The 2001 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona during the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. They were coached by John Mackovic in his first season with the Wildcats, replacing longtime coach Dick Tomey. Arizona finished the year with a record of 5–6 (2–6 against Pac-10 opponents) and again missed the postseason due to a losing record.
The season was mostly affected by the September 11 terrorist attacks, which led to the NCAA cancelling a week of college football in mid-September, and the Wildcats had to regroup and play the rest of the year with pride.
Before the season After Arizona completed the 2000 season, Tomey resigned as coach due to the inability to get the Wildcats to complete their goal of reaching the Rose Bowl. Arizona had started the season at 5–1, only to lose their remaining games, including the finale against Arizona State, which led to Tomey resigning, despite several rumors that he would be fired.
Mackovic, the former Illinois and Texas coach, was hired to replace Tomey to rebuild the program. After being introduced, Mackovic promised that the team would be rebuilt with strong recruiting classes and he would lead them to a Rose Bowl, in which Tomey was unable to do. He previously served as Arizona's offensive coordinator under Jim Young from 1973 to 1976.
In addition, Mackovic would also bring in a new coaching staff, as well as bringing back Larry Mac Duff as defensive coordinator (Mac Duff was formerly part of Tomey's staff in the same position and helped build Arizona's “Desert Swarm” defense in the early 1990s). Mac Duff served as the special teams for the NFL's New York Giants, who had reached the Super Bowl in the 2000–01 season (the Giants ultimately lost to the Ravens in the Super Bowl) before returning to Arizona in the offseason.
By the preseason, Arizona was picked to finish in the middle of the Pac-10 standings, though Mackovic was confident that the team would improve despite having a new quarterback.
Schedule
Roster
Game summaries at San Diego State
Statistics ARIZSDSU First downs 1714 Total yards 231201 Rushing yards 37–5529–41 Passing yards 176160 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 21–32–118–38–0 Time of possession 31:3628:24 Team Category Player StatisticsArizona Passing Jason Johnson21/32, 176 yards, TD, INT Rushing Clarence Farmer21 carries, 90 yards, TD Receiving Malosi Leonard6 receptions, 52 yardsSan Diego State Passing Lon Sheriff15/30, 138 yards Rushing Larry Ned21 carries, 43 yards, TD Receiving J.R. Tolliver3 receptions, 39 yards
In Mackovic's debut as Arizona coach, the Wildcats opened the season with a matchup against San Diego State. It was Arizona's first visit to San Diego since they won the Holiday Bowl in 1998. Arizona's offense started slow, but would pick up momentum to get points and the defense shut down the Aztecs to give Mackovic his first win and end the Wildcats’ five-game losing streak (that dated back to the previous year that led to Tomey stepping down).
vs Idaho
Statistics IDA ARIZ First downs 2922 Total yards 479491 Rushing yards 37–11336–181 Passing yards 366310 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 30–49–121–35–0 Time of possession 33:0326:57 Team Category Player StatisticsIdaho Passing John Welsh28/46, 349 yards, 4 TD Rushing Blair Lewis21 carries, 110 yards Receiving Chris Lacy6 receptions, 98 yards, TDArizona Passing Jason Johnson20/30, 304 yards, 2 TD Rushing Clarence Farmer18 carries, 118 yards, 2 TD Receiving Brandon Marshall1 reception, 99 yards
In their home opener, Arizona hosted Idaho. The Wildcats’ offense would dominate, though they would miss a pair of extra points after touchdowns. Mac Duff's defense was “Desert Swarm”-like early, by shutting out the Vandals in the first three quarters. In the fourth, Idaho would mount a furious rally, as Arizona's defense was playing garbage time, but would fall short as the Wildcats held on and Mackovic won his first home game.
vs UNLV
Statistics UNLV ARIZ First downs 1124 Total yards 280440 Rushing yards 37–12437–184 Passing yards 156256 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 7–20–019–34–0 Time of possession 28:0231:58 Team Category Player StatisticsUNLV Passing Jason Thomas5/17, 123 yards Rushing Joe Haro15 carries, 71 yards, TD Receiving Troy Mason4 receptions, 87 yardsArizona Passing Jason Johnson18/30, 247 yards, 3 TD Rushing Tremaine Cox8 carries, 111 yards, TD Receiving Malosi Leonard4 receptions, 75 yards
The Wildcats hosted UNLV in their next game. It was the first meeting between the two schools. The game was originally going to be played on September 15, but was postponed a week later along with all other college football games in the wake of the September 11 tragedy.
On the day of the game, Arizona Stadium had heavy security measures due to the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, as fans entered the stadium. During the pregame, fans held American flags and the stadium observed a moment of silence for the 9/11 victims and the Arizona marching band played the national anthem before kickoff. At halftime, the band, along with UNLV's, performed “God Bless America” and “America the Beautiful” as a symbol of pride.
In the game itself, the Wildcats would outplay the Rebels and Arizona's passing offense dominated on its way to a win and went to 3–0 under Mackovic before entering Pac-10 play.
vs Washington State
Statistics WSU ARIZ First downs 2415 Total yards 421266 Rushing yards 51–17925–101 Passing yards 283190 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 17–33–114–28–4 Time of possession 37:0522:55 Team Category Player StatisticsWashington State Passing Jason Gesser17/31, 283 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing Dave Minnich30 carries, 121 yards, 3 TD Receiving Mike Bush7 receptions, 110 yards, TDArizona Passing Jason Johnson13/25, 184 yards, TD, 3 INT Rushing Clarence Farmer16 carries, 84 yards, TD Receiving Andrae Thurman5 receptions, 95 yards
vs No. 7 Oregon
Statistics ORE ARIZ First downs 2824 Total yards 607483 Rushing yards 51–28236–258 Passing yards 325225 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 19–29–114–31–2 Time of possession 33:2226:38 Team Category Player StatisticsOregon Passing Joey Harrington15/24, 279 yards, 3 TD, INT Rushing Onterrio Smith15 carries, 131 yards, 2 TD Receiving Samie Parker6 receptions, 160 yards, TDArizona Passing Jason Johnson7/18, 132 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing Clarence Farmer15 carries, 158 yards Receiving Bobby Wade3 receptions, 67 yards
After losing to Washington State to begin conference play, Arizona hosted Oregon (who was ranked seventh). The Wildcats would be no match for the Ducks, as Oregon's offense put up 63 points on the scoreboard. At one point earlier in the game, the score was tied at 14 before the Ducks broke it open, and gave the Wildcats an ugly loss.
at Oregon State
Statistics ARIZOSU First downs 1124 Total yards 159415 Rushing yards 30–4649–195 Passing yards 113220 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 10–24–217–34–2 Time of possession 25:4734:13 Team Category Player StatisticsArizona Passing Jason Johnson10/24, 113 yards, 2 INT Rushing Clarence Farmer19 carries, 55 yards Receiving Malosi Leonard4 receptions, 61 yardsOregon State Passing Jonathan Smith10/20, 125 yards, TD, INT Rushing Ken Simonton18 carries, 104 yards, TD Receiving Cole Clasen4 receptions, 58 yards, TD
at No. 15 Washington
Statistics ARIZWASH First downs 2226 Total yards 394538 Rushing yards 44–19928–83 Passing yards 195455 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 16–28–129–49–4 Time of possession 27:5432:06 Team Category Player StatisticsArizona Passing John Rattay9/18, 115 yards, INT Rushing Clarence Farmer21 carries, 147 yards, TD Receiving Malosi Leonard4 receptions, 77 yardsWashington Passing Cody Pickett29/49, 455 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT Rushing Rich Alexis11 carries, 45 yards Receiving Paul Arnold7 receptions, 138 yards, TD
Arizona traveled to Seattle to take on Washington, who was also ranked (15th). The Wildcats would battle the Huskies in a back and forth affair, and took the lead in the fourth quarter. However, Washington was able to drive into Arizona territory and scored in the final minute to give Arizona a painful loss for the second year in a row.
vs USC
Statistics USC ARIZ First downs 1820 Total yards 312412 Rushing yards 30–6434–101 Passing yards 248311 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 24–49–223–43–4 Time of possession 29:3430:26 Team Category Player StatisticsUSC Passing Carson Palmer24/49, 248 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT Rushing Sunny Byrd22 carries, 67 yards, TD Receiving Kareem Kelly5 receptions, 64 yardsArizona Passing Jason Johnson23/43, 311 yards, TD, 4 INT Rushing Clarence Farmer17 carries, 78 yards, TD Receiving Andrae Thurman4 receptions, 96 yards
The Wildcats returned home after their heartbreaking loss at Washington and faced USC (who, like Arizona, had a first-year head coach). The Trojans would dominate early, and led 31–13 at halftime before the Wildcats stormed back in the second half to tie the game at 34 in the fourth quarter. Late in the quarter, Arizona had an opportunity to take the lead. However, they would throw an interception that USC returned for a touchdown that gave the Trojans the lead back. The Wildcats would have one last chance in the closing seconds, but ended up being stopped and Arizona fell short again for their fifth straight loss, which tied the same streak that ended the previous season. It was also their tenth consecutive Pac-10 loss that also dated back to 2000.
A memorable moment occurred early in the fourth quarter, as the Arizona Stadium PA announced gave an update on the World Series score between the Diamondbacks and Yankees (the first game of the series was played on the same day of the Arizona-USC game). When it was announced that the Diamondbacks led 5–1 after three innings, the stadium crowd let out a loud cheer and the Arizona student section chanted “Let’s go, D’Backs”, as the Diamondbacks representative all of Arizona, including Tucson (the Diamondbacks would ultimately win the game and the series in seven games, much to the delight of the Arizona fans).
at California
Statistics ARIZCAL First downs 2325 Total yards 474354 Rushing yards 39–13746–115 Passing yards 337239 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 19–34–114–39–1 Time of possession 28:4331:17 Team Category Player StatisticsArizona Passing Jason Johnson18/29, 315 yards, 4 TD Rushing Clarence Farmer27 carries, 165 yards, TD Receiving Bobby Wade6 receptions, 118 yards, 3 TDCalifornia Passing Kyle Boller9/25, 178 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing Terrell Williams28 carries, 108 yards, TD Receiving LaShaun Ward4 receptions, 135 yards, 2 TD
Attempted to look for Mackovic's first conference win, the Wildcats traveled to Berkeley to face winless California. Arizona started off slow early but would take control later on with a solid offense and blitzing defense. The Golden Bears would make things interesting late and pulled within two scores, but would not come closer as the Wildcats finally ended their Pac-10 slump and Mackovic earned his first conference victory. The win also kept Arizona's chances alive for a bowl.
vs No. 16 Stanford
Statistics STAN ARIZ First downs 2124 Total yards 445578 Rushing yards 55–27624–163 Passing yards 169415 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 13–23–025–50–1 Time of possession 38:2121:39 Team Category Player StatisticsStanford Passing Chris Lewis13/23, 169 yards, 3 TD Rushing Brian Allen23 carries, 143 yards Receiving Teyo Johnson8 receptions, 116 yards, 2 TDArizona Passing Jason Johnson14/28, 260 yards, TD, INT Rushing Clarence Farmer12 carries, 141 yards, 2 TD Receiving Bobby Wade7 receptions, 131 yards
at Arizona State
Statistics ARIZASU First downs 2520 Total yards 388330 Rushing yards 44–16333–113 Passing yards 225217 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 18–29–116–37–2 Time of possession 32:5727:03