This list was published in WildAboutAZCats.com as part of its countdown toward the 2010 Arizona football season, which begins Friday night at Toledo

The best play in University of Arizona football in the last 40 years is … Chuck Cecil‘s 100-yard interception return for a touchdown against ASU in 1986.

Arizona Stadium has never been more loud in my almost 35 years of experience attending games there. The legendary interception came with 8:56 remaining, as the fourth-ranked Sun Devils, unbeaten and heading to their first Rose Bowl, drove for a touchdown that could have narrowed Arizona’s lead to 24-17.

Cecil stepped in front of Jeff Van Raaphorst‘s pass 7 yards deep in the end zone. He eluded a few ASU tacklers, broke free to the right sideline, and then sprinted to the end zone in what is the most electrifying moment in UA football history, especially in Tucson. The Wildcats won 34-17 and afterward, Cecil remarked: “I hate ASU.”

Why is this play No. 1?: It is the signature play of “The Streak” which turned the tide in the modern era of the series following ASU’s dominance of Arizona in football in the 1960s and 1970s. How often does a former walk-on intercept a pass and run the entire length of the field for a touchdown? Answer: Practically once in a lifetime. Last-second kicks happen all the time — not to take anything away from Max Zendejas and his numerous, important clutch performances — but what Cecil did in 1986 may never happen again in our lifetime. It has not to this point.

Now on to the rest of the list of my Top Ten Plays in UA History (in my lifetime): …

2. Zendejas‘ game-winning 48-yard field goal at the hallowed grounds of Notre Dame in 1982 could legitimately be the No. 1 play in school history. But in my mind, it’s just behind Cecil’s play. Zendejas made three field goals after halftime against the Fighting Irish, including the game-winner against an untimely strong wind gust as the clock expired. Zendejas told me last year, “I kid around with people that Rudy is not the only one who got carried off the field at South Bend.”

The Wildcats won 16-13 over the ninth-ranked and previously unbeaten Fighting Irish in what is perhaps the greatest victory in school history. Arizona was playing its way out of NCAA probation because of violations committed by the previous staff. That kick came against a storied program and propelled the Wildcats on to the national stage in a positive light after the negativity suffered through the probation.

RELATED LINK FROM 2009: Zendejas informs WildAboutAZCats.com a story that was never told before about his game-winning kick at Notre Dame.

3. In 1985, before the largest sporting event crowd in Arizona history at ASU, 72,345, Zendejas tied a school record with a 57-yard field goal knotting the score at 13 with 5:29 left in the game. He then booted the game-winner — a 32-yarder — with 1:27 to play. That gave the Wildcats a 16-13 win, their fourth straight over the Devils in “The Streak”. The 57-yarder is more incredible considering Zendejas had just made a 52-yarder but Arizona was penalized for illegal procedure. UA coach Larry Smith did not hesitate to allow Zendejas to try from 57 yards. The kick easily cleared the cross bar by at least 10 yards and was dead-center, tying him with Lee Pistor for the longest field goal in UA history. Moreover, Zendejas’ performance thwarted ASU from going to the Rose Bowl for the second time in three years.

4. I yield this portion to Anthony Gimino’s description of the renowned “Leap by the Lake” play in 1998 (WILDABOUTAZCATS.COM’s YouTube video included above):
Arizona was at the Washington 9-yard line. Dennis Northcutt and tight end Mike Lucky were split to the left. Malosi Leonard and Brandon Nash were to the right. Washington had 3-on-2 coverage on both sides. Jenkins took the snap, looking left for Northcutt, his top receiver. Double-covered. He looked right into the end zone. Nothing. Jenkins continued to drift back. Running back Trung Canidate swung out to the right, taking a defender with him. Also covered. Jenkins, still backpedaling, was in trouble, retreating all the way to the 20-yard line. His only choice seemed to be an incompletion to stop the clock. Well, there was one other option. All the defensive pass coverage was deep or to the outside. The middle was invitingly clear. Jenkins could run. Do or die. Score or lose. Hero or goat. With Dick Tomey’s words still echoing – “If you run, you better make it” – Jenkins planted his right foot and charged into history.

5. Darryll Lewis‘ 1990 game-preserving hit against Oregon quarterback Bill Musgrave enabled the Cats to beat the Ducks 22-17. Musgrave sprinted to the goal-line on the last play of the game and Lewis met him at full speed. Lewis’ force won, as Musgrave was stopped inches from scoring. Lewis, the 1990 Jim Thorpe Award winner, also had two interceptions in the game against the Ducks at Arizona Stadium.

6. We are almost to the 25th anniversary of arguably Arizona’s best win in school history: The 34-17 win over Rose Bowl-bound ASU at Arizona Stadium in 1986 that featured the No. play on this list. That was ASU’s lone loss in a 10-1-1 season. I will always remember a UA fan holding up a sign that read: “You can’t smell roses with a broken nose.” Before Cecil’s historic interception, “The Tackle” was made earlier in the fourth quarter that ranks as one of the best plays in UA history. UA cornerback James DeBow made a touchdown-saving hit on Sun Devil fullback Channing Williams on a fourth-and-goal play at the 1, protecting Arizona’s 21-10 third-quarter lead over No. 4-ranked ASU.

7. Tony Bouie‘s hit on Washington receiver Jason Shelley in the fourth quarter helped preserve the UA’s upset 16-3 win over the top-ranked Huskies on Nov. 7, 1992. It was Arizona’s first win over a No. 1-ranked team in Tucson, and the second meeting with a top-ranked team that year (Miami survived at home 8-7 when Steve McLaughlin narrowly missed a 51-yard field goal to end the game).

With Arizona holding a 9-3 lead in the fourth quarter — by virtue of three McLaughlin field goals — Washington had a second-and-10 situation at the UA 48. Huskies quarterback Mark Brunell connected with Shelley at the UA 20, but Bouie’s swift and hard hit on Shelley dislodged the ball into the air into UA cornerback Keshon Johnson’s hands. Johnson’s interception with 8:07 left kept the momentum in Arizona’s favor. A series later, the Wildcats forced Washington to punt from its 13 and Arizona drove 43 yards for George Malauulu‘s clinching touchdown. The loss snapped a 22-game winning streak for the Huskies and it was the fifth straight win for the Cats, who started the season 1-2-1.

8. This play belongs to Chris McAlister in the UA’s 23-20 win over Nebraska in the 1998 Holiday Bowl. Gimino wrote this about the acrobatic interception in December for TucsonCitizen.com leading up to last year’s Holiday Bowl appearance:

The Wildcats won 23-20 in a thrilling Holiday Bowl in San Diego. Arizona scored two touchdowns in the final quarter, including a 1-yard plunge by Kelvin Eafon with 6:08 left. On Nebraska’s next possession, freshman quarterback Eric Crouch, who would go on to win the 2001 Heisman Trophy, threw deep over the middle on third-and-11 from the UA 46. McAlister made a leaping interception, and UA secured the victory by running off all but the final 34 seconds. That was so fitting. McAlister started the season with a kickoff return for a touchdown at Hawaii, and he basically ended the season with another big play. “This is the happiest and saddest time of my life,” McAlister said after the game.

9. Doug Pfaff kicked a 40-yard field goal with two seconds remaining as unranked Arizona shocked sixth-ranked Oklahoma, 6-3, on Sept. 16, 1989. The best nine-point game I have ever seen was marked by rugged defense and missed opportunities by both teams. The Wildcats started from their 41-yard line and drove 37 yards on 12 plays in 5:15 after forcing the Sooners to punt from their 11 to set up Pfaff’s game-winner. That was the first of four victories against Top 10 teams in the Dick Tomey era.

10. The “Hail Mary” touchdown pass from Ronald Veal — who happened to wear No. 10 — to Derek Hill against ASU in 1988. The Wildcats, trailing 18-14, had the ball at their 45-yard line with 7 seconds left before halftime. The UA sent three receivers down the right sideline, and Veal threw deep. The ball hit receiver Melvin Smith in the hands, but he couldn’t control it. Hill grabbed it and raced into the end zone. Replays suggest Smith handed the ball off to Hill before he fell to the ground at the 5-yard line. “If you run that play eight times, you’ll hit it once,” UA coach Dick Tomey is quoted as saying after the game.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 9:00 pm and is filed under Sports. Tags for this post: Chris McAlister, Chuck Cecil, Darryll Lewis, Dick Tomey, James DeBow, Larry Smith, Max Zendejas, Top 10 Arizona football plays. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.