Arizona had completed the 1988 season with a 7–4 record, but missed out on a bowl game (likely due to losing to ranked teams as well as fewer bowls at the time). Fans believed that Tomey was building the team to success and the Wildcats entered 1989 with high expectations.^[1] The team earned a top-20 ranking in the preseason.

Stanford edit

At Texas Tech edit

The Wildcats (ranked 20th) visited Texas Tech for their first road game of the season after winning against Stanford to start the year. The Red Raiders were fired up in front of their home crowd and outplayed Arizona with a rushing attack for the upset victory.^[3]

Oklahoma edit

Arizona battled sixth-ranked Oklahoma in a home showdown. The game was mostly dominated by the defenses of both teams and led to the Wildcats and Sooners each scoring a single field goal. Late in the fourth quarter, Arizona drove into Sooner territory, and drilled a field goal in the closing seconds for a 6–3 upset victory and avenging the Wildcats’ loss to the Sooners in the previous season.^[4] This remains the most recent meeting to date between Arizona and Oklahoma.

Washington edit

Riding high on their momentum after upsetting Oklahoma, the Wildcats faced off against Washington (ranked 11th). For the second game in a row, Arizona took its opponent down to the finish. They held the Huskies in check throughout most of the contest and scored a field goal as time expired to get the win.^[5] It was the Wildcats’ second consecutive win over Washington that ended on a winning kick and their first win over the Huskies at home. Also, it was the second consecutive week that Arizona won against a ranked opponent with a last-second field goal.

At Oregon edit

UCLA edit

After losing at Oregon, Arizona hosted UCLA (ranked 22nd). The Wildcats’ offense was too much for the Bruins, and Tomey picked up his first victory over them.^[6]

At Washington State edit

The Wildcats traveled to Pullman for a top-25 showdown against 15th-ranked Washington State. Arizona did enough to narrowly defeat the Cougars.^[7]

Pacific edit

At California edit

Arizona traveled to Berkeley to visit California and paid their respects in the wake of the earthquake disaster that rocked the Bay Area and the nation three weeks prior.^[8] An emotional Golden Bears team would rally from behind and barely got past the 15th-ranked Wildcats.^[9] The loss ended all chances of contention for a potential Rose Bowl berth for Arizona.

USC edit

On homecoming day, the Wildcats hosted ninth-ranked USC and former Arizona coach Larry Smith. Arizona was no match for the Trojans’ big talent and only managed one field goal against them in a loss and Tomey was outcoached by Smith yet again.^[10] USC clinched the Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl berth with the win and prevented Arizona from getting a perfect home record.^[11]

At Arizona State edit

To conclude the regular season, Arizona took a trip to Arizona State for the rivalry game. In an attempt to change their fortunes against the Wildcats, the Sun Devils wore gold jerseys in the game, making their uniforms all gold.^[12]

However, in the game, ASU's uniform change didn't help any matters, as the Wildcats overcame an early deficit and dominated the second half on their way to yet another win to extend their dominance over ASU.^[13][14]

Wildcat players reacted to Arizona State's gold uniforms by calling them “bananas”.^[15] After the game, perhaps due to the loss, ASU decided that they would likely never wear the gold jerseys again for the foreseeable future, although they would wear them one last time in 1990 in a loss to USC.^[16] In 2021, ASU would bring back the gold jerseys in a home win over Colorado and would completely wear all-gold against USC later that year.^[17][18]

Copper Bowl (vs NC State) edit

The Wildcats played in their first bowl game under Tomey. In the inaugural Copper Bowl that was held at their home stadium, Arizona faced NC State.^[19] In front of a raucous crowd that mostly Arizona fans, the Wildcats narrowly got past the Wolfpack in a low-scoring affair.^[20][21] The game was played on New Year's Eve and on the final day of the 1980s before turning to the 1990s. Also, the Copper Bowl was Arizona's first bowl win in the Tomey era.

^[22]

• The Wildcats completed the decade of the 1980s with a resurgence and built a winning success under Tomey and Smith, and continued into the 1990s with more domination.
• Arizona won four games against ranked opponents this season (the team went winless against them in 1988).
• After this season, Arizona did not play Texas Tech again until 2019.
• This was the last season in which Arizona scheduled Oklahoma. Although the Wildcats were successful for most of the 1990s, the Sooners would become a powerhouse team at the turn of the century, and by scheduling future games against each other, Arizona believed they would never defeat Oklahoma again.^[23]
• This was the last season in which the team had a large red “A” on their helmets. The “A” (which was known as the original “Block ‘A’”) would be replaced by a newer “A” in the following season, as the school wanted to energize its image to represent its academics and sports teams.^[24]
• Arizona Stadium changed its midfield logo again. It featured the current “Block ‘A’” logo with the words “Bear Down” below it in blue letters. The “Block ‘A’” (also known as the “Big ‘A’” or the “Academic ‘A’”) debuted earlier in the year and was used in tandem with the red “A” logo that used on the helmets and on top of Arizona Stadium scoreboard. In 1990, the “Block ‘A’” logo would become the university's full-time logo and appeared on the team's helmets.^[25] The older logo would continue to be used on the scoreboard until end of the 1992 season.
• The Copper Bowl was the first of only two bowl games that the Wildcats played on their home turf, with the other occurring in 1997. In addition, due to bowl games being neutral-site games, the Copper Bowl was considered a neutral game for Arizona instead of a home game, even though it was played at Arizona Stadium.^[26]
• For the first time since 1985, an Arizona player did not win the Pac-10 defensive player of the year award, ending a streak of three seasons.
• This was the last season in which Arizona's helmets featured the “Red ‘A’” on them, as they switched to helmets with the “Block ‘A’” on them in 1990. The “Red ‘A’” would continue to be used on top of the scoreboard through the 1992 season.