CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1985 Arizona

8–⁠3–⁠1 (5–⁠2 Pac-10), coached by Larry Smith.

Schedule and results

Arizona in 1985, game by game: won vs. Toledo 23–10; won vs. Washington State 12–7; won at California 23–17; lost vs. Colorado 13–14; won vs. No. 3 SMU 28–6; won vs. San José State 41–0; lost at Stanford 17–28; won at Oregon State 27–6; lost vs. No. 14 UCLA 19–24; won vs. Oregon 20–8; won at Arizona State 16–13; tied vs. Georgia 13–13+41−11Won 23–10 vs. Toledo+13ToledoWon 12–7 vs. Washington State+5Washington StateWon 23–17 at California+6CaliforniaLost 13–14 vs. Colorado-1ColoradoWon 28–6 vs. No. 3 SMU+22No. 3 SMUWon 41–0 vs. San José State+41San José StateLost 17–28 at Stanford-11StanfordWon 27–6 at Oregon State+21Oregon StateLost 19–24 vs. No. 14 UCLA-5No. 14 UCLAWon 20–8 vs. Oregon+12OregonWon 16–13 at Arizona State+3Arizona StateTied 13–13 vs. Georgia0Georgia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7vsToledoW 23–⁠1063%
Sep 14vsWashington StateW 12–⁠766%
Sep 21atCaliforniaW 23–⁠1766%
Sep 28vsColoradoL 13–⁠1482%
Oct 5vs3SMUW 28–⁠645%
Oct 19vsSan José StateW 41–⁠083%
Oct 26atStanfordL 17–⁠2875%
Nov 2atOregon StateW 27–⁠678%
Nov 9vs14UCLAL 19–⁠2448%
Nov 16vsOregonW 20–⁠870%
Nov 23atArizona StateW 16–⁠1337%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsGeorgiaSun BowlT 13–⁠1345%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Tied Georgia 13–⁠13 in the Sun Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Pac-10.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 102 on file).

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1985.

Record
8–⁠3–⁠1
Conference
5–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Pac-10
AP final
Unranked
Points
252–⁠146
Coach
Larry Smith
Elo
1628 +66 this season
SP+ rating
13.0 No. 25 of 106; offense No. 62, defense No. 8
SRS
9.6 No. 25 of 110 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Moe Ankney

Drafted in 1986

The 1986 draft
Rd 4Max Zendejas KDallas Cowboys

All-Pac-10

2 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1985 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1985 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UCLA6–⁠29–⁠2–⁠17
Arizona5–⁠28–⁠3–⁠1
Arizona State5–⁠28–⁠4
Washington5–⁠37–⁠5
USC5–⁠36–⁠6
Oregon3–⁠45–⁠6
Washington State3–⁠54–⁠7
Stanford3–⁠54–⁠7
Oregon State2–⁠63–⁠8
California2–⁠74–⁠7

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.