2010 Arizona Wildcats football team
Encyclopedia
The 2010 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona
in the college football
season of 2010
. The team's head coach was Mike Stoops. The Wildcats played their home games at Arizona Stadium
in Tucson, Arizona. They finished with a record of 7–6 (4–5 Pac-10) and a loss to Oklahoma State
in the Alamo Bowl
.
will be returning as the Wildcats starting junior quarterback and Juron Criner
is expected to be the top wide receiver
. Both played in all 13 games last year with Foles starting 9 and Criner starting 5. Foles completed 229 of 340 pass attempts for 2199 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions. Criner caught 45 passes for 582 yards and a team-high 9 touchdowns.
!colspan=8| Non-Conference Schedule
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!colspan=8| Bowl Schedule
Scott had no trouble replacing the injured starting QB, Nick Foles, and Arizona easily handled up-and-down Washington. Arizona (6-1, 3-1 Pac-10) overcame occasionally poor tackling with a balanced offense and by harassing Jake Locker into an ineffective game. Washington (3-4, 2-2) continued its season-long, win-one, lose-one pattern, following last week's thrilling double-overtime victory over then-No. 24 Oregon State with a defensive clunker. The inexperienced Scott outplayed Locker, widely viewed as one of the top quarterbacks in the country. Washington’s senior quarterback completed just 11 of 19 first-half passes for 139 yards and a score. Known for his game-changing speed, Locker was held without a rush in the first half; he lost 24 yards on six carries before being replaced by Keith Price early in the fourth quarter.
In the AP Top 25 poll released October 24, Arizona retained its No. 15 ranking despite the victory.
. With the win, the 'Cats improved to No. 13 in the AP Top 25 poll released October 31.
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
in the college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
season of 2010
2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on Thursday, September 2, 2010. The season progressed through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game on Monday, January 10, 2011.-Rule changes for...
. The team's head coach was Mike Stoops. The Wildcats played their home games at Arizona Stadium
Arizona Stadium
Arizona Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, United States. It is the home field of the Arizona Wildcats of the Pacific-12 Conference, and its current seating capacity is 57,803....
in Tucson, Arizona. They finished with a record of 7–6 (4–5 Pac-10) and a loss to Oklahoma State
2010 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team
The 2010 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team represented Oklahoma State University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by 6th year head coach Mike Gundy and played their homes game at Boone Pickens Stadium. They played in the Big 12 Conference in the South Division...
in the Alamo Bowl
2010 Alamo Bowl (December)
The 2010 Valero Alamo Bowl game was the 18th edition of the annual college football bowl game known previously as the Alamo Bowl. It was played on December 29, 2010 between the Arizona Wildcats and the Oklahoma State Cowboys. ESPN television broadcasted the game with Valero as the title sponsor...
.
Preseason
Wildcat quarterback Nick FolesNick Foles
Nick Foles is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Wildcats. During the 2011 season, Foles led the Pac 12 Conference and ranked fifth nationally in total offense with an average of 352.58 yards per game....
will be returning as the Wildcats starting junior quarterback and Juron Criner
Juron Criner
Juron Criner is an American college football wide receiver with the Arizona Wildcats football team. A Las Vegas, Nevada native, Criner attended Canyon Springs High School.-2008:...
is expected to be the top wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
. Both played in all 13 games last year with Foles starting 9 and Criner starting 5. Foles completed 229 of 340 pass attempts for 2199 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions. Criner caught 45 passes for 582 yards and a team-high 9 touchdowns.
Schedule
|-!colspan=8| Non-Conference Schedule
|-
|-
!colspan=8| Conference Schedule
|-
|-
!colspan=8| Bowl Schedule
Rankings
| Poll | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP | NR | NR | 24 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 23 | 20 | NR | NR | NR |
| Coaches | NR | 23 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 11 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 19 | 23 | 20 | NR | NR | NR |
| Harris | Not released | 21 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 19 | 23 | 21 | 25 | NR | ||||||
| BCS | Not released | 18 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 22 | 21 | 23 | NR | |||||||
Toledo
Citadel
Iowa
California
Oregon State
Washington State
Washington
Matt Scott, the junior QB from Corona, Calif., led the 15th-ranked Wildcats to an offensive bonanza and 44-14 win over the visiting Washington Huskies at Arizona Stadium. Scott had help, of course. Arizona tailbacks Nicolas Grigsby and Keola Antolin scored two touchdowns apiece in the first three quarters, before a sellout crowd of 56,244 on Arizona's homecoming night.Scott had no trouble replacing the injured starting QB, Nick Foles, and Arizona easily handled up-and-down Washington. Arizona (6-1, 3-1 Pac-10) overcame occasionally poor tackling with a balanced offense and by harassing Jake Locker into an ineffective game. Washington (3-4, 2-2) continued its season-long, win-one, lose-one pattern, following last week's thrilling double-overtime victory over then-No. 24 Oregon State with a defensive clunker. The inexperienced Scott outplayed Locker, widely viewed as one of the top quarterbacks in the country. Washington’s senior quarterback completed just 11 of 19 first-half passes for 139 yards and a score. Known for his game-changing speed, Locker was held without a rush in the first half; he lost 24 yards on six carries before being replaced by Keith Price early in the fourth quarter.
In the AP Top 25 poll released October 24, Arizona retained its No. 15 ranking despite the victory.
UCLA
Arizona held off UCLA 29-21; the Wildcats rolled up a season-high 583 yards and 32 first downs and held the Bruins to 299 yards and 15 first downs. Matt Scott had another big game in the absence of Nick Foles, completing 24 of 36 passes for a career-high 319 yards with one touchdown and one interception and rushing for another 71 yards on 12 carries. RB Keola Antolin rushed for 111 yards on 23 carries for the Wildcats (7-1, 4-1 Pac-10), off to their best start since winning seven of their first eight games en route to a 12-1 finish in 1998. Coach Mike Stoops shocked the Bruins by calling a fake punt on fourth-and-3 from the Arizona 27 with 6:23 remaining and the Wildcats leading 26-21. Jake Fischer ran for 29 yards to give the Wildcats a big first down. The play enabled the Wildcats to eat up some time before having to punt. The Bruins turned the ball over on downs, putting the Wildcats in position for Alex Zendejas' third field goal of the game, a 30-yarder. UCLA's final chance ended when Brooks Reed sacked UCLA QB Richard Brehaut and caused a fumble, which Sione Tuihalamaka recovered with 48 seconds left. Brehaut passed for a career-best 228 yards and two touchdowns for the Bruins (3-5, 1-4), who lost their third straight game but performed much better than in their last two, when they were outscored 95-20 at California and Oregon. But Arizona did enough for its fourth straight road victory dating to last season, keeping them alive for their first-ever berth in the Rose BowlRose Bowl Game
The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
. With the win, the 'Cats improved to No. 13 in the AP Top 25 poll released October 31.