1988 Arizona Wildcats football team
The 1988 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second season under head coach Dick Tomey, the Wildcats compiled a 7–4 record (5–3 against Pac-10 opponents), finished in a tie for third place in the Pac-10, and outscored their opponents, 279 to 218. The team played its home games in Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona. The team's statistical leaders included Ronald Veal with 669 passing yards, Alonzo Washington with 651 rushing yards, and Derek Hill with  508 receiving yards. Linebacker Chris Singleton led the team with 118 tackles. Despite a 7–4 record, the Wildcats were left out of a bowl game due to a lack of bowls available at the time and that most of the bowls involved ranked teams. Before the season. The Wildcats completed the 1987 season and Tomey’s first year with a 4–4–3 record and tied Arizona State in the rivalry contest. The team spent the offseason looking to improve on their record and return to their winning ways as they did under previous Arizona coach (and then-current USC coach) Larry  Smith. Despite the offseason being held in the shadow of Arizona’s basketball team as a result of its first Final Four appearance and Tomey and his players supporting them, the team continued to rebuild and prepared for the upcoming season. Game summaries. Texas Tech. After earning a win in the opener at Oregon State, Arizona played its first home game of the season against Texas Tech. This was the first meeting between the two teams since they played in nine straight seasons from 1971–79. After falling behind early, the Wildcats dominated the rest of the way and came away  with the win. Oklahoma. The Wildcats traveled to Oklahoma in their first ever matchup against the Sooners. Despite playing tough, Arizona could not keep up with the fourth-ranked Sooners and eventually lost. USC. The Wildcats welcomed former coach Larry Smith back to Tucson as Arizona hosted the fourth-ranked Trojans. Several mistakes became a disaster for the Wildcats and USC capitalized on them to break the game open and win big, and Tomey lost to his predecessor for the second consecutive year. UCLA. Arizona hosted top-ranked UCLA in a big test for the Wildcats. Unfortunately, the Wildcats did  not have an answer against the Bruins and avoided a shutout with a late field goal, and leading to yet another loss to a top-ten ranked opponent. Washington. On the road at Washington, Arizona visited the Huskies. In a game that was dominated by both teams’ defense, the Wildcats pulled through with a late field goal and finally captured their first win over Washington in team history. Arizona State. After getting a big homecoming win against Oregon, the Wildcats hosted Arizona State in a rivalry duel. Late in the first half before intermission, with the Sun Devils leading 18–14 , Wildcat quarterback Ron Veal threw a Hail Mary pass that was caught by receiver Derek Hill, who then ran to the end zone for a touchdown and Arizona led 21–18 at the break. The play gave the Wildcats the lead for good as they would not trail again and won it and extended their unbeaten streak over ASU to seven (including the 1987 tie). Veal’s Hail Mary pass was referred to Arizona fans as the “Hail Veal”, “Hill Veal”, “Veal Mary” or simply “The Pass”, which was added to many other memorable play in the rivalry’s history. The  win ended the regular season and Arizona became bowl-eligible.