Arizona All-Quarter-Century Team: Quarterbacks

Arizona football has entered its bye-week, which means we will be putting together our Arizona Wildcats On SI All-Quarter Century Team.

Dec 20, 2008; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Arizona Wildcats quarterback Willie Tuitama (7) throws a pass during the Wildcats' 31-21 victory over the Brigham Young Cougars in the Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

So far in the Brent Brennan era of Arizona football, the Wildcats have had their struggles on the road with four-straight losses dating back to last year. UA has lost those games by an average of 28 points and has fallen behind by double-digits in all four games.

Arizona (4-3, 1-3 Big 12) was able to get things going early by striking quickly as quarterback Noah Fifita hit receiver Tre Spivey for a 70-yard touchdown pass, which seemed to set the tone early for the offense.

Despite the fast start, Arizona found itself trailing 21-14 to Houston (6-1-,3-1) at the half thanks to defensive struggles in the second quarter. And once again, the Wildcats lost the middle eight of the game, which resulted in a Cougars 31-28 win over the Wildcats.

Although Arizona fell on Saturday against Houston and has lost two-straight games, the program is clearly moving in the right direction and has improved drastically from a season ago.

Nov. 28, 2009; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats quarterback (8) Nick Foles following the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium. Arizona defeated Arizona State 20-17. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Now with the Wildcats in the bye-week, we at Arizona Wildcats On SI have decided to roll out our All-Quarter-Century Team, breaking down the top players at every position over the last 25 years of Arizona football.

Today, we are taking a look at the top two quarterbacks over the last 25 years who have stood out from the rest.

Top Quarterbacks

Nov 5, 2005; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats starting quarterback Willie Tuitama warms up before his game against the UCLA Bruins at Arizona Stadium, Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Copyright Rick Scuteri | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

2. Willie Tuitama (2005-08)

• During the mid-2000’s Arizona football was working its way back from one of the darkest eras in program history following the end of John Mackovic’s time as head coach. Mike Stoops took over the program and built it back up, ending a 10-year bowl game drought during the 2008 season.

Sept 2, 2006; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats quarterback (7) Willie Tuitama looks to throw against the Brigham Young Cougars during the second quarter at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-US Presswire Copyright Rick Scuteri | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

A massive part of getting the program back on track was quarterback Willie Tuitama, who took over the starting job in late October, going 2-3 as the starter with a 52-14 win over then-No. 7 UCLA.

In his senior season, Tuitama led the team to an 8-5 finish with a win in the Vegas Bowl, delivering a 31-21 result over No. 17 BYU.

• Throughout his career, Tuitama finished with 9,211 passing yards (No. 2), 67 passing touchdowns (T-1) and 8,727 of total offensive yards. He did all this despite going through several injuries as he set a standard for quarterbacks in Tucson.

1. Nick Foles (2009-11)

• The gold standard of Arizona quarterbacks is clear and that man is Nick Foles, who transferred into the program after spending time at ASU and Michigan State. Foles started his UA career as the backup to  Matt Scott before taking over the job three games into the season.

Sept. 17, 2011; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats quarterback Nick Foles (8) throws during the first half against the Stanford Cardinal at Arizona Stadium. The Cardinal beat the Wildcats 37-10. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

• During his time with the Wildcats, Foles had numerous memorable games and moments that live in the minds of all Arizona fans. The one that tops them all was UA’s 34-27 win over No. 9 Iowa, where he passed for 303 yards and two touchdowns against the Hawkeyes.

• Although NFL career shouldn’t count towards college rankings, Foles did cement his legacy in the pros by going on a historic playoff run with the Eagles that was capped off with a Super Bowl 41-33 win over the Patriots. Not only did his team get the win, but he won the MVP, becoming the first Wildcat to win the award.

• At the end of his career, Foles finished firs in passing yards (10,011), passing touchdowns (67) and total offense (9,712) while completing 67% of his passing attempts.

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