Arizona will face arguably the nation’s best receiver, quarterback and running back in three successive weeks, but the Wildcats have been challenged with a more arduous task before using the NFL draft as a gauge.

Keyshawn Johnson was one of the top four selections in the 1996 NFL draft who played against Arizona in the 1995 season (US Presswire photo, Kirby Lee)

The 1995 Arizona team played the top four players who were selected in the 1996 NFL draft.

The Wildcats faced top draft pick Keyshawn Johnson, a receiver with USC; No. 2 and 3 picks from Illinois, Kevin Hardy, an outside linebacker, and Simeon Rice, a defensive end; and No. 4 pick Jonathon Ogden, a guard from UCLA.

Moreover, Oregon’s Alex Molden, the highest selected defensive back in 1996, also faced the Wildcats in the 1995 season. He was chosen as the No. 11 pick overall by New Orleans.

While the Wildcats may face the country’s best receiver (Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon), quarterback (Stanford’s Andrew Luck) and running back (Oregon’s LaMichael James) in consecutive weeks, no season can touch the 1995 schedule.

In a four-week span that season — before mid-October — the Wildcats were forced to prepare for Hardy and Rice, Johnson and Ogden. Arizona went 0-3 in those games but the Wildcats were competitive in games at Illinois (9-7 loss) and UCLA (17-10).

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Arizona coach Mike Stoops questions freshman wide receiver Austin Hill about a dropped pass in the fourth quarter of the UA's 37-14 loss at Oklahoma State (ESPN3 video still)

To put it bluntly, this is why Mike Stoops is more of the type of a quality assistant coach than head coach material:

In Thursday’s 37-14 loss at Oklahoma State, Stoops’ talented freshman receiver Austin Hill — one of the UA’s lone bright spots in its dismal loss — approached the sideline with 13:45 left in the fourth quarter and inexplicably felt Stoops’ wrath.

Haven’t we been led to believe that Stoops will manage himself better on the sideline?

Before walking to the sideline, Hill dropped a pass from Nick Foles while being well defended on a quick slant pattern. The drop resulted in a fourth-and-10 at the Oklahoma State 33-yard line. The UA turned the ball over on downs on the next play as Foles managed to scramble for only 6 yards.

Earlier in the drive, with the UA trying to cut into the ninth-ranked Cowboys’ 27-7 lead, Hill caught a 47-yard pass from Foles to take the UA deep out of its territory into the Oklahoma State side of the field.

This was Mike Stoops reaction to Austin Hill's dropped pass while Hill approached the sideline (ESPN3 video still)

Hill, from Corona, Calif., caught eight passes for 128 yards in one of the best games for a freshman receiver in the program’s history (on national television, against a highly-ranked opponent).

Frankly, he did not deserve that confrontation with Stoops. ESPN play-by-play man Rece Davis called it a “skull session.”

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Arizona's players carry coach Larry Smith off the field after beating No. 9 Notre Dame in 1982. The win is the last for Arizona against a non-conference top 10 team on the road. (YouTube video still, click on picture to view video)

The saying goes, “Don’t wake the sleeping giant,” but Arizona’s football followers are asking: “When are the ‘Giant Killers’ gonna wake up?”

Can it happen Thursday night in Stillwater, Okla., against No. 9 Oklahoma State?

The Wildcats were known as the “Giant Killers” — victors over highly-ranked opponents — especially during the Larry Smith era of 1980-1986.

Smith, who passed away at age 68 in 2008, remains the only Arizona coach with a winning record (6-4-1) against Associated Press Top 10 teams. He coached the UA to arguably the Wildcats’ most monumental win in school history, a 13-10 upset over No. 1 USC and Marcus Allen in Los Angeles in 1981.

Wildcat fans revel most in the two victories over ASU in the Smith era. Arizona knocked the No. 6 Sun Devils out of Rose Bowl contention with a 28-18 win on Nov. 27, 1982, and it wilted the spirit of the Rose Bowl-bound No. 4 Sun Devils in 1986 with a 34-17 win.

Both of those victories occurred in Tucson, with arguably Chuck Cecil‘s 106-yard interception return for a touchdown in the 1986 game as the most memorable play in Arizona Stadium history.

Arizona has not fared so well, however, overall in regular-season games against top-10 ranked opponents on the road.

The last win against such an opponent was at No. 9 Notre Dame 29 years ago on Oct. 16, 1982, Smith’s third season as head coach. That win did not come easy as 19-year-old freshman Max Zendejas had to nail a 48-yard field goal into the wind as time expired to give the Wildcats a 16-13 victory.

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