcats played hard and defeated the Tar Heels to win their first-ever bowl game in program history (the Wildcats had been winless their previous bowl appearances, including a tie in the previous year).[9] It turned out to be Smith's final game as Arizona's coach.
At the conclusion of the season, Smith left Arizona to accept the head coaching position at USC, due to the fact that the Trojans’ football tradition lasted longer than the Wildcats and that he would be offered more money since Los Angeles is a much larger market than Tucson, and that Arizona didn't pay him as much as the coach.[13]
To replace Smith, the Wildcats hired Hawaii coach Dick Tomey, to take over the program (coincidentally, Arizona's Aloha Bowl victory occurred on Hawaii's home field). Arizona believed that Tomey would build a chemistry with the players and to help rebuild the team after Smith's departure.[14] Tomey would build the Wildcats to greater heights, highlighted by a dominant defense in the early-to-mid 1990s. Tomey stepped down as coach after the 2000 season.