Led by head coach Dick Tomey in his seventh season at Arizona, the Wildcats compiled a 10–2 record (6–2 against Pac-10 opponents), tied for first with UCLA and USC for the Pac-10 title, and defeated Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.

A loss late in the season to California ended their potential chances of a Rose Bowl berth, and UCLA was invited instead due to their head-to-head victory over the Wildcats.

As most of the “Desert Swarm” was returning for the 1993 season, along with a rebuilding offense, many believed that the team would contend for the Pac-10 championship as well as a chance for a possible Rose Bowl berth.

The Cardinal seemed to figure out the Desert Swarm and led 17–0 early before the Wildcats’ offense found a rhythm by scoring 24 unanswered points to take the lead.

The Cougars would miss a field goal as time expired that would have forced the game to end in a tie, and the Wildcats survived another scare and preserved their undefeated record.

Arizona would come out hot and led 20–0 at the half, and was poised to take control of the Pac-10 and edging closer to a possible chance at the Rose Bowl.

On Arizona’s final drive, they went into Cal territory, but the Golden Bears’ defense came up big to complete the comeback for a huge upset and Tomey and the Wildcats went to their locker room stunned at what happened.

The Wildcats started slow but took control in the second half and the Desert Swarm dominated the Sun Devils, as Arizona pulled away to end a two-game losing streak in the rivalry and clinched a share of the Pac-10 title.

The Desert Swarm would show why they were the nation’s best by shutting down Miami’s explosive offense in front of a pro-Arizona crowd.