Defensive end Tedy Bruschi celebrates UA's 29-0 win over Miami in the 1994 Fiesta Bowl.

So we’re closing. The Big C. We’re done for. The whistle is blowing. The horn is sounding. We’ve run out of extra time. Just took a called third strike.

I’d like to think you will miss us here in Citizen sports, but I don’t want to be presumptuous.

But even if you think that only once a month we nailed a story, a scoop, a column, a feature – and I think our batting average was much higher – well, that’s one story, scoop, column, feature you won’t be getting any more.

That’s not good for anybody.

I asked Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood in February about the Citizen’s impeding demise and how it might affect his department.

“For a great number of years, we’ve had the ability to have things balanced, and all of a sudden you lose that,” Livengood said of this turning into a one-newspaper town.

“It also has an impact on the outside world, about the perception of Tucson when you lose an institution like this. There is an impression that we’re not going forward; we’re moving backward.”

Certainly, Livengood was telling me what I wanted to hear, but he also lamented a financial aspect to the closing and a potential loss of sponsorshi\n\nadvertising dollars from a reconfigured Tucson Newspapers.

I guess that’s now a story for our pals at the Arizona Daily Star to track down.

I got my start in this crazy business at the Star, back in the fall of 1986. My first byline was on a high school football game, featuring a flash of a running back from Flowing Wells. His name escapes me now.

There have been a blur of running backs, point guards, pitchers and catchers in the years since then.

It was a pleasure to chronicle the Arizona football team through most of the 1990s – the Fiesta Bowl victory over Miami, the Holiday Bowl victory over Nebraska. Waldrop. Bruschi. Bouie. McAlister. Keith and Ortege, the tag-team quarterbacks.

One of my favorite stories: Back in the early 1990s, UA football coach Dick Tomey, upset over something I had written that day, went ballistic on me after practice as the players were leaving the field.

I have never heard someone so copiously and creatively use another term for horse manure.

We agreed to disagree that day, and I feared that a good working relationship would be damaged. Football coaches have been known to hold a grudge.

But the next time I saw Tomey, it was as if nothing had happened. That was his style. Say what you have to say, and then let it go. It’s a life lesson I have never forgotten.

Elsewhere, I covered seven of Arizona’s eight national championships in softball, and had access to the mind of coach Mike Candrea for two decades. Sometimes, this job is so worth it.

No complaints here.

I had a chance to work with, travel with and learn from the twin towers of local sports columnists – retired Corky Simpson of the Citizen and Greg Hansen of the Star. Tucson was lucky to have two such voices for all those years.

So, yeah, it’s been a good ride.

It hit me a while ago, though, that the best part of this job at the Citizen for the past four and a half years had nothing to do with newspapers or journalism.

Recently, for no other reason than boredom, I reached into the closet and pulled out a box I hadn’t opened in years. It was filled with various items from college days.

Two things caught my eye.

One was a 20-year-old edition of the Tombstone Epitaph. A journalism class at the University of Arizona produced – and still does – the newspaper for the Town Too Tough To Die.

In this particular edition, I shared a few bylines with a guy named John Moredich.

As I dug deeper in the box, I found an old address book – the kind of thing we used before we all had cell phones. Thumbing through, I saw I had the old phone number of a guy named Steve Rivera.

Point is, the two writers I have worked most closely with at the Citizen since the start of 2005 – Moredich covering football, Rivera covering basketball – have been friends for more than two decades.

Working with them has been the rewarding part of the job.

Whatever you do for work, I hope you have been as lucky.

– CLICK HERE to view team-by-team schedules –

As the state’s all-time winningest high school football coach, Amphi’s Vern Friedli has plenty of victories he can look back on fondly.

To be precise, he has 309.

“But there isn’t a sweeter feeling we ever had than those bus rides down Oracle Road after upsetting CDO,” said Friedli, whose Panthers beat Canyon del Oro 22 times in Friedli’s 33 seasons of coaching at Amphi.

CDO has won the last five games between the two schools, including the past three in lopsided fashion, but it was still one of Tucson’s longest standing football rivalries.

That ended Tuesday when the 2009 football schedule was released. For the first time since 1968, Amphi and CDO won’t play football against each other.

“It’s a shame,” Friedli said.

While Amphi’s enrollment, and in turn student participation in football, has plummeted since Ironwood Ridge High opened earlier this decade, CDO has developed into one of the state’s top Class 4A programs.

“It was pretty heated my first couple years and Amphi just completely dominated the rivalry,” said former CDO coach Pat Nugent, who now coaches Pima Community College.

“I know that Ironwood Ridge opening really hurt Amphi and the fact of the matter is it just hasn’t been that much of a rivalry recently.”

Friedli acknowledges his program’s drop in numbers in recent years has hurt the program, pointing out there were eight starters on either Ironwood Ridge or CDO who attended middle school within Amphi High’s boundaries. That was before open enrollment allowed students to go to any one of the three schools in the Amphi district.

“You give us back eight starters last year and we’re a hell of a lot more competitive,” said Friedli, whose team went 6-5 and qualified for the 4A Division II playoffs. “But that’s not how it is anymore. Now, like we’ve always done, we’ll play the hand we’re dealt.”

Amphi returned to the playoffs in 2008, but its less-than-typical record in previous years began hurting CDO’s power ranking points, the system used to seed the state tournament that rewards teams for playing tough opponents.

The more wins your opponents have, the higher your power ranking.

In place of the annual CDO/Amphi game, CDO will play Ironwood Ridge. The two teams have only played three times, but it is one of the area’s best budding rivalries.

“Getting them to open things up, I can tell you the kids are already excited about that game,” CDO first-year coach Dustin Peace said.

While CDO/Amphi is no more for the season, that doesn’t mean there will be a shortage of strong matchups for the 2009 season among Tucson-area teams.

Here is a look at 15 games with intriguing storylines this fall:

Sabino at Sahuaro (Aug. 27)

Scott McKee’s first game as Sahuaro head coach will be tough. He faces a powerful Sabino team he starred for in the 1990s. Of course, that was long before Sabino beat Sahuaro by a combined 143-19 the past three seasons.

Ironwood Ridge at CDO (Aug. 28)

Ironwood Ridge and CDO are two of the best teams in Tucson and will be breaking in new head coaches in the season opener with Matt Johnson (Ironwood Ridge) and Dustin Peace (CDO). The teams have only played three times, but it’s hard not to call this one of the area’s best rivalries and the Dorados are still looking for payback for the Nighthawks beating them twice in 2006, including in the state playoffs.

CDO at Santa Rita (Sept. 4)

Two of Tucson’s best teams over the past two years go at it. Santa Rita coach Jeff Scurran coached at CDO from 1984-86.

Santa Rita at Sabino (Sept. 11)

Scurran returns as opposing coach at Sabino, where he was one of the state’s most dominant coaches in the 1990s, winning three state championships.

Salpointe at Ironwood Ridge (Sept. 25)

Salpointe took a perfect record into the Ironwood Ridge game in 2008 before the Nighthawks thumped the Lancers 41-14.

Scottsdale Saguaro at CDO (Oct. 2)

A rematch of the 2007 4A-I state title thriller. Saguaro has been as dominant as anyone in Arizona for three years, going 41-1 with three state titles. In its current 33-game win streak, nobody put a scare into Saguaro quite like CDO did at University of Phoenix Stadium in 2007, when Saguaro hit a game-winning field goal with two seconds remaining.

Salpointe at Chandler Hamilton (Oct. 9)

Salpointe trades in a series with one 5A-I powerhouse, Phoenix Brophy, for one with Chandler Hamilton, the state’s top college recruiting factory.

Amphi at Santa Rita (Oct. 16)

Anytime Friedli and Scurran go at it, it’s fun to watch. Amphi put one heck of a scare into the Eagles in 2008 and, short of a win, it’s hard to imagine anything that makes Friedli more happy than making Scurran sweat.

Cholla at Rio Rico (Oct. 16)

Both teams struggled through 0-10 seasons in 2008. While I don’t think it will happen again, it’s nice to know winless seasons for both won’t happen again in 2009.

Ironwood Ridge at Sunnyside (Oct. 23)

The two teams have played four times the past two seasons, splitting 2-2 and not having a game determined by more than a touchdown in the span. Sunnyside ended the Nighthawks’ season in the 2007 5A-II playoffs. Ironwood Ridge returned the favor in 2008.

Flowing Wells at Catalina Foothills (Oct. 23)

First-year Flowing Wells coach Mark Brunenkant returns to Foothills, where he coached the Falcons for nine of the program’s 15 seasons.

Sunnyside at Salpointe (Nov. 6)

With Salpointe slapped with a postseason ban next year because of recruiting violations, this will be the Lancers’ final game of the season, but it isn’t as if added motivation is needed.

Cienega at Sahuaro (Nov. 6)

Former Sahuaro coaches Nemer Hassey, the head coach at Cienega, and Chuck McCollum, an offensive line coach at Cienega, return to play the Cougars.

Palo Verde at Santa Rita (Nov. 6)

This game has determined the 4A Gila Region title the past two seasons. Even without Adam Hall at Palo Verde, it could be a big test for Santa Rita.

Sabino at CDO (Nov. 6)

In its first year in the 4A Sonoran Region, the Sabercats could be playing CDO for the region title. Aside from the region implications, sought-after college recruits Sabino’s Keanu Nelson and CDO’s Josh Robbins will be winding down their senior seasons.

For more on high school sports, check out the Grammer School sports blog.

Magazine names tight end 2nd-team All-American

Arizona's Rob Gronkowski signs posters of the team for fans before the start of the annual Spring Game at Arizona Stadium last month. Gronkowski was named a second-team preseason All-American by Lindy's magazine, due out soon.

Spring football is all wrapped up, so the next thing in the college football calendar is the preview magazine season.

They’ll be coming soon – in some cases, later this month – to newsstands near you.

I’ve been doing my part, thoroughly immersed with production on Lindy’s six college football editions in the past couple of weeks, which means I know at least one thing: I absolutely can’t wait for the season to begin.

Here are 25 things – local, regional and national – to whet your appetite for the 2009 season . . . or at least until the magazines come out.

1. Arizona offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes took a trip in the offseason to visit with the staff of the Dallas Cowboys. The purpose: To study how it used tight end Jason Witten.

Dykes came back to Tucson with new ideas on how to involve junior tight end Rob Gronkowski.

“We took some of the stuff we saw with the Cowboys,” Dykes said. “We are trying to put it in our packages.”

2. Gronkowski is a Lindy’s second-team preseason All-American behind Oklahoma’s Jermaine Gresham, who surprisingly came back for his senior season.

3. I normally wouldn’t divulge Lindy’s No. 1 team, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out this season. It’s Florida.

Question is, who is No. 2 . . . Texas or Oklahoma? Or should that be Oklahoma or Texas?

4. Lindy’s picks the best of the decade in this year’s editions, and the question about the 2009 Gators is if they can become the team of the decade.

The champ in the clubhouse is 2001 Miami, which went undefeated, outscored opponents 512-117 and produced 15 first-round picks in the next three drafts.

5. I can’t wait to see how Salpointe Catholic graduate and former Arizona assistant Rich Ellerson does at Army. Ellerson made one of the most fascinating moves of the spring, switching starting left tackle Ali Villanueva (6 feet 10 inches, 283 pounds) to wide receiver.

Villanueva is expected to be a red-zone threat and serve as a heck of a blocker on screen passes.

6. Sure looks like a down year for the Pac-10, with eight of the teams having some sort of quarterback battle in the spring.

The only ones that didn’t were Oregon (Jeremiah Masoli) and Washington (Jake Locker, coming back from a thumb injury).

7. It figures: East Carolina junior Dustin Lineback is a . . . linebacker.

8. It doesn’t figure: Defensive back Miami Thomas plays for Illinois, running back Princeton McCarty plays for Idaho, Bob Toledo coaches Tulane, and the University of Washington doesn’t have anyone named Washington, although it does have a player named Houston, which is something Houston doesn’t have.

Running back Darius Marshall got it right. He plays for – you guessed it – Marshall.

9. Looking for a reason why the Big Ten flops in big games? It’s not because of speed at the skill positions; it’s because of speed and athleticism at defensive tackle.

Consider this: NFL teams have drafted 16 defensive tackles in the first round since 2004. None has been from the Big Ten.

10. The SEC, not deep in quarterbacks this season after Florida’s Tim Tebow and Mississippi’s Jevan Snead, is nonetheless the conference of elite quarterbacks. Five of the past 12 No. 1 overall draft picks have been SEC quarterbacks.

11. Salpointe Catholic graduate Kris O’Dowd, a junior at USC, is Lindy’s first-team preseason All-America center.

12. The middle of the Pac-10 is a jumbled mess. The top three are USC, Cal and Oregon. The bottom two are Washington and Washington State. Flip a coin for the teams in between, although Lindy’s picked Arizona fifth.

Lindy’s went with Oregon State at No. 4, because at least the Beavers have two quarterbacks they can win with – rehabbing Lyle Moevao (shoulder) and Sean Canfield. The rest of the Pac-10 middle has big questions at QB.

13. The ACC is 2-9 in BCS bowl games and has barely sniffed the national title since expansion. Blame a lack of skill: Of the past 29 first-round picks from the league, only four have been a quarterback, receiver or running back.

14. This year’s BCS buster: TCU.

15. Then again, if Boise State beats visiting Oregon on Sept. 3, who is going to stop the Broncos?

16. Arizona opens against Central Michigan on Sept. 5. The Chippewas are the pick to win the Mid-American Conference, and good-looking pro prospect Dan LeFevour is rated the eighth-best quarterback in the country, higher than anyone from the Pac-10.

17. Notre Dame isn’t in the preseason Top 25, but the Irish could get there because of an easy schedule and an offense that has a chance to be all grown up. Their receiving corps is a national top 10 group.

18. Florida’s defense is this good: The Gators have the nation’s top-rated defensive line, the second-rated linebackers and the top secondary.

19. And that Tebow guy is Lindy’s favorite to win the Heisman.

20. Alabama launched its 12-0 regular season in 2008 with a season-opening blasting of ACC favorite Clemson in Atlanta.

The Tide’s path is the same, a season opener in Atlanta vs. ACC favorite Virginia Tech.

21. Would it kill the Pac-10 to hold a coaches’ teleconference with the media in the spring like other major conferences?

22. Oklahoma State: Love ‘em or hate ‘em?

The Cowboys have the nation’s best trio of quarterback, receiver and running back. The defense hasn’t finished better than 74th nationally since 2001. Is that the right combination to challenge Oklahoma and Texas?

We might know after opening week. Georgia plays at Oklahoma State.

23. Steve Spurrier is still hoping Stephen Garcia is his long-awaited answer at quarterback for South Carolina.

But an SEC coach, speaking to Lindy’s on condition of anonymity, said this of the Gamecocks: “I don’t see them being a very good football team. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he (Spurrier) called it quits after this season.”

24. The Pac-10 has four players rated the best at their positions: O’Dowd, USC safety Taylor Mays, Cal running back Jahvid Best and UCLA kicker Kai Forbath.

25. A year from now, Tennessee, Miami, Notre Dame and Michigan could be back in the preseason Top 25. But not this summer.

Anthony Gimino’s e-mail:

Anthony Gimino’s e-mail: agimino@tucsoncitizen.com

National college group selects hard-hitting safety

Former University of Arizona star Chuck Cecil, shown here returning an interception 106 yards for a touchdown against Arizona State in 1986, was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame on Thursday.

Ricky Hunley has some very fine company. Hunley, the former Arizona All-American linebacker, was, until Thursday morning, the only UA player in the College Football Hall of the Fame.

Then the selection committee called the number of ol’ No. 6, free safety Chuck Cecil, heat-seeking missile, Wildcat legend, honor student and author of the signature play in school history – the 106-yard interception return in an upset of Rose Bowl-bound Arizona State in 1986.

“Oh, man, that feels great,” Hunley said upon learning Thursday afternoon that Cecil is part of an 18-member class to be inducted this year.

“You don’t feel like a lone soldier anymore. When I go to all these events, I see that USC has that many guys, and Ohio State has that many guys . . . but now Arizona is rolling. I’m excited to be in the company of Chuck Cecil.

“And he’s so young . He’ll have a lot of years to enjoy this.”

The rest of us have had more than 20 years to enjoy the memories of Cecil.

From walk-on to college football rock star in Tucson to successful NFL playing career to being the new defensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans.

“I would say Chuck had the most dynamic personality of anybody I’ve coached,” said Duane Akina, who coached the secondary during Cecil’s senior season.

“He probably affected his teammates more than any player I’ve had. That is true leadership. I have never coached another like him who could carry the classroom to the field and who was so damn tough.

“I haven’t had anything close, and I have coached some good ones over the past 25 years.”

Cecil, from 1984-87, led by being one of the most feared hitters in the Pac-10 . . . ever. He didn’t stop there. Who can forget the Sports Illustrated cover of Cecil from October 1993, with the headline: “Too Vicious for the NFL?”

Out of San Diego’s Helix High School, he tried to get a football scholarship to Stanford, but the coaches there ultimately thought he was too small. By the time Stanford made its decision, Arizona, which had previously offered a scholarship, had run out of free rides.

“Back in the day, I was more of a geeky student kind of guy, I guess,” said Cecil, 44.

“My whole thing was to get an education and play a little football. No thoughts, dreams, aspirations of playing in the NFL. It never really struck me until my senior year when they talked about other guys.

“I was like, ‘I’m better than he is.’ ”

Especially as a senior in 1987, in Dick Tomey’s first season as coach.

The previous season, Akina was working with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, and he scouted running back David Adams in Arizona’s Aloha Bowl game against North Carolina.

“Chuck had some great hits. I remember sitting in the stands going, ‘God, I wonder who that kid is?’ ” Akina said.

“When I got to Arizona, everyone was talking him up. And then when I saw him, I was like, ‘That’s him? This scrawny 180-pound kid?’ I thought I was going to see Ronnie Lott.”

Akina ended up seeing something he hasn’t seen since. Akina, an assistant coach at Texas, has coached three winners of the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s top defensive back, but says he’s never seen a senior season as dominating as Cecil’s.

Cecil made 136 tackles, broke up 12 passes and intercepted nine – part of his UA career record of 21.

He picked off four passes against Stanford that season. Tomey told reporters Thursday that Cecil should have had six. Akina said Cecil should have had seven. Arizona assistant coach Jeff Hammerschmidt, who was on two UA teams with Cecil, said he should have had eight.

“After getting four, it’s hard to feel you really missed out,” Cecil said.

“But after the game, watching film, I was very disappointed because I really, truly should have had no less than six easily. Two were blatant drops. I could have had upwards of eight if I had done what I was supposed to do and made a reasonable play.

“And, possibly, if I had done something special, nine.”

Turns out, he’s friends with one of the Stanford quarterbacks that day – Greg Ennis, who threw the final interception. Ennis called Thursday to congratulate Cecil.

Cecil sent back a text: “Couldn’t have done it without your fourth pick.”

The next week, Washington coach Don James was so afraid of what Cecil might do from his center field spot that the Huskies, according to Akina, never once attempted a pass inside the numbers on the field.

That’s respect.

Hammerschmidt, also from Helix High, remembers Cecil as a great influence – “like family,” he said.

Hammerschmidt recalls his recruiting visit to Tucson. Cecil met him at the airport with a coach and drove him around town.

“We go through the drive-through at McDonalds and the girl at the window saw Chuck and dropped the bag of food and was all excited,” Hammerschmidt said.

“I thought, ‘This is great. This is a college football town.’ ”

Better yet, it’s a college football town whose player representation in the College Football Hall of Fame just doubled.

“It’s not just a huge day for Chuck,” Hunley said. “It’s a huge day for the university.”

CECIL BY THE NUMBERS

4

Interceptions at Stanford in1987

21

Career interceptions, best in UA history

106

Yards of interception return for a TD against ASU in 1986

392

Tackles at UA, seventh all-time

Fans mob UA's Chuck Cecil after the Wildcats defeat Arizona State in 1986, thanks in part to Cecil's 106-yard TD interception return.

Hunley

———

2009 HALL OF FAME CLASS

Player, pos., school Years

Pervis Atkins, HB, N.M. St. 1958-60

Tim Brown, WR, Notre Dame 1984-87

Chuck Cecil, DB, Arizona 1984-87

Ed Dyas, FB, Auburn 1958-60

Major Harris, QB, W. Va. 1987-89

Gordon Hudson, TE, BYU 1980-83

William Lewis, C, Harvard 1892-93

Woodrow Lowe, LB, Alabama 1972-75

Ken Margerum, WR, Stanford 1977-80

Steve McMichael, DT, Texas 1976-79

Chris Spielman, LB, Ohio St 1984-87

Larry Station, LB, Iowa 1982-85

Pat Swiling, DE, Ga. Tech 1982-85

Gino Torretta, QB, Miami 1989-92

Curt Warner, RB, Penn St. 1979-82

Grant Wistrom, DE, Nebraska 1994-97

> Coaches: Dick MacPherson, Syracuse (1981-90); John Robinson, USC (1976-82, 1993-97), UNLV (1999-2004)

UA coach Mike Stoops

Arizona coach Mike Stoops doesn’t have to apologize for anything this time.

Not for suggesting, like last year, that rival Arizona State had the admission standards of a junior college. Not for showing up on signing day, like two years ago, ready for a brawl and calling out other programs after he lost three key committed players to other schools.

And he certainly doesn’t have to apologize for a recruiting class that isn’t all that highly ranked – seventh in the Pac-10 by Rivals.com, and eighth in the league by Scout.com. It’s just fine.

Stoops doesn’t have to apologize for nuthin’.

The Mike Stoops who showed up for his signing day news conference Wednesday afternoon was the same Mike Stoops we saw most of last season – the one increasingly comfortable in his coaching skin.

No need for any big fireworks.

“It’s actually been an uneventful day to be honest with you,” Stoops said, playing the room for a laugh by being self-aware of his reputation.

“I don’t have to attack anybody and I’m not getting attacked. I’m not as defensive today as I’ve been in the past, that’s for sure.”

Let’s just say that the Phoenix sports bureau of The Associated Press, with the staff to attend either UA’s or ASU’s signing day event, chose to come to Tucson. Hey, with Stoops’ track record, you never know what newsworthy thing he might say that needs to go out on the national wire.

Besides, only one of those state programs had a winning season and went to a bowl game.

Ah, winning. It does wonders for a coach’s personality.

“I guess winning cures all ills, even with me,” Stoops said. “I’m happy for that. I am pleased with these kids, and them believing in me and our program.”

Last year’s 7-5 regular-season mark actually didn’t do all that much for the recruiting class, the bulk of which was committed before Arizona beat BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Of course, all the good feeling and positive direction didn’t hurt when it came to securing local star Adam Hall of Palo Verde High School. He committed last week to give the class its signature player.

What really helped this recruiting season is that Arizona – keeping its fingers crossed – has stability for the first time in a long time. A three-year contract extension for Stoops, through the 2013 season, is in the works.

“Everyone wasn’t telling all our kids that I was going to get fired,” Stoops said of this recruiting season.

“That was probably the best part of it – I didn’t have to explain how long I was going to be there. That’s always a good thing. I think there is some comfort level in that.”

By this point, as Stoops enters his sixth season, he and his staff have that comfort level, knowing exactly what kind of kid they want – physically, emotionally and mentally.

That’s why the recruiting rankings are no big deal.

Stoops, having developed depth and largely building the program through midlevel prospects – cornerback Antoine Cason and receiver Mike Thomas come to mind – deserves the benefit of the doubt when it comes to having an eye for talent.

“You can’t take people just to take them,” Stoops said. “They have to fit in. We feel these kids all fit in.”

Yes, it was mostly business as usual Wednesday, with Stoops delivering a lot of the typical signing day buzzwords – size, speed, character, filling needs. No zingers like last year, when he had to formally apologize to Arizona State after his signing-day comments.

This time around, Stoops did bemoan the “very ugly” nature of recruiting, and he appeared bothered by schools that had been trying to recruit four-star linebacker Trevor Erno until the last minute.

Erno, of Lakeland, Calif., had been committed to Arizona for nearly nine months. He did not waver.

“There is a lot of manipulation that goes on at the end of recruiting,” Stoops said. “This was one of those years when we were very fortunate to have players who wanted to stay with us.”

Few headaches and no screaming headlines.

Stoops could get used to more signing days like this.

Anthony Gimino’s e-mail: agimino@tucsoncitizen.com

Former Arizona Wildcat Spencer Larsen

Linebacker Spencer Larsen arrived at the Arizona football practice field in 2002 with little acclaim and few expectations.

Many of the Wildcats’ 2009 recruits will resemble the former UA star when they sign letters of intent Wednesday.

The 23-player class boasts only three 4-star players – Palo Verde safety/receiver Adam Hall, linebacker Trevor Erno and tailback Daniel Jenkins – and the group is littered with 3-star prospects (16) and four 2-star guys.

There are no 5-star players – USC, LSU and other powerhouses will get those big shots. But in the long run, UA might benefit from molding hungry players with a lot to prove.

Take Larsen, for example.

After excelling at Gilbert High, he rated two stars by Rivals and only one by Scout.com (by virtue of having a profile on the Web site). ASU didn’t pursue him. UA took the chance on a relative nobody. Larsen played one season here and then went on a two-year Mormon mission before returning to UA in 2005 with another Rivals’ two-star rating.

Three years later, he led the Pac-10 in tackles, was the physical and emotional leader of the Wildcats’ defense and has already made a mark in the NFL with the Denver Broncos.

Larsen became only the fourth NFL player since 1990 to start on both sides of the ball when he appeared as a linebacker and fullback against Atlanta this season. And he was a rookie.

The Wildcats can go a long way with players such as Larsen and Antoine Cason, a 3-star prospect who developed into the 2007 Jim Thorpe Award winner for the nation’s top defensive back.

UA coach Mike Stoops is learning how to turn lower-rated players into draft picks, much like former coach Dick Tomey did with Tedy Bruschi, Rob Waldrop and others.

Stoops’ most-decorated recruit, 5-star defensive end Louis Holmes – came here in 2006 as the nation’s top junior college player out of Scottsdale Community College. But he finished with only six sacks in two years at UA.

Current UA defensive end Brooks Reed, a 3-star prospect out of Sabino High in 2006, led the Wildcats with eight sacks this season.

Fans and coaches sometimes take too much stock in the number of stars a player receives.

When The Associated Press reviewed the top 50 recruits as named by Scout.com and Rivals.com from 2002-04, it found that when picking the 10 players with the brightest football futures, the services were right a little more than half the time. It was based on whether a player started 20 games or more in college, his recognition for awards or whether he made it to the NFL. When it got to picks 11-50, the services were even more hit and miss.

“It’s not an exact science, period,” Bobby Burton, co-founder of Rivals, told AP. “Part of the reason why is kids are 17 years old and you’re trying to predict what’s going to happen when they’re 21 years old.”

Want local proof?

Former UA tailback/receiver Marcus Thomas and quarterback Richard Kovalcheck were 4-star prospects in Stoops’ 2003 class. They were busts, for the most part, just like 4-star defensive tackle Gabe Long, who couldn’t enroll at UA in 2006 because of academic issues.

The reviews of UA’s 4-star prospects in 2005 are mixed. Offensive tackle Eben Britton, school record-holding quarterback Willie Tuitama and safety Michael Johnson all panned out, and then some.

But injuries or other circumstances didn’t enable lineman Adam Hawes, tailback Terry Longbons and receiver B.J Vickers to live up to their potential. And tailback Derke Robinson and defensive back Mike Turner have not lived up to the hype.

There’s still much to prove for 2006 4-star prospects offensive lineman Jovon Hayes, cornerback Devin Ross and tight end A.J. Simmons.

Rob Gronkowski was only a 4-star tight end. His omission as a 5-star player points out flaws in the rating system.

Gronkowski has caught 18 touchdown passes in two years. He snared 47 passes for 10 scores this season despite missing three games.

Quarterback Matt Scott, in the running for the starting job in 2009, was a 4-star player.

But UA leading rusher Nic Grigsby had three stars – as did receiver Delashaun Dean, and defensive ends Ricky Elmore and Reed. All three are starters.

Cornerback Trevin Wade, the likely replacement for starter Marquis Hundley, was given two stars.

Maybe Wade will end up being the next Larsen.

John Moredich’s e-mail: jmoredich@tucsoncitizen.com

———

UA’S 2009 RECRUITING CLASS

Pos. Player (Rivals’ stars) Ht. Wt. HS or JC/Hometown

OL Jake Baratz (2) 6-4 275 Naperville (Calif.) North

TE Jack Baucus (3) 6-6 235 Mundelein (Ill.) Carmel

CB Marcus Benjamin (3) 6-1 200 Arizona Western JC

TB Kylan Butler (3) 5-6 180 Concord (Calif.) De La Salle

WR Travis Cobb (3) 6-0 180 Blinn (Texas) JC

LB Trevor Erno (4) 6-0 225 Lakewood (Calif.)

LB Jake Fischer (3) 5-11 225 Ironwood Ridge (Tucson)

LB Cordarius Golston (3) 6-1 220 Lancaster (Texas)

ATH Adam Hall (4) 6-4 195 Palo Verde (Tucson)

TB Daniel Jenkins (4) 5-9 170 Moreno Valley (Calif.) Rancho Verde

OL Jack Julsing (3) 6-8 315 Palm Desert, Calif. (Col. of Desert JC)

TE Terrence Miller (3) 6-4 215 Moreno Valley (Calif.) Rancho Verde

CB Ryan Milus (3) 5-10 155 Chandler Hamilton

QB Richard Morrison (3) 6-0 170 Royse City (Texas)

LB C.J. Parish (3) 6-2 238 Brenham, Texas (Blinn JC)

WR Dewayne Peace (3) 6-0 177 Grand Prairie, Texas

DE Jackon Powell (3) 6-5 235 Newbury Park (Calif.)

OT Chris Putton (3) 6-4 275 Glendale Cactus

ATH Derrick Rainey (2) 6-2 185 Houston Northbrook

DT Sione Tuihalamaka (3) 6-2 275 Gardena (Calif.) Junipero Serra

DE Taimi Tutogi (3) 6-1 260 Chula Vista, Calif.

DE Justin Washington (2) 6-3 260 Cypress, Texas

OL Shane Zink (2) 6-7 290 Redding, Calif. (Shasta JC)

But even nonfans of football can jump right into Sunday’s fun

Arizona Cardinals rookie defensive back Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie leaps over teammate Ralph Brown during a break in action Tuesday on Super Bowl media day at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

Placed your order for a couple hundred wings? Pizza place on speed dial?

Refrigerator and coolers stocked? Did you buy your No. 13 Kurt Warner jersey?

There’s still time to primp before Sunday’s national holiday, which is extra special this year because the Arizona Cardinals – the forever woebegone Arizona Cardinals – are playing in the Super Bowl against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

You don’t have to be a Cardinals fan – or even a football fan – to enjoy the spectacle. You just have to be able to enjoy a good party.

As if you need them, here are 10 reasons to watch:

1. History in the making

The improbability of a Cardinals victory – the team was a 45-to-1 shot before the season to win the Super Bowl – could make this the greatest moment in the state’s sporting history.

The 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks rank as the current No. 1. They knocked off the three-time defending champion New York Yankees in a seven-game series, beating indomitable closer Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth of the final game.

Can the Cardinals beat that drama? Maybe not, but any kind of win might do to qualify for the top moment. Sorry, baseball. Football is our grandest national stage.

2. Talking animals

We’re apparently a simple people. Just give us some Super Bowl ads with talking horses or talking dogs and we’re content. And monkeys. We sure do love commercials with madcap monkeys doing crazy things. Good times.

Yep, just make us laugh – and spare us a talking baby that spits up – and you’ve got yourself a decent Super Bowl ad. Hey, that’s $3 million well spent.

Whatever it takes to get the economy moving again.

3. Trick plays

Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt and his staff pulled off a perfect flea-flicker against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, and he’s done this sort of thing before.

He was the offensive coordinator of the Steelers three seasons ago when he called for a trick play that changed the game in a 21-10 Super Bowl victory over Seattle. Wide receiver Antwaan Randle El, on an end around, threw to Hines Ward for a 43-yard touchdown.

You won’t want to blink and miss the trick plays. Which creates quite a dilemma. If you can’t go to the bathroom during the commercials – or the game – when can you?

4. Troy Polamalu

If you’re watching the game with people who aren’t hard-core fans, you’re likely to get this question about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ superstar safety: Doesn’t the other team pull on his hair a lot?

Well, that would be like tugging on Superman’s cape.

Polamalu’s frizzy locks cascade out of the back of his helmet, a signature look that inspired a Pittsburgh fan to create a “Beware the Hair” T-shirt, complete with dark hair attached to the back of the collar.

Whatever it takes to get the economy moving again.

5. Betting

This is the only way to guarantee your interest in every single play, including the outcome of the coin toss.

Which player will score the first touchdown? Who will have the most yards on his first reception? Will Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger have more or less than 17 1/2 completions?

It goes on and on.

Which quarterback will announcer John Madden mention first by full name?

Which company will have the highest-rated commercial as determined by USA TODAY’s Ad Meter?

And my favorite:

Which player will be tackled first by his hair: Polamalu or Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald?

Speaking of which . . .

6. Larry Fitzgerald

He’s the best player in football. He just is. He’s been unstoppable in the playoffs. And his dad is a longtime sportswriter in Minnesota, in what has been a much-covered story during Super Bowl hype week. Larry the Dad will be attending his 30th Super Bowl.

I’d say Junior made a pretty wise decision to not follow in his father’s footsteps.

7. A local tie

The Cardinals’ defensive coordinator is Clancy Pendergast, a 1990 University of Arizona graduate who is going to be a head coach someday.

Probably soon.

The Steelers defense gets all the raves, but the Cardinals have been hot in the playoffs, forcing 12 turnovers and coming up with seven sacks in three games. Pendergast is 60 minutes away from official genius status.

8. The halftime show

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band takes the stage, continuing the recent “Aging Rockers” halftime theme: Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Prince, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Aerosmith is so due.

Here’s something else to bet on: Does the Boss close his 12-minute set with “Glory Days” or “Born to Run”?

Anyway, Springsteen turned down several requests over the decades to be the halftime entertainment. He accepted this time to help support a new CD and world tour.

Anything to get the economy moving again.

9. Brenda Warner

The wife of Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner has been in the spotlight nearly as long as her husband. Back when Warner was leading the St. Louis Rams to the 2000 Super Bowl title, she was the crazy woman in the stands with the spiky hair and the big mouth.

Her image, her tone, her hair . . . they’ve all softened over the years.

But expect to see many NBC cutaways to her in the stands, and get ready for a big Warner-Warner embrace if Arizona wins.

10. Gotta see who wins

It’s a classic matchup. The Steelers’ stellar defense against the Cardinals’ wide-open offense. Defense wins championships, right? Somehow, that time-worn phrase seems a bit hollow this time around.

The Cardinals can spread the field with a great and deep group of receivers, and if Warner is hot early, Arizona can really put the squeeze on the Steelers, who aren’t naturally equipped to be a big comeback team.

The hunch, though, is that the turnover battle won’t go the Cardinals’ way this time. Without that, the game reverts back to its natural form, and

Pittsburgh is simply better.

Steelers 28, Cardinals 24.

Anthony Gimino’s e-mail: agimino@tucsoncitizen.com

Cardinals' Gabe Watson (top) talks with Terrelle Smith after the Cardinals won the NFC championship.

This is why we watch sports. Because we want to believe in the world of possibility. Like the Arizona Cardinals going to the Super Bowl.

The 9-7 regular-season Arizona Cardinals.

The Arizona Cardinals who, before this season, had one winning record since moving to the state in 1988.

The Arizona Cardinals who had one playoff victory since 1947.

The Arizona Cardinals who haven’t won an NFL championship since that year, when the franchise was in Chicago.

The Arizona Cardinals who were – we can use the past tense now – just one of six franchises never to have played in the Super Bowl.

“I’ve been saying this all night,” safety Adrian Wilson said in a news conference after a 32-25 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. “The Arizona Cardinals changed their stripes.”

You just never know.

The Chicago Cubs winning the World Series? The Los Angeles Clippers wearing NBA championship rings? Phil Mickelson beating Tiger Woods in an 18-hole playoff at the U.S. Open?

The University of Arizona football team in the Rose Bowl?

That’s why we watch. Just to see. We hope. We pray. We root for the underdog, sometimes just to reassure the underdog in all of us.

Even if you haven’t been a Cardinals fans before this magical playoff run, it had to warm your heart to see the red and white confetti shot into the air after Arizona’s victory over the Eagles in Glendale.

Didn’t see that one coming a few weeks ago, did you?

“Somebody needs to catch me,” tight end Leonard Pope told The Arizona Republic amid the celebration. “I think I’m about to faint.”

You will read and hear in the next two weeks before Arizona plays the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII – OK, still kind of weird to say that – that the Cardinals are the most unlikely Super Bowl team since the 1979 Rams.

I would say they are the most unlikely. At least those Rams, who were 9-7 in 1979, had spent several seasons bumping around the postseason and knocking on the Super Bowl door.

These Cardinals lost four of five games down the stretch of the regular season, giving no hint of what was about to happen. They clearly didn’t get the memo that winning the NFC West and just getting to the playoffs was good enough.

“We had our struggles this year, and I don’t think anyone really knew what to expect coming into the playoffs,” quarterback Kurt Warner said.

“But I saw a bunch of guys band together and believe in one another and really do something nobody expected us to do.”

The Cardinals still being the Cardinals, they almost blew their big opportunity Sunday. The Eagles erased an 18-point halftime deficit and went up 25-24 early in the fourth quarter.

Then came a history-making 14-play, 72-yard drive. Hall of Fame quarterback Warner – yes, he’s already done enough to be considered that – calmly led the team down field and finished it off with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Tim Hightower.

A two-point conversion, a defensive stop, and the Cardinals were NFC champions.

The nearly improbable had become reality.

Just like the Boston Red Sox coming back from an 0-3 deficit to defeat the New York Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series en route to their first World Series title in 86 years.

Just like 41-point underdog Stanford with a first-time starting quarterback winning at USC on a fourth-down touchdown pass.

Just like little George Mason reaching college basketball’s Final Four.

“I want to say Arizona Cardinals and Super Bowl in the same sentence,” Warner said. “I like the way that sounds.”

Same here.

It reminds us of all that is possible.

Cardinals' Roderick Hood (left) and Matt Ware celebrate after the team beat the Eagles in the NFC championship game, 32-25, Sunday to advance to the Super Bowl.

Fans embrace playoff run; Tucson’s ‘KidStallyn’ giddy at Super Bowl shot

Arizona Cardinals fan Dustin Holmes of Tucson cheers during a Cardinals home game. Holmes, a software engineer, says he hasn't missed a Cardinals game since he became a season-ticket holder in 2000.

We are fans of the Broncos, fans of the Steelers. Fans of the Cowboys.

Fans of whoever the Cowboys are playing.

Fans of the ‘Fins, fans of the ‘Skins, fans of the Colts, fans of the Bolts.

Fans of the Patriots, for all that winning. Fans of the Raiders, for all that sinning.

Even as we bask in the winter sun, we hold true to those teams from our forsaken cold-weather past. Packer Backers. Bear Huggers. Some of us might like the Vikes.

As for the Arizona Cardinals . . . eh.

Just don’t sell that to Dustin Holmes.

If there is such a thing as an Arizona Cardinals Super Fan in Tucson, it is Holmes. He’s a 37-year-old Honeywell software engineer weekdays who turns into his highly charged alter ego, KidStallyn, on weekends.

And this is the mother of all Arizona Cardinals weekends.

The Cardinals, who had one playoff victory in the past 61 years before this season, are playing host to the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The winner goes to the Super Bowl.

“You know,” Holmes said, “I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve.”

Two decades of having an NFL team in our extended backyard hasn’t been much of a present. It takes more than geography to earn most of our allegiances.

It takes winning, or star players, or a brand-new stadium, or ownership that at least shows it had a teeny, tiny little clue about acquiring talent and running an organization.

Holmes was a fan, even before the Cardinals had all that. Just because.

Born and raised in Colorado – naturally a Denver Broncos fan – he did a stint in the military, moved around a little and settled in Tucson in 1999.

“It all started with that first season,” said Holmes, whose decked-out, game-day image has appeared in The Arizona Republic, on the Associated Press wire and in the Charlotte Observer, among other places.

“I wanted to go to that Monday night football game they played against San Francisco. It was a last-minute thing, and it was sold out.

“So when the season ended, I called up and ordered season tickets. I was most shocked I could get second-row seats in the south end zone.”

Let’s clarify that. Let’s be sure to refer to that as the “rowdy” south end zone.

“I just kind of started out as a mild-mannered football fan,” Holmes said. “This whole persona started when people started telling me I looked like Kid Rock. At the time, I didn’t really know who that was – but I do now.”

Holmes’ resemblance to the hard rocker, with long hair and a goatee, gave birth to KidStallyn. Then came the top hat.

“It was more of a dare thing,” Holmes said.

“Someone said, ‘You should wear a pimp hat to the game to look like Kid Rock.’ It started out as a big red foam hat, signed by all the cheerleaders. It was really cheesy at first. Now, it’s a velvet hat with some leopard skin on it.”

Yeah. Not cheesy at all.

Holmes is a prolific poster on Cardinals message boards. He has participated in official team events, such as sharing the stage when Arizona unveiled new jerseys a few years ago. He listens to Phoenix sports talk radio in the morning via the Internet to catch the latest team news.

“My wife kind of thinks I’m crazy,” Holmes said. “Well, yeah, she definitely thinks I’m crazy.”

But give him credit for being a fan when it was hard to be a fan. This is the Cardinals’ first winning season since he started helping drive the bandwagon. He hasn’t had a lot of local shoulders to cry on.

When the Cardinals are on the road, he just watches the game from home, because there hasn’t been a great organized meeting place for fans.

Working with the Cardinals last week to publicize the event, he put together an unofficial viewing party at the World Sports Grille, 2290 W. Ina Road, for Arizona’s game against Carolina.

“And it was packed,” Holmes said.

“It was great. There were Cardinals jerseys everywhere. It was awesome. It was as if the town had arrived.”

Mike Fontes, the manager of Just Sports at the Foothills Mall, happily agreed.

“Usually at this time of year, all of our Cardinals stuff is half off,” he said. “Now, it’s full price and we’re ordering more.”

This Cardinals fever might soon pass, but for Holmes, it figures to be a lifelong passion.

On Sunday morning, he will put on his Larry Fitzgerald jersey, get his 9-year-old twin boys in the car, pick up his father in Phoenix and head over to University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale for tailgating.

It will be boys day out, just like it is for any Cardinals home game.

But this isn’t any home game.

This is for a spot in the Super Bowl.

“Hopefully, we can keep this ride going for a couple more weeks,” Holmes said.

That would be fun for everybody.

Anthony Gimino’s e-mail: agimino@tucsoncitizen.com

———

SUNDAY’S TITLE GAMES

• NFC – Philadelphia (11-6-1) at Arizona (11-7), 1 p.m., Fox

• AFC – Baltimore (13-5) at Pittsburgh (13-4), 4:30 p.m., CBS

Utah wide receiver David Reed (16) breaks away from Alabama cornerback Kareem Jackson (3) in the second half of their NCAA football game in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 2.

I have an AP vote, and I’m not afraid to use it on Utah. Don’t let anyone else tell you the Utes don’t deserve to be No. 1. They do. They’re 13-0. Nobody else has a big zero to the right side of the record.

They went into the Deep South and depantsed Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, leaving the Tide like that guy hanging from a ski lift.

They beat TCU, which beat unbeaten Boise State in the postseason.

They beat Oregon State, the only team to beat USC.

They beat BYU, which was considered Top 25 timber for most of the season.

They didn’t lose.

A vote for Utah doesn’t have to be a protest vote, a jab in the eye of the Bowl Championship Series, whose rules all favor the big ol’ boys, and not a team like Utah from the Mountain West Conference.

A vote for Utah just has to be a vote for a dang good team from a dang good conference that won all its dang games.

Is that enough for the Utes to be No. 1 on my ballot?

Let’s wait until the last piece of evidence comes in.

The AP poll isn’t part of the BCS system, and the 65 voters aren’t bound to pick the winner of the supposed national championship game that takes place Thursday night between Florida and Oklahoma.

The coaches’ poll mandates that its voters select the winner of that game as the BCS national champion. One problem. Well, two.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham says he’s voting for his team. Texas coach Mack Brown says he’s voting for his team. USC coach Pete Carroll doesn’t have a vote this season, but, if he did, you can bet his $4.4 million annual salary that he would pick his Trojans.

Welcome to the greatest of the BCS messes.

The national championship game might do nothing more in the court of public opinion than to pare down the list of possible champions to four.

Great. Four teams who “deserve” to be No. 1.

Style points will matter Thursday night.

Will Florida or Oklahoma play better than Utah did in the Sugar Bowl? Will Heisman-winning quarterbacks Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford be guttier than the Utes’ Brian Johnson?

What if the teams just muddle through the game?

That’s why I want to see the final evidence. The AP instructs its voters to cast ballots based on performance and not reputation. Since the opening kickoff of the season, we have been gradually replacing what we thought we knew (reputation) with what we do know (performance).

We didn’t know several months ago that Utah would even be worthy of the Top 25.

We now know the Utes could beat anybody, anywhere, anytime.

Is Utah better than Florida or Oklahoma or Texas or USC? I don’t think so, but I’m not arrogant enough to pass that off as fact. Who really knows?

I don’t, you don’t, and the oddsmakers who probably would list the Utes as a double-digit underdog in those matchups don’t know, either.

That’s the thing. It’s not about what we think we know about college football, because we’re all wrong about that every week. It’s about what we know. It’s about performance.

Utah wasn’t always the most dominating team – critics will point to a series of close victories – but margin of victory is for suckers.

Maybe the Utes were a bit lucky to overcome Oregon State and TCU, but they did it. Florida failed to overcome Mississippi. Oklahoma whiffed against Texas, which fell one play, one measly second, short against Texas Tech.

Victories equal performance.

Utah won with defense, with offense, with speed, with smashmouth play on the line. The Utes played about as tough a schedule as a midmajor team can play – winning at Michigan and winning at home against Oregon State, which nearly won the Pac-10.

Still, Florida and Oklahoma each played overall tougher schedules than Utah – and that just gets more impressive when one of them walks away Thursday night with a Waterford crystal football trophy and another signature victory.

Could the Utes have run undefeated through the SEC, or would they have tripped, like the Gators?

Could the Utes have run undefeated through the Big 12, or would they have tripped, like the Sooners and Longhorns?

When the final piece of evidence comes in, 13-0 might be the strongest argument.

How would Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators do in an 8-team college football playoff?

I’m not a proponent of a college football playoff. Never have been. I believe in keeping Saturdays holy. I believe in the sanctity of the regular season.

I don’t believe the Bowl Championship Series, while fundamentally flawed, is the devil. The BCS hasn’t given us a postseason mess; it has delivered us, in some years, a perfect matchup that would have been impossible under the old system.

Like USC-Texas after the 2005 regular season.

This is not one of those seasons.

The howling continues.

Kill the BCS! Burn the commissioners . . . whoever they are! Vote undefeated Utah No. 1! Yeah, that’ll show them.

This is so wonderfully pointless.

First of all, nothing is going to change anytime soon. The BCS is set through the 2013 season. There is no groundswell – among those who truly matter in this matter (sorry, Mr. President-elect) – to change the way things don’t quite work.

College football playoff plans are like . . . well, you know what they’re like. Everybody has one.

Me, too.

I mean, I can live without a playoff, but if we’re going to have this discussion every year and debate it endlessly let’s do it right.

Not saying my plan is perfect, but it increases the blessedness of the regular season, addresses at least some of the problematic realities of tweaking the system and ends in happiness.

To begin:

Eight teams: The conference champs of the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC, and the two highest-ranked champs from the five other leagues and independents.

Caveat: If a team isn’t ranked 16 or better in the BCS standings (perhaps 14 or better), then that champ is replaced by an at-large team, which would be the highest remaining team in the BCS.

What it does: Includes the so-called mid-major conferences. Retains the emphasis on a long conference season. Increases the desirability of major entertaining non-conference matchups.

As it is now, there is little and decreasing incentive for teams to play huge intersectional games. The risk of a loss, creating a season-long uphill climb back into the national title picture, is often too great.

Under the new plan, a non-conference loss would have no bearing on a team’s ability to play for the national title. You would see many more great September matchups – good for the fans.

What it looks like: This season, the eight teams would be Oklahoma, Florida, USC, Utah, Penn State, Boise State, Cincinnati and Texas as an at-large team, replacing the ACC’s Virginia Tech, which was 19th in the final BCS standings.

Yeah, that would be too bad for Alabama and Texas Tech to not make the cut. Deal with it.

No playoff is perfectly fair. If so, would the 11-5 New England Patriots be sitting at home?

Step 2: Seed the teams 1 through 8, and play quarterfinal matchups two weeks after the end of the regular season at the home site of the better seeded teams.

What it does: One of the problems of entirely using the bowl system as playoff hosts is the ridiculous travel burden it would create for fans. This at least guarantees a dynamite atmosphere and packed houses for all the first-round games.

What it looks like:

No. 8 Cincinnati at No. 1 Oklahoma

No. 7 Boise State at No. 2 Florida

No. 6 Penn State at No. 3 Texas

No. 5 Utah at No. 4 USC

Step 3: The four winners play a semifinal doubleheader at one of the four major bowl sites, to be rotated, just like it is now. The winners play a week later at the same site.

What it does: Again, eliminates some of the travel/attendance worries and creates a single day that would be an absolute bonanza for college football.

Meanwhile: The other bowl games, big and large, go on as usual.

I’d suggest going back to the old system of each bowl just brokering the best, most interesting matchup it can, rather than being absolutely fettered to conference affiliations.

What it could look like this season:

Rose – Oregon vs. Ohio State

Fiesta – Texas Tech vs. Georgia

Sugar – Alabama vs. Virginia Tech

Orange – semifinal doubleheader, and national title game

Problem: The Pac-10 and Big Ten would never go for this, forever losing the traditional matchup of league champs (of course, that ship has mostly sailed anyway).

Perhaps a bigger problem: What to do with the four losers of the quarterfinal games? Could they still go to a bowl? Would they want to?

I say, make them eligible for a bowl. If they can find the right match, good for them.

There are a million other details, but would any be a deal-breaker?

Overall, the plan is inclusive without being overly intrusive into the current system.

Anybody left crying at the end would just be somebody who didn’t quite get it done on the field.

Nobody could say they didn’t get a reasonable shot.

Which is more than a lot of teams can say about this season.

———

Arizona offensive tackle Eben Britton at an August practice.

Arizona already needed to find a new quarterback for 2009, and now getting a pair of offensive tackles will also become a top priority with Eben Britton declaring for the NFL draft.

Britton, a junior, will be in April’s draft after starting the past 37 games for the Wildcats, including all 13 games this season at left tackle.

“Having the opportunity to play was just too hard to pass up,” Britton said. “It has always been my dream to play in the NFL. If I came back for another year I might have been able to improve my draft status and the money, but that idea was a little too greedy.

“What if I got injured? Then all that goes out the window. I would be heartbroken.”

That leaves Arizona looking for replacements at both tackle positions.

James Tretheway concluded his eligibility after finishing the 2008 season by starting eight straight games at right tackle.

Finding tackles will be critical with the Wildcats breaking in a new quarterback to replace Willie Tuitama.

Whether the starting QB is Nick Foles, Matt Scott or Bryson Beirne, he will need linemen to step forward.

“Everything will be fine,” UA offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh said. “It is hard to replace a guy like Eben, with his toughness and smarts and what type of player he was to our team.

“You (can’t) replace him overnight, but we are confident the guys we have can step up. Hopefully, we are on the right path and have more depth along the line that can step up, just like we had guys step up this season when (center) Blake Kerley and (tackle) Adam Grant went down. I think we have a lot more depth than most people think.”

Grant is a possibility to get right back into action. The 6-foot-8, 308 lineman started the first five games of the season at right tackle before suffering injuries.

Junior college transfer Phillip Garcia is the next most likely player to emerge. The 6-7, 340-pound towering presence redshirted this season to finish rehab on an injury suffered originally at Cerritos (Calif.) College.

“Our expectations for him are extremely high,” Bedenbaugh said. “He has to come back from injuries and be healthy, but he is a really smart guy and understands the system and the protections well.”

Arizona can also go with freshman Trace Biskin, “who had really good practices, especially the last two or three weeks,” Bedenbaugh said.

The Wildcats have already signed Jack Julsing, a midyear enrollee from College of the Desert in Palm Desert, Calif. He is a 6-8, 315-pound tackle who will participate in spring workouts.

“Jack will give us depth at tackle,” UA coach Mike Stoops said in a statement. “He’s a big, long guy who fits the profile of what we want in that position.”

Arizona has two oral commitments for the 2009 recruiting class in Chris Putton from Glendale Cactus High School and Jake Baratz of Naperville (Ill.) North High.

Britton, projected by ESPN’s Todd McShay in December as the No. 7 overall prospect in the draft, is projected by several Web sites as a possible first-round pick.

He has signed with agent Tom Condon, who represents NFL quarterbacks Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Tony Romo and Matt Ryan.

Britton sent in paperwork to the NFL draft advisory committee before the Wildcats’ 31-21 victory over BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl.

The word came back that he would be a first- or second-round pick, Britton said.

“I felt it was the right time in my heart,” he said.

The Washington Redskins might be a possible destination. Walterfootball.com and a report in the Washington Times has the Redskins interested in Britton as the 13th pick in the opening round.

NOTABLE: Arizona senior receiver Mike Thomas has received an invitation to play in the East-West Shrine Game game for seniors on Jan. 17 in Houston. The game will air at 1 p.m. on ESPN2.

Eben Britton

Nugent

After building the Canyon del Oro High School football program into a state power over the past nine seasons, coach Pat Nugent is leaving it all behind.

What could possibly lure Nugent from such a great situation?

How about taking over a Pima Community College program that has gone 1-30 over the past three years, including an 0-10 2008 season in which the team was outscored 505-37?

Officially, Nugent isn’t the PCC coach until the college’s governing board approves him Jan. 14, but has already earned the support of the hiring committee.

“It’s a scary type of feeling,” Nugent said. “It’s hard leaving that comfort zone I have at CDO. That’s my family up there. But this is the next step and it’s a situation I think can be a success.”

When I first talked to Nugent several weeks ago about his desire to take over the Pima job, and after my initial concern for his mental state wore off, I began to realize that it all makes sense.

Aside from Pima striking gold by hiring the best person for a rather unattractive job, Nugent gets a perfect opportunity to pursue collegiate coaching, something he’s dreamed of doing since being a student assistant at the University of Arizona under Dick Tomey 20 years ago.

Nugent, the family-first man who has a wife, kids and a family business less than a year old, gets his shot at collegiate coaching without having to dig up his strong Tucson roots.

“What better opportunity is there for that next step than that?” Nugent asked.

Nugent, who got a ringing endorsement from Tomey for the job, also hopes to build on his strong relationships with the current UA coaching staff to breathe some life into the flat-lined relationship between the Wildcats and the Pima program.

Many top-level college football programs have junior colleges they often work with to send recruits to when grades or test scores aren’t met. Why wouldn’t UA want its recruits to spend that junior college season gaining eligibility while remaining in Tucson instead of going to the Phoenix area?

In turn, Tucson-area kids opting to play for Nugent will see increased opportunities to develop into Wildcats walk-ons or scholarship players.

Of course the opportunity for that is contingent on Nugent, and the PCC administration, delivering a competitive product on the field. Many doubt it can happen at a school that hasn’t shown much support for the football program since parting ways with current Santa Rita High coach Jeff Scurran after the 2004 season.

“I had people try to talk me out of this,” Nugent said. “But I think the administration is dedicated to making this work and I wouldn’t be taking this risk if I didn’t believe it could work. We’ll see.”

PCC did turn the football coach’s job into a full-time salaried position, meaning Nugent didn’t have to take a huge pay cut to pursue it. And the Aztecs have proved in other sports that the hiring of great local coaches can lead to success.

Nugent plans to surround himself with great local assistant coaches as well as continue developing relationships with local head coaches, helping ensure PCC lands some of the best Tucson talent each year.

To kick things off, how about Nugent starting the 2009 season with former CDO star Daniel Nicholas under center? The 2007 Tucson Citizen Football Player of the Year did not enroll in school this year after graduating last spring from CDO, but plans to do so in the fall.

Why wouldn’t he want to continue his football career playing for his old coach in the same offense he perfected in high school?

Nugent’s “experience in helping build winning football programs speaks for itself,” PCC Vice Chancellor for Student Services Robert Riza said in a statement. “Beyond that, he is a man of great character who we feel will be able to recruit student-athletes who will excel in the classroom and on the football field.”

Nugent, who insisted he be allowed to call his players and assistants at CDO before PCC announced its intent to hire him, has a contractual obligation to continue teaching five classes at CDO until the administration can find a replacement.

But he is setting Feb. 2 as the starting date to begin the Pima job.

CDO, in turn, will start looking for its next coach. But assuming athletic director Dave Thatcher is able to keep the core coaching staff intact, CDO’s foundation should enable it to continue competing for Class 4A Division I state titles for at least the next couple of seasons.

While Nugent’s departure marks a sad day for the proud CDO football family, it is the perfect step in the right direction for the rebirth of football at PCC.

Canyon del Oro High School coach Pat Nugent will leave the Dorados to become head coach at Pima Community College

Canyon del Oro High School coach Pat Nugent will leave the Dorados to become head coach at Pima Community College.

After building the Canyon del Oro High School football program into a state power over the past nine seasons, coach Pat Nugent is leaving it all behind.

What could possibly lure Nugent from such a great situation?

How about taking over a Pima Community College program that has gone 1-30 over the past three years, including an 0-10 2008 season in which the team was outscored 505-37?

Officially, Nugent isn’t the PCC coach until the college’s governing board approves him Jan. 14, but has already earned the support of the hiring committee.

“It’s a scary type of feeling,” Nugent said. “It’s hard leaving that comfort zone I have at CDO. That’s my family up there. But this is the next step and it’s a situation I think can be a success.”

When I first talked to Nugent several weeks ago about his desire to take over the Pima job, and after my initial concern for his mental state wore off, I began to realize that it all makes sense.

Aside from Pima striking gold by hiring the best person for a rather unattractive job, Nugent gets a perfect opportunity to pursue collegiate coaching, something he’s dreamed of doing since being a student assistant at the University of Arizona under Dick Tomey 20 years ago.

Nugent, the family-first man who has a wife, kids and a family business less than a year old, gets his shot at collegiate coaching without having to dig up his strong Tucson roots.

“What better opportunity is there for that next step than that?” Nugent asked.

Nugent, who got a ringing endorsement from Tomey for the job, also hopes to build on his strong relationships with the current UA coaching staff to breathe some life into the flat-lined relationship between the Wildcats and the Pima program.

Many top-level college football programs have junior colleges they often work with to send recruits to when grades or test scores aren’t met. Why wouldn’t UA want its recruits to spend that junior college season gaining eligibility while remaining in Tucson instead of going to the Phoenix area?

In turn, Tucson-area kids opting to play for Nugent will see increased opportunities to develop into Wildcats walk-ons or scholarship players.

Of course the opportunity for that is contingent on Nugent, and the PCC administration, delivering a competitive product on the field. Many doubt it can happen at a school that hasn’t shown much support for the football program since parting ways with current Santa Rita High coach Jeff Scurran after the 2004 season.

“I had people try to talk me out of this,” Nugent said. “But I think the administration is dedicated to making this work and I wouldn’t be taking this risk if I didn’t believe it could work. We’ll see.”

PCC did turn the football coach’s job into a full-time salaried position, meaning Nugent didn’t have to take a huge pay cut to pursue it. And the Aztecs have proved in other sports that the hiring of great local coaches can lead to success.

Nugent plans to surround himself with great local assistant coaches as well as continue developing relationships with local head coaches, helping ensure PCC lands some of the best Tucson talent each year.

To kick things off, how about Nugent starting the 2009 season with former CDO star Daniel Nicholas under center? The 2007 Tucson Citizen Football Player of the Year did not enroll in school this year after graduating last spring from CDO, but plans to do so in the fall.

Why wouldn’t he want to continue his football career playing for his old coach in the same offense he perfected in high school?

Nugent’s “experience in helping build winning football programs speaks for itself,” PCC Vice Chancellor for Student Services Robert Riza said in a statement. “Beyond that, he is a man of great character who we feel will be able to recruit student-athletes who will excel in the classroom and on the football field.”

Nugent, who insisted he be allowed to call his players and assistants at CDO before PCC announced its intent to hire him, has a contractual obligation to continue teaching five classes at CDO until the administration can find a replacement.

But he is setting Feb. 2 as the starting date to begin the Pima job.

CDO, in turn, will startlooking for its next coach. But assuming athletic director Dave Thatcher is able to keep the core coaching staff intact, CDO’s foundation should enable it to continue competing for Class 4A Division I state titles for at least the next couple of seasons.

While Nugent’s departure marks a sad day for the proud CDO football family, it is the perfect step in the right direction for the rebirth of football at PCC.

For more on high school sports, check out the Grammer School sports blog.

CDO's Pat Nugent is the perfect hire to resurrect the Pima Community College program.

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UA coach Mike Stoops reacts during one of the final plays on Saturday against BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl.

LAS VEGAS – Mike Stoops’ plans for the day after Arizona’s bowl victory? Let’s just say that he who wins in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Stoops earned a couple of extra days of R and R, which seems fitting because R and R is what he has brought back to UA’s football program – respect and relevance.

After accepting the Las Vegas Bowl trophy following a 31-21 victory over BYU on Saturday night, he took the microphone and told the red-and-blue throng that stormed the field:

“This win is for everyone here tonight, and everyone back in Tucson!”

It’s also for the seniors. For the coaching staff. For anybody who suffered at all through nine consecutive seasons of non-winning football.

Mostly, though, it’s for Stoops.

There have been false starts and false hopes in his five seasons at Arizona, but this much we declare true: The rebuilding is over.

This is where we would, if we could, add the sound effect of a striking gavel.

“What this means is that Mike and this staff and this team know what they’re doing,” said athletic director Jim Livengood. “Anybody who doesn’t think this program is headed in the right direction doesn’t understand the game of football.

“It’s not about vindication. It’s not about anything other than we are where we are right now – and it’s pretty doggone special. And it’s only going to get better because the foundation has been laid right.”

Stoops has done it. He’s taken a program tied to the train tracks by dastardly former coach John Mackovic and whisked it to safety just in the nick of time.

It took longer than he originally thought, than some people would have liked, but so be it.

What Stoops and the Wildcats did by winning their happy-happy trophy games at the end of the season – ASU and the bowl – is close a chapter.

It can no longer be asked if Stoops is the right man to rebuild Arizona.

The question now changes: Is he the right man to build on his rebuilding?

He’ll get that chance. Livengood said an extension of Stoops’ contract, which runs through the 2010 season, is a “no-brainer.” Livengood hinted that details would come sooner rather than later.

Just a few days ago, rumors swirled that Iowa State was interested in hiring Stoops, which, if nothing else, gave the coach leverage to get a better deal at Arizona.

Iowa State ended up hiring someone else Saturday morning, but Stoops didn’t need that leverage at all. All he needed was to beat 17th-ranked BYU, which gave Arizona a victory over a Top 20 team in each of Stoops’ five seasons.

“I am really happy coach Stoops is staying,” said junior safety Cam Nelson.

“We heard a lot of rumors that coach Stoops was leaving. A lot of guys were worried. When we saw it pop up on ESPN, we were so glad that we got our coach back. He has worked so hard . . .

“Hopefully, we can do something bigger and better next year.”

The schedule is more difficult next season – including a non-conference game at Iowa and five conference road trips. Replacing a veteran quarterback is also a dicey issue.

But the Wildcats have as much depth and talent as they have had in a decade, and Stoops is riding a hot streak of good moves.

He hired offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes two years ago and upgraded the offense. He took advantage of an opportunity last offseason to hire his first true-blue Wildcat – assistant coach Jeff Hammerschmidt.

He took the team for the first time to Fort Huachuca for part of fall camp, an exercise in team bonding that seemed to help the Wildcats navigate the season and finally finish like a champ. Hooah.

He has, especially last week when he teared up publicly on more than one occasion when talking about his senior class, showed a depth of emotion that hasn’t always been readily apparent.

“He cares for the kids like you wouldn’t believe, like they are his own,” said Hammerschmidt, who has ties to former UA coaches Larry Smith and Dick Tomey.

“Someone asked me the other day, ‘How is he to work with?’ I wouldn’t like working with anybody else. He’s that type of person. . . . When it comes down to it, those kids love him and he loves those kids.

“They’re busting their butts. It’s awesome to be around.”

Awesome was a popular word Saturday night because it simply can’t be overstated what the Las Vegas Bowl victory meant.

The difference between being 8-5 and 7-6 rivals the span of the Grand Canyon.

One record brings an offseason of happiness, contract extensions, raises, pats on the back and high hopes for 2009.

The other would have brought discontent and the familiar doubts about Stoops being capable of leading the Wildcats into the light.

“Until you do it, people are always going to question you, and rightly so,” he said.

There aren’t those questions now. Just congratulations.