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This season alone has scary moments for UA fans, like the Wildcats frittering away a 10-point lead to BYU or failing to stop Houston from marching down the field to kick a game-winning field goal. Arizona is 1-6 in the month of October under head coach Brent Brennan.

Good news for the Wildcats, their upcoming road trip to Boulder to face the Colorado Buffaloes is in November.

Since Friday is Halloween and we’re at the quarter-century mark, we decided to take a look at five haunting losses for ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV over the last 25 years.

Honorable mention selections include the Wildcats’ 36-10 loss to Oklahoma State in the 2010 Alamo Bowl, the loss to Oregon in the 2014 Pac-12 Championship, falling to Purdue in the 2017 Foster Farms Bowl, losing to New Mexico in Albuquerque in 2008, a 69-7 loss to Washington State in Pullman in 2016, the Territorial Cup loss in 2000 that ended the Dick Tomey era and the 56-12 loss to a struggling UCF team in the “Space Game� last season.

Ducks rally to crush UA’s Rose Bowl dreams

When: Nov. 21, 2009

Score: No. 11 Oregon 44, Arizona 41

What happened: The Wildcats surged to national relevance in 2009 behind quarterback Nick Foles and the UA’s stout defense led by defensive ends Brooks Reed, Ricky Elmore and D’Aundre Reed, defensive tackle Earl Mitchell and defensive backs Robert Golden, Cam Nelson, Devin Ross and Trevin Wade.

ESPN’s “College GameDay� made its first-ever appearance in Tucson, because the winner of Arizona-Oregon controlled its destiny to the Rose Bowl, a pinnacle Arizona has yet to reach. Arizona scored 24 straight points to take a 24-14 lead in the fourth quarter and was in position to close in on the program’s first Rose Bowl berth.

However, students from the Zona Zoo prematurely jumped the wall onto Arizona’s sideline to rush the field and celebrate a historic win for the Wildcats. That’s when Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli led the Ducks on a 15-play, 3-minute drive to tie the game with six seconds remaining.

In double overtime, with members of the Zona Zoo standing behind Arizona’s bench on the sideline, Masoli rushed in for a 1-yard score to beat the Wildcats.

Huskers blank Arizona in Holiday Bowl

When: Dec. 30, 2009

Score: No. 22 Nebraska 33, Arizona 0

What happened: Arizona didn’t make the Rose Bowl, but the Wildcats earned a spot in the next-best bowl for a Pac-10 team in the Holiday Bowl, where they had a rematch with Nebraska. The Wildcats upset the Corn Huskers — the defending national champions — in the 1998 Holiday Bowl.

Fast-forward 11 years later, Nebraska avenged its loss and smacked Arizona — the third time the Wildcats were shut out in a bowl game; they were also blanked in the 1990 Aloha Bowl and the 1921 East-West Christmas Classic at Balboa Stadium in San Diego.

Nebraska defensive tackle and Heisman Trophy finalist Ndamukong Suh had four sacks against the Wildcats in 2009. Arizona quarterback Nick Foles was 9-for-29 passing for 48 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. Nebraska had 399 yards of total offense, while Arizona had 109.

Zendejas misses crucial PATs

When: Dec. 2, 2010

Score: Arizona State 30, Arizona 29

What happened: Leading up to the game, ASU defensive end James Brooks studied Arizona kicker Alex Zendejas and said, “his trajectory was low.� Brooks blocked Zendejas’ PAT at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime, then did it again in double overtime to lift the Sun Devils to a one-point win.

The season before, Zendejas kicked a game-winning field goal to beat the Sun Devils in Tempe.

Sun Devils end the Sumlin era

When: Dec. 11, 2020

Score: ASU 70, Arizona 7

What happened: You’d be hard-pressed to find a lower point for the UA football program than the 2020 Territorial Cup game. Not only did Arizona lose by 63 points on national television, it was during the pandemic-influenced season, so the only faces in the stands at Arizona Stadium were cardboard cutouts.

Games at Arizona Stadium in 2020 had an apocalyptic feel. The Wildcats’ performance on the field amplified the eerie vibe during that season.

ASU jumped out to a 14-0 lead less than a minute into the game. UA players looked dejected, and there was an ominous feeling inside an empty Arizona Stadium. A day after the Wildcats were embarrassed by ASU, head coach Kevin Sumlin was fired and received a $7.5 million buyout from the UA. Sumlin had $17.5 million in buyout money from his tenures at Arizona and Texas A&M. Sumlin went 9-20 overall at the UA.

Arizona hired head coach Jedd Fisch shortly afterwards. ASU boosters purchased a billboard on Interstate 10 between Tucson and Phoenix that had the 70-7 score. The billboard was modified every year until Arizona won the Territorial Cup in 2022.

NAU upset in Fisch’s first season

When: Sept. 18, 2021

Score: Northern Arizona 21, Arizona 19

What happened: Not even a full calendar year after getting blasted by 63 points by its arch rival, Arizona lost to FCS counterpart NAU and extended its losing streak to 15 games. The streak ended at 20 later that season, when the Wildcats beat a Cal team decimated by COVID-19.

The loss to NAU, which used a backup freshman quarterback to beat the Wildcats, marked Arizona’s first setback to the Lumberjacks since 1932, when NAU was known as the Northern Arizona State Teachers College.