2003 Arizona Wildcats football team

American college football season August 2023 February 2026 football 2003 Arizona Wildcats Arizona Wildcats logo.svg 125 Pacific-10 Pac-10 2–10 1–7 John Mackovic 3rd first five games Mike Hankwitz interim; final seven games Mike Deal 1st Mike Hankwitz 1st Multiple 4–3 Arizona Stadium The 2003 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by John Mackovic in his third season with the Wildcats. Arizona completed the season with a record of 2–10 (1–7 against Pac-10 opponents) and finished in last place in the Pac-10 standings. After starting the year 1–4, Mackovic was fired and defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz coached the team on an interim basis for the rest of the season.Fired: Mackovic dismissed as Arizona football coach Tucson Citizen September 29, 2003 Schedule 2003 AP Mountain August 30 7:00 p.m. w y UTEP Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ FSNAZ 42–7 40,264 September 6 7:00 p.m. l y LSU 13 Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ TBS 13–59 46,110 September 13 7:00 p.m. l Oregon Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ TBS 10–48 40,462 September 20 10:00 a.m. l y y Purdue 25 Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN ESPN GamePlan 7–59 52,310 September 27 7:00 p.m. l y TCU 19 Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ FSNAZ 10–13 OT 40,515 October 4 2:00 p.m. l y Washington State 14 Martin Stadium Pullman, WA FSN 7–30 34,923 October 11 4:00 p.m. l UCLA Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ FSN 21–24 44,481 October 25 12:30 p.m. l y California California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA FSN 14–42 33,249 November 1 2:00 p.m. l y Oregon State Reser Stadium Corvallis, OR FSN 23–52 36,168 November 8 4:00 p.m. w y Washington Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ FSN 27–22 48,319 November 15 4:00 p.m. l USC 2 Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ TBS 0–45 39,201 November 28 1:00 p.m. l y Arizona State Territorial Cup Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ FSN 7–28 55,498 Before the season Arizona concluded the 2002 season with a 4–8 record, in yet another losing season under Mackovic. The last part of the season became a part of controversy that involved Mackovic mistreating players, which led to the team reporting to the school about the coach's behavior toward them. Mackovic would later apologize for his actions and promised to fix his mistakes.UA needs to rebuild after Mackovic scandal The Arizona Republic November 15, 2002 During the offseason, Mackovic fired both of his coordinators to rebuild the program back to its winning ways. Several players on the team threatened to leave the roster or transfer to other schools unless Mackovic changed his attitude. Also, the Wildcats brought in a weak recruiting class, perhaps due to the Mackovic fallout. Fewer fans would attend the team's annual spring game in April as a result.Mackovic’s troubles cause fans to lose interest in football Arizona Daily Star April 25, 2003 By the offseason, Mackovic would be placed on the hot seat and was favored by football analysts to be the first coach fired during the year, and that the Wildcats needed to win more games to save Mackovic's job. Arizona was picked to finish last in the Pac-10, as many believed that Arizona would not win more with Mackovic in charge.It’s win or bust for Mackovic Tucson Citizen August 26, 2003 Game summaries vs UTEP 2003 UTEP Miners football team #fff #eee Arizona Wildcats;color:white ;text-align:center autocollapse UTEP Miners (0–0) vs Arizona Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary August 30, 2003 7:00 P.M. Miners 0 0 0 7 Wildcats 21 14 7 0 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ 40,264 Fair, 96 °F °C Jay Stricherz Fox Sports Arizona First quarter (13:51) ARIZ – Ricky Williams 41-yard pass from Nic Costa, Bobby Gill kick (Drive: 4 plays, 80 yards, 1:09; Arizona 7–0) (8:15) ARIZ – Nic Costa 1-yard run, Bobby Gill kick (Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 3:48; Arizona 14–0) (3:20) ARIZ – Clarence Farmer 8-yard run, Bobby Gill kick (Drive: 3 plays, 21 yards, 1:05; Arizona 21–0) Second quarter (9:37) ARIZ – Lance Relford 79-yard pass from Ryan O'Hara, Bobby Gill kick (Drive: 3 plays, 83 yards, 1:03; Arizona 28–0) (0:54) ARIZ – Mike Bell 11-yard run, Bobby Gill kick (Drive: 4 plays, 38 yards, 1:17; Arizona 35–0) Third quarter (10:45) ARIZ – Gilbert Harris 2-yard run, Bobby Gill kick (Drive: 8 plays, 95 yards, 3:09; Arizona 42–0) Fourth quarter (14:49) UTEP – Joe Fleskoski 39-yard interception return, Keith Robinson kick (Arizona 42–7) Statistics UTEP ARIZ First downs 1818 Total yards 275446 Rushing yards 33–7143–217 Passing yards 204229 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 21–43–114–26–2 Time of possession 28:5331:07 Team Category Player StatisticsUTEP Passing Orlando Cruz13/25, 121 yards, INT Rushing Matt Austin8 carries, 38 yards Receiving Johnnie Lee Higgins Jr.4 receptions, 43 yardsArizona Passing Ryan O'Hara8/16, 119 yards, TD, 2 INT Rushing Mike Bell13 carries, 119 yards, TD Receiving Lance Relford3 receptions, 88 yards, TD Arizona opened the season by hosting UTEP. In their first meeting against the Miners since 1999, the Wildcats would dominate on all phases and cruised to a victory.Uplifting start: Cats open season with comfortable win over UTEP Arizona Daily Star August 31, 2003 UTEP's only score was an interception return early in the fourth quarter after Arizona brought in backup players with the game already out of reach. Also, the game featured Arizona Stadium having the smallest attendance for a home opener since 1997, as fewer fans attended as a result of a lack of interest due to Mackovic still being the Wildcats coach to start the season.UA’s win over UTEP had lowest home opener attendance, possibly due to Mackovic fiasco Tucson Citizen August 31, 2003 vs No. 13 LSU 2003 LSU Tigers football team #fff #eee Arizona Wildcats;color:white ;text-align:center autocollapse No. 13 LSU Tigers (1–0) vs Arizona Wildcats (1–0) – Game summary September 6, 2003 7:00 P.M. No. 13 Tigers 17 21 7 14 Wildcats 0 0 0 13 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ 46,110 Cloudy, 83 °F °C Jack Wood TBS First quarter (8:35) LSU – Joseph Addai 1-yard run, Ryan Gaudet kick (Drive: 15 plays, 80 yards, 6:25; LSU 7–0) (5:21) LSU – Ryan Gaudet 47-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 0 yards, 2:11; LSU 10–0) (4:23) LSU – Joseph Addai 8-yard run, Ryan Gaudet kick (Drive: 2 plays, 9 yards, 0:39; LSU 17–0) Second quarter (13:52) LSU – Matt Mauck 4-yard run, Ryan Gaudet kick (Drive: 9 plays, 57 yards, 3:46; LSU 24–0) (9:32) LSU – Michael Clayton 48-yard pass from Matt Mauck, Ryan Gaudet kick (Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, 2:11; LSU 31–0) (5:20) LSU – Devery Henderson 55-yard pass from Marcus Randall, Ryan Gaudet kick (Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 2:24; LSU 38–0) Third quarter (10:41) LSU – Shyrone Carey 1-yard run, Chris Jackson kick (Drive: 5 plays, 38 yards, 1:57; LSU 45–0) Fourth quarter (12:49) LSU – Justin Vincent 1-yard run, Chris Jackson kick (Drive: 9 plays, 65 yards, 2:49; LSU 52–0) (10:42) ARIZ – Zeonte Sherman 1-yard fumble return, Bobby Gill kick (LSU 52–7) (5:40) LSU – Skyler Green 62-yard punt return, Chris Jackson kick (LSU 59–7) (4:01) ARIZ – Clarence Farmer 11-yard run, kick failed (Drive: 6 plays, 45 yards, 1:33; LSU 59–13) Statistics LSU ARIZ First downs 2810 Total yards 481182 Rushing yards 56–18227–91 Passing yards 29991 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 19–25–110–32–2 Time of possession 36:1323:47 Team Category Player StatisticsLSU Passing Marcus Randall10/15, 162 yards, TD, INT Rushing Joseph Addai18 carries, 86 yards, 2 TD Receiving Michael Clayton6 receptions, 109 yards, TDArizona Passing Ryan O'Hara7/20, 70 yards, INT Rushing Clarence Farmer8 carries, 61 yards, TD Receiving Sean Jones3 receptions, 27 yards The Wildcats hosted LSU in their next game in the first meeting between the two since 1984. Unfortunately for Arizona, the 13th-ranked Tigers would score early and would break the game open by halftime with a 38–0 lead as Arizona's fans began to head for the exits. The Wildcats would finally score in the fourth quarter to break up a shutout bid, but their big halftime deficit would be too much for them and their record evened to 1–1.Tigers top Cats: No. 13 LSU mashes Arizona in blowout Arizona Daily Star September 7, 2002 Fans chanted for Mackovic to be fired near the end of the game, as they wanted the team to move on from the embattled coach.Fans want Mackovic out after big loss to LSU Arizona Daily Wildcat September 8, 2003 vs Oregon 2003 Oregon Ducks football team #fff #eee Arizona Wildcats;color:white ;text-align:center autocollapse Oregon Ducks (2–0) vs Arizona Wildcats (1–1) – Game summary September 13, 2003 7:00 P.M. Ducks 6 14 21 7 Wildcats 0 0 3 7 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ 40,462 Clear, 90 F C David Cutaia TBS First quarter (9:42) ORE – Jared Siegel 29-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 7 yards, 0:51; Oregon 3–0) (1:24) ORE – Jared Siegel 22-yard field goal (Drive: 13 plays, 66 yards, 3:51; Oregon 6–0) Second quarter (8:56) ORE – Jason Fife 5-yard run, Jared Siegel kick (Drive: 12 plays, 51 yards, 5:17; Oregon 13–0) (1:02) ORE – Demetrius Williams 3-yard pass from Kellen Clemens, Jared Siegel kick (Drive: 9 plays, 48 yards, 4:03; Oregon 20–0) Third quarter (11:20) ARIZ – Bobby Gill 44-yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 53 yards, 3:40; Oregon 20–3) (8:00) ORE – Demetrius Williams 65-yard pass from Kellen Clemens, Jared Siegel kick (Drive: 6 plays, 87 yards, 3:15; Oregon 27–3) (5:43) ORE – Kenny Washington 1-yard run, Jared Siegel kick (Drive: 4 plays, 39 yards, 1:13; Oregon 34–3) (2:43) ORE – Demetrius Williams 30-yard pass from Jason Fife, Jared Siegel kick (Drive: 5 plays, 49 yards, 1:46; Oregon 41–3) Fourth quarter (11:47) ORE – Ryan Shaw 7-yard pass from Jason Fife, Jared Siegel kick (Drive: 13 plays, 62 yards, 3:57; Oregon 48–3) (3:42) ARIZ – Biren Ealy 53-yard pass from Ryan O'Hara, Bobby Gill kick (Drive: 10 plays, 97 yards, 4:14; Oregon 48–10) Statistics ORE ARIZ First downs 2611 Total yards 493180 Rushing yards 56–21025–34 Passing yards 283146 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 22–32–016–36–0 Time of possession 34:2325:37 Team Category Player StatisticsOregon Passing Kellen Clemens11/17, 168 yards, 2 TD Rushing Chris Vincent21 carries, 77 yards Receiving Demetrius Williams5 receptions, 139 yards, 3 TDArizona Passing Ryan O'Hara11/27, 113 yards, TD Rushing Clarence Farmer11 carries, 42 yards Receiving Biren Ealy7 receptions, 90 yards, TD Arizona opened Pac-10 play against Oregon. It was the third consecutive year that the Wildcats played a home game against the Ducks. Hours before the game started, a plane with a banner that read “Hey U of A, Please Fire Mackovic” flew over the Arizona campus, as many in the Tucson community beyond Wildcat fans demanded that Mackovic be fired as coach and have the program be in a new direction.UA fans have seen enough of Mackovic before and after loss to Oregon Arizona Daily Star September 14, 2003 In the game, the Wildcats would again struggle as the Ducks would dominate on both sides of the ball as Arizona was blown out again. Chants of “Fire Mackovic” would ring through the Arizona student section in the game's final minutes.Wildcats get pounded again, this time by Oregon Tucson Citizen September 14, 2003 After the game, Mackovic, angry after another blowout loss, would lose his temper and trashed his office after ending postgame interviews.Mackovic loses it after another loss Arizona Daily Star September 14, 2003 at No. 25 Purdue 2003 Purdue Boilermakers football team #fff #eee Arizona Wildcats;color:white;text-align:center autocollapse Arizona Wildcats (1–2) at No. 25 Purdue Boilermakers (1–1) – Game summary September 20, 2003 10:00 A.M. Wildcats 0 0 7 0 No. 25 Boilermakers 7 17 14 21 Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN 52,310 Fair, 66 °F °C Dennis Lipski ESPN GamePlan First quarter (12:19) PUR – Ray Williams 35-yard pass from Kyle Orton, Ben Jones kick (Drive: 8 plays, 72 yards, 2:41; Purdue 7–0) Second quarter (10:06) PUR – Jerod Void 2-yard run, Ben Jones kick (Drive: 5 plays, 21 yards, 2:04; Purdue 14–0) (2:18) PUR – Ben Jones 27-yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 36 yards, 3:45; Purdue 17–0) (0:40) PUR – John Standeford 81-yard pass from Kyle Orton, Ben Jones kick (Drive: 1 play, 81 yards, 0:13; Purdue 24–0) Third quarter (13:33) PUR – Jerod Void 13-yard run, Ben Jones kick (Drive: 2 plays, 22 yards, 0:31; Purdue 31–0) (11:03) PUR – Brandon Jones 43-yard pass from Kyle Orton, Ben Jones kick (Drive: 3 plays, 69 yards, 1:18; Purdue 38–0) (4:09) ARIZ – Biren Ealy 36-yard pass from Kris Heavner, Bobby Gill kick (Drive: 5 plays, 47 yards, 1:25; Purdue 38–7) Fourth quarter (12:30) PUR – Kyle Ingraham 8-yard pass from Brandon Kirsch, Ben Jones kick (Drive: 5 plays, 43 yards, 1:59; Purdue 45–7) (8:51) PUR – Jerome Brooks 2-yard run, Ben Jones kick (Drive: 8 plays, 71 yards, 2:33; Purdue 52–7) (4:07) PUR – Jerome Brooks 29-yard run, Ben Jones kick (Drive: 3 plays, 58 yards, 1:11; Purdue 59–7) Statistics ARIZPUR First downs 1228 Total yards 174580 Rushing yards 31–6652–292 Passing yards 108288 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 13–31–219–31–1 Time of possession 25:1634:44 Team Category Player StatisticsArizona Passing Kris Heavner5/12, 55 yards, TD, INT Rushing Nic Costa3 carries, 47 yards Receiving Biren Ealy7 receptions, 84 yards, TDPurdue Passing Kyle Orton16/28, 261 yards, 3 TD, INT Rushing Jerome Brooks21 carries, 122 yards, 2 TD Receiving John Standeford4 receptions, 111 yards, TD Arizona went on the road for the first time in the season by traveling to Purdue. It was the very first meeting between the two teams. The Boilermakers would be too much for the Wildcats in yet another blowout loss for Arizona.Boiling point: Cats get destroyed by Purdue Arizona Daily Star September 21, 2003 It was the third straight game that Arizona gave up over 40 points to its opponents. Mackovic, still frustrated after yet another blowout loss, would have another postgame meltdown in the locker room, as he would toss footballs against lockers that nearly hit players as well as yelling obscenities and insulting them. He also threw a Gatorade cooler, a trash can, and a chair against the wall. The players would report the incidents to the university as well as their families who then became angered with Mackovic. The Pac-10 would later reprimand him for his actions and he apologized to the players, the university, and fans.Another Mackovic meltdown and more controversy Tucson Citizen September 21, 2003Pac-10 reprimands Mackovic after postgame tirade following loss at Purdue Arizona Daily Star September 22, 2003 The issues surrounding Mackovic and the team's losses would become speculation that the Wildcats would soon make a coaching change.If Wildcats keep losing, Mackovic could be axed soon Arizona Daily Wildcat September 24, 2003 vs No. 19 TCU 2003 TCU Horned Frogs football team #fff #eee Arizona Wildcats;color:white ;text-align:center autocollapse No. 19 TCU Horned Frogs (3–0) vs Arizona Wildcats (1–3) – Game summary September 27, 2003 7:00 P.M. No. 19 Horned Frogs 0 7 0 3 3 Wildcats 0 0 7 3 0 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ 40,515 Fair, 86 F C Larry Farina Fox Sports Arizona First quarter No scoring plays Second quarter (2:44) TCU – Reggie Harrell 98-yard pass from Brandon Hassell, Nick Browne kick (Drive: 1 play, 98 yards, 0:13; TCU 7–0) Third quarter (9:40) ARIZ – Steve Fleming 58-yard pass from Kris Heavner, Bobby Gill kick (Drive: 1 play, 58 yards, 0:10; Tied 7–7) Fourth quarter (10:11) ARIZ – Bobby Gill 30-yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 48 yards, 3:06; Arizona 10–7) (1:07) TCU – Nick Browne 24-yard field goal (Drive: 13 plays, 68 yards, 4:43; Tied 10–10) Overtime TCU – Nick Browne 33-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 9 yards; TCU 13–10) Statistics TCU ARIZ First downs 1910 Total yards 452309 Rushing yards 56–20629–33 Passing yards 246276 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 12–24–014–30–4 Time of possession 35:0324:57 Team Category Player StatisticsTCU Passing Brandon Hassell12/24, 246 yards, TD Rushing Robert Merrill31 carries, 148 yards Receiving Reggie Harrell4 receptions, 127 yards, TDArizona Passing Kris Heavner14/29, 276 yards, TD, 3 INT Rushing Clarence Farmer13 carries, 32 yards Receiving Ricky Williams5 receptions, 131 yards Arizona went back home and faced TCU in a rematch of the teams’ meeting from 1999 (when Arizona came back to win that game). Both teams would rely on defense which led to a low scoring game. The Wildcats led 10–7 in the fourth quarter before the Horned Frogs forced overtime with a field goal. In the first overtime period, Arizona would commit a turnover with an interception which gave the Frogs a chance at the win. TCU would convert on a field goal to win it 13-10 and handed the Wildcats yet another loss as fans chanted “Fire Mackovic” one last time.Cats fall to TCU in OT Tucson Citizen September 28, 2003No. 19 TCU edges Arizona in overtime Dallas Morning News September 28, 2003 Both teams have not met since. Mackovic’s firing The day after Arizona's loss to TCU, Mackovic was fired as coach and that Hankwitz, the team's defensive coordinator, would take over as interim coach for the remainder of the season.Coach Mackovic fired: UA football coach out after 2½ seasons Arizona Daily Star September 29, 2003Mackovic gets midseason ax Arizona Daily Wildcat September 29, 2003 Mackovic finished his Arizona tenure with a 10–18 record, and was 3–14 against Pac-10 foes. In a press conference, Arizona announced that Mackovic's dismissal was due to the following reasons:Mackovic terminated as UA football coach after two and a half seasons The Arizona Republic September 29, 2003 Wins and losses, especially those against ranked opponents as well as Pac-10 teams A poor relationship with players and fans The inability to build a winning culture for the program and make bowl game appearances Failure to meet expectations by contending for a Rose Bowl Weak recruiting, especially before the season as the team was ranked near the bottom of the Pac-10 in terms of player commitments The controversies from both the previous season and this one as a result of abusing and insulting players, including the postgame locker room meltdown after the loss to Purdue The failure to win Pac-10 games at home and having losing streaks during the two-and-a-half-season span At the time, the Wildcats were outscored in their losses, 179–40 after their win over UTEP in the season opener. During the losses, fans chanted for Mackovic to be fired and fans held signs that referenced his firing, including one that had his name in front of a fire blaze and another with the Terminator saying “Hey Mackovic, You Are Terminated!” (likely as a reference to the third Terminator film being released in the summer prior to the start of the season), and rejoiced after hearing the news of him being fired.Wildcat fans happy now Mackovic is finally fired Tucson Citizen September 29, 2003 When Mackovic was seen leaving the Arizona campus, a group of fans chanted “You’ve been fired” at him and sang “Na na, hey hey, goodbye” and “Hit the Road, Jack” as he departed the campus for good.Fans have last laugh with Mackovic following dismissal Arizona Daily Star September 30, 2003 Hankwitz, who was previously on the Arizona coaching staff in the 1970s along with Mackovic under former coach Jim Young, was formerly the defensive coordinator at Texas A&M before being hired at Arizona this season. He would take over the program and attempted to fix the team's problems caused by Mackovic and promised to bring the team back to its winning ways.DC Hankwitz named Cats’ interim coach Tucson Citizen September 29, 2003 at No. 14 Washington State 2003 Washington State Cougars football team #fff #eee Arizona Wildcats;color:white;text-align:center autocollapse Arizona Wildcats (1–4) at No. 14 Washington State Cougars (4–1) – Game summary October 4, 2003 2:00 P.M. Wildcats 0 0 7 0 No. 14 Cougars 13 0 3 14 Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA 34,923 Sunny, 86 °F °C Gordon Riese Fox Sports Arizona First quarter (9:39) WSU – Drew Dunning 22-yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 66 yards, 2:50; Washington State 3–0) (5:59) WSU – Devard Darling 84-yard pass from Matt Kegel, Drew Dunning kick (Drive: 3 plays, 87 yards, 1:00; Washington State 10–0) (0:00) WSU – Drew Dunning 38-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 37 yards, 4:15; Washington State 13–0) Second quarter No scoring plays Third quarter (9:38) ARIZ – Matt Padron 5-yard pass from Nic Costa, Bobby Gill kick (Drive: 7 plays, 68 yards, 2:30; Washington State 13–7) (1:26) WSU – Drew Dunning 23-yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 65 yards, 4:41; Washington State 16–7) Fourth quarter (9:02) WSU – Jason David 34-yard interception return, Drew Dunning kick (Washington State 23–7) (7:38) WSU – Jonathan Smith 11-yard pass from Matt Kegel, Drew Dunning kick (Drive: 3 plays, 19 yards, 1:16; Washington State 30–7) Statistics ARIZWSU First downs 924 Total yards 198513 Rushing yards 21–6542–161 Passing yards 133352 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 19–36–122–37–1 Time of possession 26:1933:41 Team Category Player StatisticsArizona Passing Kris Heavner18/35, 128 yards, INT Rushing Mike Bell10 carries, 40 yards Receiving Lance Relford4 receptions, 39 yardsWashington State Passing Matt Kegel18/32, 315 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing Jonathan Smith20 carries, 83 yards Receiving Devard Darling2 receptions, 98 yards, TD The Wildcats visited Washington State in their first game after Mackovic was fired. Under Hankwitz, Arizona would keep close with the Cougars, but their offense continued to struggle and would lose again.Cats get dominated by Cougars in Hankwitz’s first game Arizona Daily Star October 4, 2003 vs UCLA 2003 UCLA Bruins football team #fff #eee Arizona Wildcats;color:white ;text-align:center autocollapse UCLA Bruins (3–2) vs Arizona Wildcats (1–5) – Game summary October 11, 2003 4:00 P.M. Bruins 3 7 7 7 Wildcats 7 14 0 0 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ 44,481 Mostly clear, 85 F C Jack Folliard Fox Sports Arizona First quarter (12:24) ARIZ – Matt Padron 7-yard pass from Nic Costa, Bobby Gill kick (Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 2:36; Arizona 7–0) (1:30) UCLA – Justin Medlock 32-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 3 yards, 1:26; Arizona 7–3) Second quarter (10:02) UCLA – Tyler Ebell 18-yard run, Justin Medlock kick (Drive: 5 plays, 73 yards, 1:40; UCLA 10–7) (6:43) ARIZ – Clarence Farmer 1-yard pass from Nic Costa, Bobby Gill kick (Drive: 8 plays, 83 yards, 3:12; Arizona 14–10) (0:29) ARIZ – Biren Ealy 39-yard pass from Kris Heavner, Nick Folk kick (Drive: 2 plays, 40 yards, 0:38; Arizona 21–10) Third quarter (11:17) UCLA – Manuel White 5-yard run, Justin Medlock kick (Drive: 10 plays, 80 yards, 3:43; Arizona 21–17) Fourth quarter (13:41) UCLA – Rodney Leisle 55-yard interception return, Justin Medlock kick (UCLA 24–17) Statistics UCLA ARIZ First downs 1621 Total yards 333519 Rushing yards 34–10342–276 Passing yards 230243 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 19–30–217–31–4 Time of possession 28:4431:16 Team Category Player StatisticsUCLA Passing Drew Olson15/22, 189 yards, INT Rushing Tyler Ebell14 carries, 61 yards, TD Receiving Craig Bragg6 receptions, 105 yardsArizona Passing Kris Heavner13/20, 187 yards, TD, 3 INT Rushing Clarence Farmer25 carries, 122 yards Receiving Biren Ealy5 receptions, 100 yards, TD However, the Bruins got back in the game and a fourth-quarter interception return touchdown gave them the lead. Arizona tried to respond, but committed crucial mistakes, including a missed field goal in the final few minutes, that would ultimately cost them and UCLA gave the Wildcats yet another tough defeat and Arizona dropped to 1–6.Second-half miscues doom Wildcats, fall to Bruins Tucson Citizen October 12, 2003 at California 2003 California Golden Bears football team #fff #eee Arizona Wildcats;color:white;text-align:center autocollapse Arizona Wildcats (1–6) at California Golden Bears (3–5) – Game summary October 25, 2003 12:30 P.M. Wildcats 0 0 7 7 Golden Bears 0 21 7 14 California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA 33,249 Clear, 80 °F °C Jack Wood Fox Sports Arizona First quarter No scoring plays Second quarter (14:14) CAL – JJ Arrington 1-yard run, Tyler Fredrickson kick (Drive: 10 plays, 44 yards, 4:59; California 7–0) (7:20) CAL – Adimchinobe Echemandu 1-yard run, Tyler Fredrickson kick (Drive: 4 plays, 46 yards, 2:10; California 14–0) (3:30) CAL – Adimchinobe Echemandu 49-yard run, Tyler Fredrickson kick (Drive: 3 plays, 67 yards, 0:35; California 21–0) Third quarter (12:43) ARIZ – Steve Fleming 3-yard pass from Kris Heavner, Bobby Gill kick (Drive: 6 plays, 65 yards, 2:17; California 21–7) (4:12) CAL – Adimchinobe Echemandu 6-yard run, Tyler Fredrickson kick (Drive: 9 plays, 71 yards, 3:19; California 28–7) Fourth quarter (14:16) CAL – JJ Arrington 45-yard run, Tyler Fredrickson kick (Drive: 4 plays, 80 yards, 1:22; California 35–7) (8:04) CAL – Reggie Robertson 1-yard run, Tyler Fredrickson kick (Drive: 9 plays, 42 yards, 5:13; California 42–7) (5:37) ARIZ – Mike Bell 49-yard run, Bobby Gill kick (Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, 2:27; California 42–14) Statistics ARIZCAL First downs 1925 Total yards 402444 Rushing yards 28–20159–327 Passing yards 201117 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 18–34–211–18–0 Time of possession 24:1235:48 Team Category Player StatisticsArizona Passing Kris Heavner17/31, 186 yards, TD, INT Rushing Mike Bell19 carries, 182 yards, TD Receiving Ricky Williams6 receptions, 79 yardsCalifornia Passing Aaron Rodgers9/16, 93 yards Rushing Adimchinobe Echemandu30 carries, 201 yards, 3 TD Receiving Geoff McArthur4 receptions, 54 yards at Oregon State 2003 Oregon State Beavers football team #fff #eee Arizona Wildcats;color:white;text-align:center autocollapse Arizona Wildcats (1–7) at Oregon State Beavers (5–3) – Game summary November 1, 2003 2:00 P.M. Wildcats 0 0 9 14 Beavers 7 28 17 0 Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR 36,178 Fair, 45 °F °C David Cutaia Fox Sports Arizona First quarter (3:56) OSU – Steven Jackson 10-yard pass from Derek Anderson, Kirk Yliniemi kick (Drive: 10 plays, 78 yards, 4:27; Oregon State 7–0) Second quarter (13:49) OSU – Steven Jackson 2-yard run, Kirk Yliniemi kick (Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 3:36; Oregon State 14–0) (12:39) OSU – Steven Jackson 2-yard run, Kirk Yliniemi kick (Drive: 1 play, 2 yards, 0:03; Oregon State 21–0) (9:00) OSU – James Newson 24-yard pass from Derek Anderson, Kirk Yliniemi kick (Drive: 4 plays, 50 yards, 1:09; Oregon State 28–0) (0:58) OSU – Mike Hass 4-yard pass from Derek Anderson, Kirk Yliniemi kick (Drive: 8 plays, 63 yards, 3:30; Oregon State 35–0) Third quarter (12:00) OSU – Kirk Yliniemi 54-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 5 yards, 1:21; Oregon State 38–0) (9:43) OSU – Tim Euhus 1-yard pass from Derek Anderson, Kirk Yliniemi kick (Drive: 7 plays, 68 yards, 1:09; Oregon State 45–0) (7:32) ARIZ – Mike Bell 10-yard run, Nick Folk kick (Drive: 5 plays, 69 yards, 2:03; Oregon State 45–7) (5:05) OSU – Steven Jackson 1-yard run, Kirk Yliniemi kick (Drive: 7 plays, 50 yards, 2:27; Oregon State 52–7) (2:16) ARIZ – Team safety (Oregon State 52–9) Fourth quarter (3:33) ARIZ – Ricky Williams 27-yard pass from Kris Heavner, Nick Folk kick (Drive: 3 plays, 48 yards, 1:45; Oregon State 52–16) (0:55) ARIZ – Mike Jefferson 9-yard pass from Kris Heavner, Nick Folk kick (Drive: 4 plays, 17 yards, 1:08; Oregon State 52–23) Statistics ARIZOSU First downs 1426 Total yards 232426 Rushing yards 36–9044–93 Passing yards 142333 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 13–31–123–40–1 Time of possession 28:1931:41 Team Category Player StatisticsArizona Passing Kris Heavner12/28, 137 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing Mike Bell25 carries, 106 yards, TD Receiving Ricky Williams5 receptions, 65 yards, TDOregon State Passing Derek Anderson21/32, 308 yards, 4 TD Rushing Steven Jackson28 carries, 107 yards, 3 TD Receiving James Newson7 receptions, 100 yards, TD vs Washington 2003 Washington Huskies football team #fff #eee Arizona Wildcats;color:white ;text-align:center autocollapse Washington Huskies (5–4) vs Arizona Wildcats (1–8) – Game summary November 8, 2003 4:00 P.M. Huskies 7 7 0 8 Wildcats 6 7 0 14 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ 48,319 Sunny, Clear, 77 F C Jack Folliard Fox Sports Arizona First quarter (6:02) WASH – Adam Seery 3-yard pass from Cody Pickett, Evan Knudson kick (Drive: 12 plays, 88 yards, 4:08; Washington 7–0) (4:05) ARIZ – Mike Bell 67-yard run, two-point pass failed (Drive: 5 plays, 82 yards, 1:51; Washington 7–6) Second quarter (13:13) WASH – Shelton Sampson 1-yard run, Evan Knudson kick (Drive: 6 plays, 22 yards, 2:24; Washington 14–6) (0:26) ARIZ – Biren Ealy 10-yard pass from Kris Heavner, Nick Folk kick (Drive: 5 plays, 50 yards, 0:58; Washington 14–13) Third quarter No scoring plays Fourth quarter (9:58) WASH – Team safety (Washington 16–13) (7:28) ARIZ – Mike Bell 69-yard run, Nick Folk kick (Drive: 3 plays, 78 yards, 1:42; Arizona 20–16) (4:38) ARIZ – Mike Bell 37-yard run, Nick Folk kick (Drive: 3 plays, 52 yards, 0:59; Arizona 27–16) (3:49) WASH – Corey Williams 4-yard pass from Cody Pickett, two-point run failed (Drive: 4 plays, 77 yards, 0:40; Arizona 27–22) Statistics WASH ARIZ First downs 2411 Total yards 452401 Rushing yards 35–10137–250 Passing yards 351151 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 31–51–011–26–1 Time of possession 32:5827:02 Team Category Player StatisticsWashington Passing Cody Pickett31/51, 351 yards, 2 TD Rushing Kenny James16 carries, 77 yards Receiving Reggie Williams13 receptions, 121 yardsArizona Passing Kris Heavner10/20, 151 yards, TD, INT Rushing Mike Bell26 carries, 222 yards, 3 TD Receiving Ricky Williams2 receptions, 55 yards On homecoming weekend, the Wildcats hosted Washington and looked to end their losing streak, which was now at eight games. Arizona would hang with the Huskies early on, and by the fourth quarter, the Wildcats took control a pair of long rushing touchdowns. Washington would answer to cut into Arizona's lead and was poised to take the lead late, but would be stopped by the Wildcats on a fourth down play, and Arizona held on to win. As time ran out, Arizona fans rushed the field and celebrated as the Wildcats finally broke their losing skid and won for the first time in the post-Mackovic era.Eight is enough: Cats use rushing attack against Washington to finally earn win Arizona Daily Star November 9, 2003 The win was Arizona's first win over the Huskies since 1998 after a string of near-misses against them and the first time that the Wildcats defeated them at home since their memorable upset in 1992. Also, it was Hankwitz's first win as coach and Arizona's first Pac-10 home win since 2000 (when they defeated the Huskies’ rival Washington State in what turned out to be Dick Tomey’s final victory as Wildcat coach), as well as their first conference win of the season. In addition, it was Arizona’s first home win in November since 1998, when they defeated rival Arizona State that year.Finally, a win! Wildcats stop Washington to end skid, give Hankwitz first victory Tucson Citizen November 9, 2003 A memorable moment occurred late in the game, after Wildcats stopped the Huskies on their final possession. Half of the Arizona student section chanted “Where is Mackovic?” and the other half responded with “He got fired!”, which referenced the fact that they didn't have to deal with the Wildcats blowing another late lead against the Huskies, which happened twice under Mackovic when they played in Seattle in his first two years (as well as 2000 in Tomey's last year). Now that Mackovic was no longer coach and Arizona finally winning, it led to the chants before having new chants of “U of A” when the Wildcats ran out the clock.‘Fandemonium’ follows victory Arizona Daily Wildcat November 10, 2003 vs No. 2 USC 2003 USC Trojans football team #fff #eee Arizona Wildcats;color:white ;text-align:center autocollapse No. 2 USC Trojans (8–1) vs Arizona Wildcats (2–8) – Game summary November 15, 2003 4:00 P.M. No. 2 Trojans 14 21 10 0 Wildcats 0 0 0 0 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ 39,201 Clear, 66 °F °C Gordon Riese TBS First quarter (11:59) USC – LenDale White 1-yard run, Ryan Killeen kick (Drive: 6 plays, 59 yards, 2:04; USC 7–0) (7:38) USC – Mike Williams 10-yard pass from Matt Leinart, Ryan Killeen kick (Drive: 7 plays, 64 yards, 2:50; USC 14–0) Second quarter (10:09) USC – Mike Williams 10-yard pass from Matt Leinart, Ryan Killeen kick (Drive: 5 plays, 81 yards, 1:55; USC 21–0) (4:42) USC – Mike Williams 10-yard pass from Matt Leinart, Ryan Killeen kick (Drive: 3 plays, 26 yards, 0:54; USC 28–0) (2:59) USC – Gregg Guenther Jr. 10-yard pass from Matt Leinart, Ryan Killeen kick (Drive: 2 plays, 32 yards, 0:15; USC 35–0) Third quarter (1:03) USC – Ryan Killeen 32-yard field goal (Drive: 5 plays, 37 yards, 1:40; USC 38–0) (0:00) USC – LenDale White 4-yard run, Ryan Killeen kick (Drive: 1 play, 43 yards, 0:02; USC 45–0) Fourth quarter No scoring plays Statistics USC ARIZ First downs 3210 Total yards 587195 Rushing yards 48–22026–50 Passing yards 367145 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 26–37–012–34–3 Time of possession 35:4224:18 Team Category Player StatisticsUSC Passing Matt Leinart22/30, 296 yards, 4 TD Rushing LenDale White15 carries, 90 yards, 2 TD Receiving Mike Williams11 receptions, 157 yards, 3 TDArizona Passing Kris Heavner11/30, 129 yards, 3 INT Rushing Sean Jones6 carries, 25 yards Receiving Ricky Williams4 receptions, 47 yards After defeating Washington, Arizona faced second-ranked USC in a very tough test.Things don’t get easy for Wildcats as No. 2 USC comes to town Tucson Citizen November 13, 2003 Unfortunately for the Wildcats, they would have no chance as the Trojans showed why they were championship contenders by dominating Arizona from start to finish for a shutout victory. By halftime, the stadium would become half empty as most of the Arizona fans headed for the exits as USC had broken the game open.Destroyed: Trojans dominate Wildcats in shutout Arizona Daily Star November 16, 2003 It was the first time that an opponent shut out Arizona since 1991, when the Wildcats were blanked at Washington.No. 2 USC torches Arizona for shutout victory Los Angeles Times November 16, 2003 Near the end of the game, Arizona fans chanted “We’ve got basketball”, as they gave up on football season (despite the Wildcats having one final game against Arizona State), and turned their attention to basketball, as it been usually with that program winning.Fans give up football for the season, switch toward basketball Arizona Daily Wildcat November 18, 2003 at Arizona State 2003 Arizona State Sun Devils football team #fff #eee Arizona Wildcats;color:white;text-align:center autocollapse Arizona Wildcats (2–9) at Arizona State Sun Devils (4–7) – Game summary November 28, 2003 1:00 P.M. Wildcats 7 0 0 0 Sun Devils 7 14 0 7 Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ 55,498 Mostly Cloudy, 66 °F °C David Cutaia Fox Sports Arizona First quarter (12:22) ASU – Skyler Fulton 28-yard pass from Andrew Walter, Jesse Ainsworth kick (Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 2:38; Arizona State 7–0) (5:03) ARIZ – Mike Jefferson 16-yard pass from Kris Heavner, Nick Folk kick (Drive: 15 plays, 76 yards, 7:19; Tied 7–7) Second quarter (3:10) ASU – Jamaal Lewis 9-yard pass from Andrew Walter, Jesse Ainsworth kick (Drive: 12 plays, 95 yards, 5:00; Arizona State 14–7) (1:34) ASU – Loren Wade 40-yard run, Jesse Ainsworth kick (Drive: 3 plays, 48 yards, 0:23; Arizona State 21–7) Third quarter No scoring plays Fourth quarter (13:58) ASU – Derek Hagan 80-yard pass from Andrew Walter, Jesse Ainsworth kick (Drive: 1 play, 80 yards, 0:13; Arizona State 28–7) Statistics ARIZASU First downs 2418 Total yards 452484 Rushing yards 35–11337–203 Passing yards 339281 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 28–48–116–26–0 Time of possession 34:5425:06 Team Category Player StatisticsArizona Passing Kris Heavner21/32, 252 yards, TD, INT Rushing Mike Bell25 carries, 95 yards Receiving Mike Jefferson9 receptions, 115 yards, TDArizona State Passing Andrew Walter16/26, 281 yards, 3 TD Rushing Loren Wade18 carries, 120 yards, TD Receiving Derek Hagan8 receptions, 155 yards, TD The Wildcats attempted to end the season on a high note, as they traveled to Tempe for the annual rivalry game against Arizona State. However, Arizona would have trouble slowing down ASU's passing offense and made mistakes that would cost them points. In the end, the Wildcats were held to only seven points, which was their lowest in the rivalry since 1992 and lost their tenth game of the season, which was a school record.From bad to worse: Cats fall to ASU for 10th loss Arizona Daily Star November 29, 2003 Also, the loss put the Wildcats into finishing the season last (10th place) in the Pac-10 standings with a 2–10 record.Devils bowl Cats into Pac-10 cellar The Arizona Republic November 29, 2003 Awards and honors Mike Bell, RB, Second-team All-Pac-10 Season notes The season is among the worst in Arizona history and the ten losses were the most in a single season for the Wildcats until it was broken in 2021 when Arizona would lose eleven games in that season. Fans have blamed the losses due to Mackovic's issues and the team's poor play, including turnovers, penalties, player inexperience, and a bad defense. Also, the team's offensive performance earlier in the season as well as missed field goals were factors in the losing record. Many players would lose interest in football after Mackovic's troubles and fans gave up their season tickets after the team's losses during the year, although the fans considered to not attend games after Mackovic's troubles late in the 2002 season.Fans won’t attend games if Mackovic remains coach Arizona Daily Wildcat September 18, 2003 The early part of the season was best known for Arizona fans using chants that called for Mackovic to be fired before the ending of the Wildcats’ blowout losses, and made references to the basketball team in the home finale late in the season against USC. The Wildcats would not play twelve games in a season again until 2006. Arizona and UTEP would not meet each other again until 2017. Arizona lost to the two teams that would eventually share the national championship this season (LSU and USC). The game against Purdue was only broadcast on pay-per-view in the Arizona market as part of the now-defunct ESPN GamePlan, as national broadcasters believed that Arizona would not have a chance at a win and because of the issues surrounding Mackovic at the time.Arizona-Purdue game to be shown on pay-per-view Arizona Daily Star September 18, 2003 Arizona would not play another overtime game until 2009. The Wildcats would not lose another home game against UCLA until 2013. Arizona scored a touchdown against Oregon State for the first time since 1999, as they only scored on field goals from 2000 to 2002. The victory over Washington was Hankwitz's first and only win as a coach. The game against USC was the only home game of the season that had an attendance below 40,000, like due to the fact that the Wildcats were never expected to win against the Trojans and that most of the Arizona fans were focused on basketball. Arizona played three games that were aired on TBS, with all being blowout losses. Fans believed that TBS would not broadcast another Arizona game again as a result of the losses, though the network would air one Arizona game in 2005 and 2006.TBS should never broadcast another Arizona football game again due to blowout losses Arizona Daily Wildcat November 17, 2003 The Wildcats only scored seven points against Arizona State, which would be the fewest for Arizona in the rivalry until 2020 when they would also be held to seven points in an ugly loss. Arizona did not play Pac-10 foe Stanford this season. Arizona only made two field goals in the entire season and was one of the nation's worst special teams group. They would finish the year two for eleven in field goal tries, with the only made kicks occurring against Oregon and TCU. The 2–10 2003 record was an opposite of the 1993 record for the Wildcats, as they went 10–2 in that season.10–2 vs. 2–10: Ten years later; ‘93 was good, ‘03 was bad, 0-12 record would have been ugly for Wildcat football Tucson Citizen December 4, 2003 The Mackovic era was proved to be a total failure for the Wildcats, and fans rated Mackovic as the worst Arizona football coach ever (with predecessor Dick Tomey being the best). The fans also believed that Mackovic destroyed the program due to his problems and that it would take several seasons for Arizona to recover and rebuild under future coaches in order for the program to be returned to success as it was under Tomey.Mackovic era was a disaster for Arizona football Arizona Daily Star December 6, 2003 This was the last season in which the Wildcats wore white helmets full-time. They would switch to blue helmets in 2004 and would not wear the white helmets again until 2009. The two wins were the fewest in a season by Arizona since 1957, when they finished 1–8–1. However, in 2021, Arizona went 1–11, which tied the 1957 team record for fewest victories in a full season. After the season Soon after the season ended, Arizona hired Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops as the new head coach following a national search, meaning that Hankwitz would not return for the 2004 season.Stoops is UA’s pick for football coach Arizona Daily Star November 30, 2003Arizona names Oklahoma DC Stoops new head coach Tucson Citizen November 30, 2003 Stoops, who had served under his brother Bob at Oklahoma, was hired to rebuild the program and to build a winning culture that was lost under Mackovic.Stoops promises to build winning formula for Arizona football The Arizona Republic December 1, 2003 He would go to spend most of the decade rebuilding the team and the Wildcats would return to its winning ways by 2008 before being fired in 2011. As for Hankwitz, he would later become defensive coordinator at Northwestern.Northwestern hires ex-UA coach Hankwitz as DC Arizona Daily Star January 19, 2008 References Arizona Category:Arizona Wildcats football seasons Arizona Wildcats football