The Wildcats had struggled to recover from the effects of the Mackovic incidents, which led to them losing frequently and Stoops was brought in to turn the program around.

As a result of Mackovic's troubles, Stoops referred to the program as “filthy and dirty” and that he had to clean up the mess that was caused by his predecessor in order to help the team win games.

[6] The addition of red jerseys, along with the blue helmets that were introduced prior to the start of the previous season, would lead to excitement from fans who believed that the Wildcats would be prepared to compete and have an impact on future success (the fans have often worn red during Arizona's home games since Stoops became coach as it was considered a good luck charm for the team and that wearing blue would be bad luck).

[7] [8] In the season opener, the Wildcats traveled to Salt Lake City for a Friday night matchup with Utah, who had gotten a new head coach.

[11] However, all of that went for naught, as the Boilermakers would capitalize on several Arizona mistakes which led to the Wildcats losing despite them keeping the game close for most of the early part.

As USC was the reigning national champion (though its BCS title was later vacated by the NCAA in 2010 due to violations) and being on a 26-game winning streak that dated back to 2003, Stoops made headlines days before the game by remarking that the Trojans were “too hard to beat” and “played like an NFL team” due to their dominant and powerful NFL-style offense that was incredibly difficult to slow down and that the Wildcats would not have a chance to compete with as a result.

However, in the fourth, Stoops’ remarks proved to be true as USC would show why they were the top-ranked team by pulling away with a pair of touchdowns to earn the victory and extend their win streak to 27 games.

[16] It was the third straight season that USC scored 40 points or more against Arizona, making Stoops’ remarks true as the Trojans’ pro-style offense was in fact dominant against the Wildcats.

[20] Despite Arizona's backup performing better, it wasn't enough to lead the Wildcats to an upset win, mainly due to several offensive miscues during the game.

In the second half, Oregon State regrouped and rallied to get within 29-27 late in the fourth quarter and threatened at the lead by driving into Wildcat territory.

Arizona's defense forced seven turnovers by Oregon State, including a late fumble as well as interception on the game's final play, which became a difference in the Wildcat victory.

In the second half, Arizona continued their domination with 21 more points, which included a punt return touchdown and then a defensive score caused by UCLA fumbling on a backwards lateral pass that was recovered by the Wildcats in the end zone, for a 52–7 lead and breaking the game wide open.

Coming off of their blowout victory over UCLA, Arizona hosted Washington in their home finale and looked to earn their third straight win.

After both teams traded field goals to start the game, a botched punt attempt by Arizona led to an ASU safety, which gave them the lead.

With under eight minutes to play, the game made its turning point as Arizona State returned a punt for a touchdown and scored a two-point conversion to tie at 20, which caused Sun Devil Stadium to erupt in delirium.

After an unsuccessful kickoff return by Arizona, the Devils completed the comeback for the win and brought the Territorial Cup (the rivalry trophy) back to Phoenix/Tempe and became bowl-eligible, and the Wildcats’ season ended at a 3–8 record for the second consecutive year.