In the 50 days leading up to Arizona’s season-opener against Toledo, on Sept. 1 at Arizona Stadium, TucsonCitizen.com and its affiliate WildAboutAZCats.net will rank the Top 50 games in the history of the football program. The ranking is at No. 4 as the kickoff to the Wildcats’ season — and the start of the Rich Rodriguez era — is only four days away.

SCORE: No. 14 Arizona Wildcats 34, No. 4 ASU Sun Devils 17

DATE: Nov. 22, 1986

SITE: Arizona Stadium, 58,267 in attendance

WHY IT MADE THE LIST: “You Can’t Smell Roses With A Broken Nose”

The scoreboard at Arizona Stadium reflects Chuck Cecil’s achievement as the UA took a commanding lead in its upset win over No. 4 ASU in 1986 (fan photo)

An Arizona fan lofted that sign high in Arizona Stadium as the Wildcats were delivering a knockout blow of historical proportions.

The punch that put an exclamation point on the victory was Chuck Cecil’s 106-yard interception for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. The play, officially listed at 100 yards, is the greatest play in the history of the program.

The Sun Devils were 9-0-1 entering the game, already clinching a spot in their first Rose Bowl, and were challenging for a national championship. The Wildcats (7-2) had not beaten their arch-rivals this convincingly since 1964 when Jim LaRue’s team pounded Frank Kush’s 8-1 team 30-6 in Tucson.

The victory was the fifth straight by the Wildcats over their archrival during “The Streak” and earned them a berth in the Aloha Bowl against North Carolina, in which they won to notch their first bowl victory in school history.

The Sun Devils failed to notch their first undefeated regular season since 1975, when they went 11-0.

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In the 50 days leading up to Arizona’s season-opener against Toledo, on Sept. 1 at Arizona Stadium, TucsonCitizen.com and its affiliate WildAboutAZCats.net will rank the Top 50 games in the history of the football program. The ranking is at No. 22 as the kickoff to the Wildcats’ season — and the start of the Rich Rodriguez era — is only 22 days away.

SCORE: Arizona Wildcats 30, North Carolina Tar Heels 21

DATE: Dec. 27, 1986

SITE: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii — 26,743 in attendance

WHY IT MADE THE LIST: Arizona capitalized on big defensive plays in the Aloha Bowl to coast to its first victory in a bowl game in school history after 65 years and five tries. The Wildcats were 0-4-1 in bowls before this game. The tie — a 13-13 standoff with Georgia in the Sun Bowl — occurred a year earlier.

The game was also the last at Arizona for seven-year coach Larry Smith, who accepted the head coaching position at USC. Ironically, his replacement, Dick Tomey, coached Hawaii at the very stadium Smith ended his Wildcat stint. Smith, who passed away at age 68 in 2008, became the first and last UA coach to win his final game as a Wildcat coach since 1951 when Bob Winslow’s team capped a 6-5 season with a 32-21 win over — you guessed it — Hawaii.

Seven coaches led the Wildcats between Winslow and Smith. Winslow, by the way, was a star defensive end for USC. He was forced out at Arizona after three brief years because his team lost 61-14 at ASU earlier in the 1951 season and other off-the-field matters, including a chicken-stealing incident involving a player.

All-American free safety Chuck Cecil, the MVP of the Aloha Bowl in 1986, led a defense that forced five fumbles against North Carolina. Senior tailback David Adams finished his career with 81 yards rushing and a touchdown and three receptions for 77 yards. Offensive MVP Alfred Jenkins completed 12 of 28 passes for 187 yards and a score.

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In the 50 days leading up to Arizona’s season-opener against Toledo, on Sept. 1 at Arizona Stadium, TucsonCitizen.com and its affiliate WildAboutAZCats.net will rank the Top 50 games in the history of the football program. The ranking is at No. 28 as the kickoff to the Wildcats’ season — and the start of the Rich Rodriguez era — is only 28 days away.

SCORE: Arizona Wildcats 28, No. 3 Southern Methodist Mustangs 6

DATE: Oct. 5, 1985

SITE: Arizona Stadium, 52,114 in attendance

WHY IT MADE THE LIST: This one would be ranked higher on this list if Southern Methodist was not on probation, banned from a bowl that season (in which if finished 6-5). In fact, the Mustangs were on probation five separate times between 1974 and 1985. The Mustangs had plenty of talent in 1985, with players such as five-year NFL running back Reggie Dupard, when the Wildcats pulled off the upset. But we later discovered that some of that talent, including allegedly Dupard, was paid under the table as part of a slush fund and SMU was sentenced to the “Death Penalty” by the NCAA in 1987 and 1988, unable to field a football team those seasons.

Nevertheless, Arizona’s rout of SMU is certainly one for the history books for the Wildcats. The Mustangs, ranked No. 3 in the AP poll entering the game, remain the highest-ranked non-conference opponent to lose to the Wildcats. The 22-point differential is the most for the Wildcats against a ranked non-conference foe in the program’s history.

Arizona quarterback Alfred Jenkins uncorked what was a dormant offense with three touchdown passes in the upset victory. The Wildcats scored three touchdowns during an 11-minute span in the second quarter to go ahead 21-6. The Mustangs, who entered the game with the nation’s longest win streak of eight games, could never get off the canvas.

Arizona had scored only five touchdowns in its four previous games. SMU had averaged 45.5 points in its first two games in victories over UTEP and TCU. The Wildcat defense clamped down on SMU’s heralded offense, which came into the game as the nation’s total offense leader, second in rushing and third in scoring.

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