That’s the way the ball bounces. It’s a game of inches. Zendejas beats Arizona State.

Some clichés are more fun than others. There’s also a cliché about winning ugly that applies.

Nobody was able to make us feel better after the Washington and Cal games. And that same nobody can make us feel bad about beating ASU.

Sometimes the ball bounces off someone’s foot. Sometimes a tipped ball lands in a confused quarterback’s hands. But sometimes a blocked punt isn’t returnable and the team ends up settling for a field goal. Sometimes a muffed punt hops right back into the returner’s hands. The latter two didn’t happen on this particular day and the Wildcats left Sun Devil Stadium victorious.

Each football season is divided into three parts with the opportunity to earn a fourth. There’s the out-of-conference season, the Pac-10 season, and your rivalry game. The Cats did well enough in the first season, the second season is incomplete, but the 2009 version of the third season is officially and forever a success.

On a day when the UA offense never got it going as Nick Foles had to wear a Luke Skywalker-like glove to protect his injured hand, the Wildcat D-line came up huge with a combined five sacks. Not bad for a bunch of converted fullbacks.

Have you noticed all four of our starting defensive lineman have a uniform number in the 40s? Oh, you didn’t? You must have only been looking for useful information.

ASU’s defense is legit but unfortunately for them the Devil offense is really, really, really, really, really, really bad. How strange is it to see Arizona with the superior quarterback and ASU with the defense that is dying for some support?

How terrifying was it that we were staring at overtime with a minute to play? None of us in Red and Blue needed extra football for the second straight week. Overtime should be banned for a while. Blame the economy if you have to. I’ll gladly take a furlough.

If you want to drive yourself crazy consider this: If Foles’ pass at Cal doesn’t get tipped, and if the Cats get the stop on 4th-and-4 against Oregon, this win against ASU clinches the Rose Bowl. Two plays.

But I will be staying sane this week. My glass is half-full and it’s conspicuously shaped like a silver cup from 1899. Bring on the good news…

We won a three-point game! The seven close-game losing streak is over.

We won wearing white-on-white! It was the first win for our palest uniform combination since Willie Tuitama’s first start four years ago. That win was by two points so the flip side is two of Mike Stoops’ three 3-points-or-less wins have been in white-on-white, meaning both of the white-on-white wins in the Stoops era (we’re 2-6) were decided by narrow margins.

Fashion conclusion: Arizona can win while wearing white jerseys and white pants, but rarely, and barely.

Stoops is now 3-3 against ASU but he’s 2-1 against Dennis Erickson. Considering Devil fans’ low opinion of Coach Mike that has to annoy them the way it bothers Wildcats that Stoops finished with a losing record against Dirk Koetter.

Sun Devils should be happy they don’t have a bowl game. Erickson (now 19-18 at ASU) gets to call himself a winning coach for a few more months.

Don’t forget that Koetter was fired for winning 54% of his games, after Bruce Snyder was fired for winning 57% of his games.

Mike Stoops on the other hand had his best season to date last year and he has a chance to better it this year. With seven wins the Cats have now guaranteed a bowl game and winning record for the second straight year.

My prediction is a win against USC puts us in the Sun Bowl while a loss leaves us with the Poinsettia Bowl.

Well, the Poinsettia isn’t a prediction, it’s a fact. But if the UA beats USC and Oregon beats OSU I think the Holiday Bowl takes Stanford and their Heisman Trophy finalist leaving the Cats for El Paso.

The only other potential scenario I see after a win over USC is this:

1. OSU beats Oregon to go to the Rose Bowl.
2. The Holiday Bowl has to take Oregon.
3. The Sun Bowl takes Toby Heisman.
4. The Emerald ignores the pleas from Vegas and settles for a repeat visit from hometown Cal.
5. The Bowl Formerly Known As Las Vegas has to take Arizona who is ahead of USC in the standings.

The Vegas opponent? BYU, as the Cougars finished second in the MWC with TCU going to a BCS bowl. Could you handle an exact repeat of last year’s bowl matchup?

That wouldn’t be a bad bounce at all.

After weeks of analyzing every potential tiebreaker we get to the second-to-last Saturday of the season and not a single game has Rose Bowl implications. Funny how that works.

ARIZONA (6-4 / 4-3) at ASU (4-7 / 2-6) – 1:30 p.m. (all times Arizona/Mountain), ABC
The Nation’s Oldest NCAA-Recognized Rivalry Trophy is back up for grabs. It took way too long to get it back in Tucson. Let’s go ahead and keep it a while.

Who do we root for?
Your One-Game-Season Arizona Wildcats. Beat ASU. There is no other option. Beat ASU.

WSU (1-10 / 0-8) at Washington (3-7 / 2-5) – 4:30 p.m., FSNNW
Last year’s Cougar team was one of the worst in college football, yet they beat the Huskies. Can they shock the (very small portion of the) world a second time?

Who do we root for?
WSU. Just beause.

Notre Dame (6-5 / 2-1) at Stanford (7-4 / 6-3) – 6 p.m., ABC
The Fighting Irish have just as many Pac-10 wins as ASU.

Who do we root for?
Notre Dame. We are in direct competition with Stanford for bowl games and the Cardinal would look really good with an 8-4 record and a win on national TV. We want them to look not as good.

UCLA (6-5 / 3-5) at USC (7-3 / 4-3) – 8 p.m., FSN
Two schools in the entertainment capital of the world and they can’t come up with a name for their rivalry game? The Tinseltown Tussle? Hostility in Hollywood? El Partido de Los Angeles?

Who do we root for?
USC. Keep UCLA stuck in 7th place and away from seven wins. If Arizona is going to pass the Trojans we’ll have to do it head-to-head.

The reality is scoreboard-watching went out the window for the Wildcats with the Oregon loss. What other teams do isn’t nearly as important as Arizona starting to win again. All that matters this week is beating ASU.

Then again, isn’t that always all that matters?

Do you know what week this is?

Thanksgiving? True, but that’s not what I had in mind.

The week after we got our hopes up for the Rose Bowl only to have them ripped away reopening a decades-old wound? Now you’re just being cruel. Let me give you a hint:

ASU! (wonk-WONK-wonk) ASU! (wonk-WONK-wonk) ASU! (WONK-wonk-WONK)

Now do you feel it?

Rivalry week is here.

They say you can throw the records out the window in games like this and that’s good news for both teams. Arizona has tumbled in the league standings with two consecutive losses and ASU is staggering to the finish on a five-game slide. Very few eyes outside the Grand Canyon State will be tuning in to this one which would appear to give this year’s game little significance. But don’t tell that to any of the guys lining up in the trenches on Saturday, or any of the fans, families and alumni squaring off across the aisle or in the living room.

No hype, no national implications, just two neighboring schools doing battle for football bragging rights.

Ain’t it beautiful?

A year’s worth of pride is more than enough incentive but there’s plenty more on the line. The Cats are trying to win consecutive games in the series for the first time since – of course – 1997 and ’98. That was the final year of that glorious run when the UA went 13-3-1. Since then the Devils have fought back with a 7-3 run of their own. As the Zeros come to a close the Devils have already clinched a winning decade in the rivalry, their first since the ‘70s.

Arizona has locked up a better Pac-10 record than ASU this year which means the UA will finish ahead of ASU in the league standings for the second straight year. This is the first such streak for the Cats since three consecutive superior Pac finishes in 1992-’94.

The Wildcats are trying to use this game as a stepping stone to the Holiday Bowl. If we win out and Oregon beats OSU we finish no worse than a four-way tie for second. (The sixth place team in that scenario? Holy cow…USC.) Even if the Holiday passed on Arizona you have to think the Sun Bowl would snatch up the Cats in a second, so we can still have a very solid year – as long as we beat Arizona State.

That’s easier said than done. The UA hasn’t won at Sun Devil Stadium since we had hope for Mackovic (his first year, 2001).

You want some happier facts? Here are a few trivia questions you may want to use around the office or Thanksgiving dinner table:

Who has the most recent top-10 finish?
Arizona, 1998 to 1996

Who has the most recent current-BCS bowl win?
Arizona, 1993 to 1986

Who has the most recent bowl win?
Arizona, 2008 to 2005

Who has the most winning in-conference seasons in the Pac-10?
Arizona, 14 to 12, not counting this year

Who has the most head-to-head wins in Pac-10 era?
Arizona, 17 to 13

Who has the most head-to-head wins overall?
Arizona, 45 to 36

As far as that last one, don’t let anyone give you the “Look at the head-to-head since Arizona State College became a university” excuse. There’s a reason they call it “all time.” Look here, Normals/Owls/Bulldogs/Sun Devils. Just because you legally change your name doesn’t mean you’re not still the guy who got hung by his underwear in gym class.

The stats say if the Arizona offense plays well this weekend the Cats win. ASU hasn’t scored more than 21 points during their losing streak. They haven’t put up 28 against anyone in the Pac-10 and they’ve ended up in the teens (or worse) five times. This is not a good offensive team.

But they can play some D. Number one in the Pac-10 in total defense and pass defense, and #2 in rushing defense and scoring defense. Oh, and #1 in penalties.

The Devil D is talented and reckless and that’s what makes them dangerous. If this game were a cop movie the ASU defense would be the loose cannon that’s going to get someone killed. We just have to make sure it’s not our quarterback.

The Arizona O-line needs to take it personally. No one touches Nick Foles. Maintain your blocks until two seconds after the pass. We don’t need a repeat of 2005 and ’06 when Willie Tuitama left the game and a win left the building.

Speaking of leaving, here’s something for ASU fans to ponder: Dennis Erickson has coached at three Pac-10 schools. He has a nine-win season at each school. He has exactly one nine-win season at each school.

Here’s something for Wildcat fans to ponder: Our last two road games were Washington and Cal. You have every right to be terrified.

One thing I know for certain is Arizona better build (and maintain) a lead bigger than three points if we want to win. After dropping yet another close one last week the Versus stat is starting to take on a life of its own. The Cats are 0-2 this year in games decided by three points or less which makes it seven straight losses and 2-11 all-time for Mike Stoops. This is a bad thing.

The Wildcats need to score touchdowns early and often to take the hope from the Sun Devils and suck the life from the home crowd. A quiet Sun Devil Stadium means no upset, no ending the season on a high note…

And no WONK-wonk-WONK.

This always happens. So why does it hurt every time?

It doesn’t matter who Arizona is playing, or how big an underdog the Cats are, once the ball goes in the air we start hoping for a win. When the team mounts a comeback to get it close before the half you begin to think it’s possible. When the defense pitches a shutout in the third quarter and the UA takes the lead you get sucked in. When the lead gets to ten in the fourth quarter you start to feel it. When you get a play-for-the-ages touchdown to retake the lead you know you’re THIS close.

And if you’re a fan of Arizona Football, you know you’re THIS close to losing it all.

That sinking feeling is what we’re fighting as a program. That woe-is-us fear that defeat is right around the corner. The problem is you could sense that fear at Arizona Stadium Saturday night. More specifically, you could hear it.

When Jeremiah Masoli found Ed Dickson for 23 yards down to the Arizona 2-yard line in the second overtime the building went silent. When LaMichael James was stopped short of the goal line it stayed silent. Even when the Ducks were stopped again on second down you could hear a rose petal drop.

That’s not normal. Remember, the Cats were winning at this point. If they get one more stop on third down they could force Oregon to go for the tie. If there’s a false start Arizona’s chances go way up. If there’s a turnover the Wildcats win. In any other stadium the crowd would have been deafening.

In any other stadium and they would have believed.

This is what Mike Stoops is up against. He’s not just trying to get better players to win more games. He has to save Arizona Football from itself.

This is our plea, Coach Stoops. Don’t become just another UA football coach. You have been a part of teams that won the big games. You have a national championship ring. Help us become like you. Please don’t become like us.

The red-and-blue lining is we still care and we keep coming back. As a fan, don’t ever let go of the pain. Do not give in to the numbness of apathy.

THIS will not always happen. Believe it.

. . . .

It was so close to being the perfect football day. The ESPN College GameDay experience lived up to the hype. In additional to the whole national-TV thing there was something about being out before dawn among like-minded people. It was like collecting left-footed platform shoes and finding out there’s a convention.

GameDay is so big it brings out fans of teams that aren’t even playing. There were supporters of Washington State (as always), Ohio State, Alabama, and…the Green Bay Packers? Apparently the NASCAR fans couldn’t make it.

After a day of anticipation the game got started with ESPN’s moving camera suspended above the field. The Stadium was packed and the atmosphere was electric. After spotting Oregon two touchdowns the Cats responded and the cycle of think-suck-fail began.

The Wildcats did make some really big plays. Nick Foles’ fade pass to Juron Criner in the corner of the end zone was a thing of beauty. Alex Zendejas’ 47-yarder to end the first half was huge. Xavier Kelley shutting down the fourth-down attempt with seven minutes left was a championship-level play. The 71-yard Criner catch-and-run had a chance to become this generation’s Chuck Cecil play.

But, alas, the list of Arizona Plays was longer. Fumbling at the one. Two Cats fighting for a fumble and kicking it back to Masoli. Missing a 24-yard field goal. Rushing the field too early. Hold on, that one deserves its own section…

Things Nobody Else Does

• Pour out of the stands in a one-score game while the other team has the ball

Aren’t you just asking to lose at that point? The only way it could have been worse is if they were on the phone buying Rose Bowl tickets.

Moving on. Who do we play this week?

Oh. Them.

This year’s Territorial Cup game is going to be a battle to see which team can best bounce back from having its dreams crushed. Arizona will finish short of the Rose Bowl for the 32nd consecutive year. ASU has locked up its second-straight losing season for the first time in 62 years. So all that national exposure associated with the Oregon game? This week will be the opposite.

But it’s still must-win for both teams.

With the Rose Bowl dream dying the question has been if the six-win Cats could end up going to the No Bowl. Could a 6-6 / 3-6 UCLA team get a bowl bid at the expense of a 6-6 / 4-5 Arizona team?

This explanation of the Pac-10 bowl selection process from the Emerald Bowl seems to indicate the conference standings take precedence. The Seattle Times says bowls will be able to pick any eligible Pac-10 team regardless of the final standings, but not until next year. So the Cats should be safe as long as the Bruins lose to USC.

But do we really want to find out? You know the Poinsettia Bowl would do everything possible to be able to take a team from the L.A. market that has won three of its final four games. The Cats need to win one more game to ensure they don’t get left out.

So we are playing for a bowl this week.

And did I mention it’s ASU? That should be all the motivation anybody needs.

. . . .

I know, I know, the basketball season is already two games old. We’ll preview (postview?) Miller Era, Year One soon. In the meantime the Maui Invitational starts Monday with the Cats tipping-off against Wisconsin at 10 p.m. Arizona time on ESPN2. Root for Arizona to play Gonzaga and either Maryland or Vanderbilt as the tournament progresses. The best scenario is beating good teams. The next-best scenario is losing to good teams.

Anyone know how to say “Bear Down” in Hawaiian?

Is this the week the dream dies? Or does Arizona rise from the ashes on GameDay?

ASU (4-6 / 2-5) at UCLA (5-5 / 2-5) – 2 PM (all times Arizona/Mountain), FSN
The loser drops into 9th place. Can UCLA complete the three-game-winning-streak bookend to its midseason five-game slide?

Who do we root for?
UCLA. Doesn’t that feel much better? There’s a big reason to root against the Bruins (they only have one fewer overall win than the Wildcats) but eliminating the Devils from bowl contention a week before we play them would be a glorious thing.

OSU (7-3 / 5-2) at WSU (1-9 / 0-7) – 3 PM
Everyone in the league is talking about an Oregon/Oregon State showdown for the Pac-10 championship. The Beavers couldn’t possibly blow it against the lowly Cougars, could they?

Who do we root for?
WSU. With the Cal loss OSU isn’t needed for tiebreakers. Arizona wins out or it doesn’t. An unbelievable Beaver loss would drop them further down the bowl ladder.

Cal (7-3 / 4-3) at Stanford (7-3 / 6-2) – 5:30 PM, Versus
The Big Game has ended in a tie eleven times. What is this, a soccer rivalry?

Who do we root for?
Cal. Same logic as the OSU game. Stanford is higher in the standings so we want them to fall.

Oregon (8-2 / 6-1) at ARIZONA (6-3 / 4-2) – 6 PM, ABC
You can’t ask for a more meaningful final home game if you’re a UA senior.

Who do we root for?
Your Back-In-The-Underdog-Cape Arizona Wildcats.

Are you ready for the most significant November football game in the history of the University of Arizona? The Cats have never before carried win-out-and-we’re-in status this late in the season. The college football world, through the eyes of the Worldwide Leader in Sports, has never focused on Tucson as intently as it will on Saturday.

Arizona has beaten great teams in November before. But this game is different. This time the Wildcats have a chance to become a great team in November.

If you’ve ever wondered what a big-time football atmosphere would look like decked out in Red and Blue, you’re about to get your first taste at 6 p.m. on Nov. 21 at Arizona Stadium. Our Stadium.

“Tell them… tell the team to BEAR DOWN.”