1941 Arizona Wildcats football team

The 1941 Arizona Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the University of Arizona in the Border Conference during the 1941 college football season. In their third season under head coach Mike Casteel, the Wildcats compiled a 7–3 record (5–0 against Border opponents), finished in a tie for the conference championship, and outscored opponents, 253 to 146.^[1][2]

1941 Arizona Wildcats football
Border champion
Conference	Border Conference
Record	7–3 (5–0 Border)
Head coach	Mike Casteel (3rd season)
Captain	Emil Banjavicic
Home stadium	Arizona Stadium
Seasons ← 1940 1942 →

1941 Border Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Arizona $	5	–	0	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Texas Tech	2	–	0	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
West Texas State	4	–	1	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Hardin–Simmons	3	–	1	–	0			7	–	3	–	1
New Mexico	3	–	2	–	1			5	–	4	–	1
Texas Mines	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	1
Arizona State	2	–	4	–	1			5	–	1	–	1
Arizona State–Flagstaff	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	5	–	0
New Mexico A&M	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion

Halfback Emil Banjavicic was the team captain.^[2] Three Arizona players were selected by the conference coaches as first-team players on the 1941 All-Border Conference football team: end Henry Stanton; tackle Jock Irish; and guard Stanley Petropolis. Halfbacks Banjavicic and William Smetana and center Murl McCain were selected to the second team.^[3]

Arizona was ranked at No. 87 (out of 681 teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score System for 1941.^[4]

The team played its home games at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 27	at Notre Dame*	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	L 7–38	30,000	^[5]
October 4	New Mexico A&M	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	W 47–0	7,500	^[6]
October 11	Nevada*	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	W 26–7	9,000	^[7]
October 18	at New Mexico	Albuquerque, NM (rivalry)	W 31–6	4,000	^[8]
October 25	at Arizona State	Tempe Field Tempe, AZ (rivalry)	W 20–7	12,000	^[9]
November 1	Texas Mines	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	W 33–14	9,000	^[10]
November 8	Arizona State–Flagstaff	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	W 41–0	5,500	^[11]
November 15	at Oklahoma A&M*	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	L 14–41	4,000	^[12]
November 29	Kansas State*	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	W 28–21	9,000	^[13]
December 6	Utah*	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	L 6–12	8,500	^[14]
*Non-conference game

References

1. "1941 Arizona Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
2. "Arizona Football 2016 Media Guide" (PDF). University of Arizona. 2016. pp. 102, 105. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
3. "Arizona, Hardin-Simmons Dominate All-Border Eleven". Arizona Republic. December 15, 1941. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 26, 1941). "Gophers Grid Kings Over 6-Year Span: Tennessee 2d, Pitt 3d Over Period Litkenhous Ratins Are Published". The Courier-Journal. p. Sports 4 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Jack Ledden (September 28, 1941). "Irish Conquer Arizona, 38-7". The South Bend Tribune. pp. Main 1, Sports 1 – via Newspapers.com.(one-third of the crowd of 30,000 was admitted free of charge)
6. Vic Thornton (October 5, 1941). "Cats Smother Aggies, 47 To 0, On Home Field". Arizona Daily Star. pp. 1, 13 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Vic Thornton (October 12, 1941). "Passing Game Gives Arizona 26 To 7 Victory". Arizona Daily Star. pp. 1, 11 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Jerry McLain (October 13, 1941). "Tempe Stops Lobos, Gain Scoreless Tie". Arizona Republic. p. II-3 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Les Hegele (October 26, 1941). "Arizona Wildcats Claw Tempe". Arizona Republic. p. IV-1 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Victor Thornton (November 2, 1941). "Cats Need All Power To Halt Miners, 33 To 14". The Arizona Daily Star. pp. 1, 11 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Victor Thornton (November 9, 1941). "Flagstaff Has Crushing Loss In Game Here". The Arizona Daily Star. pp. 1, 12 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Otis Wile (November 16, 1941). "Aggies Riot For 41-14 Win". The Daily Oklahoman. p. 1B, 6B – via Newspapers.com.
13. Vic Thornton (November 30, 1941). "Arizona Stops Kansas State 28-21". The Arizona Daily Star. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Vic Thornton (December 7, 1941). "Henry Stanton Breaks Record But Cats Lose". The Arizona Daily Star. pp. 1, 14 – via Newspapers.com.