The Arizona Wildcats hit 85 points for the first time since Nov. 21 against Northern Colorado. They shot the ball like you’re supposed to at home. They played like the second best team in the Pac-10.

High-fives all around.

The team unveiled new uniforms and they looked great. The extra color makes the home whites look livelier. From a distance the design on the back looks like a Transformers logo, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

The best part about the new uniforms? They’re undefeated.

The team as a whole seemed livelier. Was it the new gear? Was it ESPN? As much as we like to complain about The Worldwide Leader there’s a lot more weight behind Jay Bilas or Rece Davis saying “What a player!” about Derrick Williams than when you hear it from Steve Physioc or Marques Johnson.

Speaking of “What a player!” you would have to be trying really hard to throw an alley-oop that Williams couldn’t handle. WOW.

Bonus points for the Edgersonesque white kneepads.

I liked how the Cats set the tone early by attacking the rim instead of settling for jumpers. And Solomon Hill made a lefty dunk! I think that’s his first in about 12 attempts.

Much was made of it being Kyle Fogg’s 21st birthday. His present was turning one basket into 14 points.

A Tree Jacobson sighting! He now has as many assists as Hill’s lefty dunks.

Yes, UCLA’s Reeves Nelson had an incredible game. But he had the exact same 24 points a week ago and he followed it up with a whopping four points on Saturday. You’re welcome, ASU.

Jordin Mayes was strong off the bench. He has all the tools needed to develop into a quality guard – length, good elevation and a nice touch on his jumper. That’s why the free throw shooting is so puzzling.

Mayes went 1-of-2 from the line to raise his free throw percentage to 35%. If he keeps this up Salim Stoudamire is going to ask for his number back.

Maybe the Cats could bring in Shaquille O’Neal to coach him up.

35% on one-pointers? Even Alex Zendejas is disgusted.

(OK, I’m done. Keep battling, Jordin.)

The Cats are one win away from a very impressive 7-2 record on the front nine of the Pac-10 season, but there can’t be a post-ESPN letdown. Do not be lulled into over-confidence by the 18-point 2nd-half lead against UCLA or USC’s mere two-point win at ASU. Kevin O’Neill will have the Trojans fired up.

Get the undefeated new uniforms ready.

- – - – -

Scott Terrell wouldn’t want to enter a free throw contest against anybody. Toe the line on Twitter and Facebook.

Alex Zendejas was great in 2010. Wait… What?!
Photo by Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic

The regular season is history for the Arizona Wildcats football team. That means it’s a great time to update the record books and see how the stars of 2010 compare with the greats of yesteryear.

Some of this year’s stats are very impressive. And some don’t make any sense at all.

Juron Criner is having one of the best seasons ever by an Arizona receiver. He needs just one touchdown reception in the Alamo Bowl to make 11 for the year which would tie the single-season record shared by Theopolis “T” Bell and Mike Thomas.

With two catches Criner would have 75, the 5th best season total in school history. Four receptions gets him 4th place and 11 grabs would vault him up to #3. The junior from Las Vegas needs 144 receiving yards to become the 6th UA receiver to hit 2,000 in a career.

It’s not a surprise the guy throwing to Criner is also making a dent in the record book. Nick Foles needs 28 passing yards to move his career total to 5,425 which would be good for 7th place all time among Arizona quarterbacks. If Foles can pass for 327 against Oklahoma State he would move into 6th place and 352 yards would get him the 5th spot on the all-time list.

Looking at this year alone Foles is 89 yards away from posting the UA’s 4th 3,000-yard season. Since he’s not playing Nebraska again his chances are pretty good.

The superlatives continue for the 6-5 gunslinger from Austin. One passing touchdown would give Foles a career-high 20 on the year. A second TD throw makes him the 7th Wildcat passer with 40 in a career.

Foles needs five completions to tie for the 3rd best single-season total in school history (259), and seven completions to pass his total from last year as the new 2nd-best mark. It’s worth noting the last four years rank as the four best seasons in terms of completed passes in Arizona history. Thank you, Sonny Dykes!

Just because: David Douglas, David Roberts and Terrence Miller all have a season-long reception of exactly 38 yards.

Moving to the ground game, senior running back Nic Grigsby needs 102 rushing yards to become the 6th Wildcat to hit 3,000 career yards. The problem is you have to add up the last six games to get him over 100 yards. Grigsby needs two rushing TDs for 10 on the season and 30 for his career.

With three sacks against ASU Ricky Elmore jumped all the way from 5th place to become the 2nd most prolific sacker in school history. To catch Tedy Bruschi he only needs, oh, 26.5 sacks in the bowl game.

Looking at the Pac-10 team stats Arizona led the conference in passing offense. That’s because Foles led the league in passing yards per game and Criner led the conference in both receptions and yards. Elmore was also the Pac-10 leader in sacks.

You may want to sit down for this next one…

Alex Zendejas was the 2nd best kicker in the Pac-10.

It’s true. Sparky’s new best friend made 81% of his field goal attempts which was #2 in the conference. Let the head-shaking begin.

- – -

There needs to be an edit to last week’s list of Nick Foles’ game-winning drives. I had removed the ’09 Cal game because during the final UA drive the deficit was 8 points, making it a potential game-tying drive and not a game-winner.

But Foles still had a chance to be the hero on the previous possession when the Cats were only down two with less than five minutes to play. If you recall, that’s the drive that ended in the Faux Pass.

Nick Foles’ (Corrected) Potential Game-Winning Drives

It’s still a very, very impressive list.

- – -

In basketball news, Arizona does battle with NAU on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Arizona. The quest for the state championship begins!

- – - – -

Scott Terrell is trying to crack the top ten among Arizona stat watchers who wear big red hats. Rank him on Facebook and Twitter.)

Hats off to you, Mr. Foles.
Photo by David Kadlubowski/The Arizona Republic

Some losses are more costly than others.

At first glance the Arizona Wildcats football team didn’t lose much by falling to Arizona State in the 2010 Territorial Cup game. The Cats still got an Alamo Bowl bid and the Sun Devils are still staying home for the holidays.

The UA relinquished ownership of the 111-year-old trophy for the first time in three years but the biggest shame in the (first) blocked extra point is it robbed Nick Foles of a legacy-defining moment in perhaps his final home game.

Every athlete wants to be known as “clutch.” For some it’s a vague label based on a couple random big plays. For others it’s a collection of facts that do not lie.

In the 2nd half and overtime against ASU, Nick Foles completed 15 of 20 passes (75%) for 213 yards and 3 touchdowns.

A great performance, no doubt. But clutch goes beyond one game. It builds a resume that looks like this:

Foles has now engineered a touchdown drive the last four times he’s gotten the ball in the 4th quarter with a chance to take the lead. It’s the stuff of legend.

Near legend, anyway.

That last one is still hard to believe. Down six, score a TD, lose. I will be 97 years old and eating Thanksgiving dinner through a straw and I will still shake my head every time I think of that kick.

Alex Zendejas has missed three field goals this year. He has now missed five extra points.

Mike Stoops’ rivalry legacy also took a hit when that kick hit A.J. Simmons. The UA coach is now 3-4 against the team from Tempe while Dennis Erickson evened his record against Arizona to 2-2. Why is that significant? Check out this list:

ASU coaches with a winning record against Arizona

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That’s it. If Erickson wins again next year to get above .500 it means two of the three Sun Devil coaches who had the most success facing the Wildcats did so against Mike Stoops.

Stoops will want to do all he can to get his clutch quarterback to return for his senior year.

- – -

Yes, I re-watched the entire ASU game so you never, ever have to.

After the Devils’ first shanked punt ESPN’s Rece Davis said, “That might be the shortest punt in the history of the sport.” That record lasted one series as the next punt was Zendejas’ zero-yarder.

Did you lose count of the Wildcats’ dropped interceptions? There were three by my count. Any time a defender touches the ball the announcer says it was “almost intercepted” but the UA DBs got both hands on three different passes only to let them fall to the turf – Adam Hall once and Joe Perkins twice. The Cats have no chance against Oklahoma State without forcing some turnovers.

In the 3rd quarter Mike Stoops declined an 8-yard holding penalty (half the distance to the goal) to set up a 3rd-and-7 instead. To the surprise of no one ASU picked up the first down on the next play. Besides a turnover or a sack a holding penalty is the best thing that can happen to a defense. Never give them up unless it’s already 3rd down and at least a dozen.

The turning point (that set up the final turning point) was the Greg Nwoko fumble. The Cats had scored two touchdowns in the 3rd quarter to take the lead. On their first possession of the 4th quarter they were at midfield and on the move. Get the score to 21-9 (sorry, 20-9), make Brock Osweiler drive the length of the field and you have to like your chances.

Foles’ final throw was ruled backwards so David Douglas’ second TD was officially a run. It kept Foles from equaling his career high in touchdown passes in a game (4) and kept him from setting a new single-season best of 20 scoring throws.

The next play kept him from breaking the losing streak. And from becoming a legend.

- – - – -

Scott Terrell thinks a #8 jersey would look great in the Red Zone next year. Look for more fashion tips on Facebook and Twitter.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Photo by Chris Morrison/US Presswire

Hello, Wildcat Universe.

Glad to see you made it today.

Just another wacky chapter in the history of the Territorial Cup rivalry. ASU only scored one touchdown in regulation. They averaged 2.8 yards per rush. They completed 45% of their passes. And they won. The game, the trophy, and the bragging rights. That’s how it goes. Sometimes you win on a muffed punt, sometimes you lose on a blocked extra point.

And sometimes you lose on two blocked extra points.

Not that it’s any easier to take. Thursday night was also another stomach-wrenching drop on the roller coaster ride we call life as an Arizona Football fan. Shouldn’t there be health advisory warning on this thing?

I know there are other tortured sports fan bases. The city of Cleveland’s misery was on full display last night. But the Wildcat football team has its own special way of serving the heartbreak. That’s why we have:

Things Nobody Else Does

-Use three punters without one injury.

The Wildcats used a different punter the first three times they faced 4th down. If playing two quarterbacks means you don’t have a good one, what do three punters mean?

We can’t add the missed extra points to this list because that’s something that did happen before. That may be the biggest difference between the college game and the NFL. In the pros extra points truly are automatic. Gimme field goals are gimme’d. But in college anything can happen in the kicking game.

Utah won its last conference game with BYU on a blocked field goal. Boise State lost out on the Rose Bowl due to missing two short kicks. Cal at Arizona this year. ASU all year…until this week.

Sports fans shouldn’t turn on their own, and no one should yell at college students no matter what happens on the field. But I’m all in favor of sarcasm as medication. Laugh it out, let it out, and move on to the next game.

Don’t forget about that next game.

Every human tendency is to give up right now. The players thinking they don’t have a chance in the bowl game. The fans not wanting to bother making the trip. This is going to be a tough rebound. The coaches need to provide leadership and motivation. The fans need to band together and show support worthy of the kind of program they want to have.

Life in the Wildcat Universe goes on.

- – -

But where does it go? The unveiling of the UA’s bowl destination will now have to wait until after Saturday’s games. Here’s the final Pac-10 football TV schedule:

Sat. Dec. 4 (all times Arizona/Mountain)

Oregon (11-0 / 8-0) at OSU (5-6 / 4-4)
The Ducks are one win away from becoming the first Pac-10 team to survive the nine-game conference schedule unscathed. The last hurdle is the team that lost to Washington State.

Who do Wildcat fans want to win?
Oregon. Some may want to get another Pac-10 team in the bowl picture but the conference really needs a national champion. So, Duck, you better finish this. Don’t choke against Oregon State. Don’t fail in the BCS game like you did against Ohio State. Win the whole thing.

Washington (5-6 / 4-4) at WSU (2-9 / 1-7)
The Wildcats blew out the Huskies but U-Dub has been the anti-Arizona down the stretch. If they can get their season-ending winning streak to three they’ll earn a bowl berth.

Who do Wildcat fans want to win?
Washington. If you had your heart set on a trip to San Antonio (or – heaven forbid – you already bought tickets) you need the Cougars to pull off the upset. But for the sake of the league Jake Locker in the postseason is a good thing.

USC (7-5 / 4-4) at UCLA (4-7 / 2-6)
This game means absolutely nothing besides the rivalry. Both teams are unranked and neither can play in a bowl game. L.A. is hurting in the football department this year.

Who do Wildcat fans want to win?
UCLA? Because the Cats beat the Bruins? No, I won’t be watching this game either.

ASU (6-6 / 4-5) at NCAA
The Devils’ two FBS wins leave them one win short of bowl eligibility but they’re asking the NCAA to make an exception. Pretty please?

Who do Wildcat fans want to win?
NCAA. ASU has the head-to-head win and an equal conference record. The only hope the Cats have for any sort of boasting point is going to a bowl while the Sun Devils stay home. Petty? Oh yeah, but you take what you can get.

Oklahoma (10-2) vs. Nebraska (10-2)
Why do we care? Because the loser will be the biggest brand name available for the Alamo Bowl and, potentially, the Holiday.

Who do Wildcat fans want to win?
The team you don’t want to play. Which would be most unpleasant: a rematch with Nebraska or the Stoops Bowl? There’s no way around being a big underdog in the bowl game. Unless two more Pac-10 teams secure bowl eligibility this weekend the Cats will be playing a 10-win Big 12 team (double-digit winners Oklahoma State and Missouri are also available).

But, hey, it beats 1999-2007, right?

- – -

There are now a few weeks before the next Arizona football game so it’s time to get into that Pac-10 basketball schedule:

Fri. Dec. 3
Kansas St. at WSU

Sat. Dec. 4
Texas Tech at Washington
Cal at Iowa St.
OSU at Colorado

Sun. Dec. 5
Oklahoma at ARIZONA – 2 p.m., FSN
Texas at USC
Richmond at ASU
Portland St. at Oregon
Montana at UCLA

Mon. Dec. 6
Portland at Washington

Has Derrick Williams ever tried kicking?

- – - – -

My name is Scott. I am an Arizona Football season ticket holder, and I need help. Lend support at Facebook and Twitter.)

The Pac-10’s bowl hopes lie with Brehaut. Richard Brehaut.
Photo by Gary A. Vasquez/US Presswire

What’s worse than losing to Stanford, USC and (maybe) Oregon?

Losing to Washington State and then losing to Stanford, USC and Oregon.

As bad as the Arizona Wildcats feel the Oregon State Beavers feel worse. The UA will still be playing in a bowl game while OSU’s postseason chances are on life support following losses to lowly Washington and UCLA even before the debacle against Wazzu.

See? There are still positives to be found in the Wildcat Universe. You just have to look really hard.

- – -

Did Oregon State destroy the Pac-10 bowl bubble? Not yet. The Pac can still get five teams into bowls. Here’s how:

ALREADY IN:
Oregon (10-0)
Stanford (9-1)
Arizona (7-3)

BUBBLE IN:
Cal (5-5)

BUBBLE OUT:
UCLA (4-5)
OSU (4-5)
Washington (3-6)

NOT ELIGIBLE:
ASU (3-6*)
WSU (2-9)
USC (banished)

(*ASU’s second FCS win not included.)

The new best-case scenario is…

Cal – loses to Stanford, beats Washington = 6-6
UCLA – beats Washington and ASU, loses to USC = 6-6
OSU – loses to USC, Stanford and Oregon, doesn’t get anybody seriously injured = 4-8
Washington – loses to UCLA and Cal, beats WSU = 4-8
ASU – loses to UCLA and Arizona = 4-8

Unfortunately, I think Arizona State is going to beat UCLA in Tempe the day after Thanksgiving which would have the Sun Devils coming to Tucson with an FCS-aided 5-6 record. ASU would still have the hope that there won’t be enough eligible teams to fill the 35 bowls so they can get a pity invite.

If the Devils do get to 6-6 it would mean the Alamo Bowl might be stuck with a 7-5 Arizona team on a four-game losing streak. I don’t think that’s what the folks in San Antonio had in mind when they signed on to take the #2 pick from the Pac-10.

- – -

Are you already lamenting the Cats’ bye week? TWIT-Pac Lite is here to help!

Thu. Nov. 18 – 6 p.m. Arizona/Mountain Time, ESPN/ESPN3.com

UCLA (4-5 / 2-4) at Washington (3-6 / 2-4)
This is actually the most intriguing Pac-10 game of the week. The winner will have honest-to-goodness bowl aspirations for another week. What more can you ask for when two 7th-place teams square off on national TV?

Who do Wildcat fans want to win?
UCLA. The Bruins winning twice is more likely than the Huskies winning thrice. Plus Cat fans want the Bruins to get good at winning November road games.

- – -

Unless something crazy happens this will be the last installment of the Survivor Rankings:

1. Oregon
2. Stanford
X. ARIZONA
X. Oregon State
X. Cal
X. Washington
X. Arizona State
X. UCLA
X. Washington State
X. USC

It’s very simple: If Stanford wins their final two games and Oregon loses their final two games the Cardinal win the championship. Any other result and the Ducks clinch their second straight Pac-10 title.

Borrrring. But that’s what happens when the two great teams play early in the year and the rest of the teams are far from great. At least we still have BCS drama, and who doesn’t love BCS drama?

- – - – -

On to the additional thoughts from the USC game.

(Don’t stop reading now! There’s basketball talk below!)

We’re going to borrow a rule from my 3rd grade teacher and declare that every time you say something negative you have to follow it up with something positive. Challenge accepted.

- – -

Negative:
USC converted its first four red zone opportunities into 24 points. The Wildcats’ first four red zone trips included a missed field goal and a fumble. What was Arizona’s best option for scoring inside the 20 this year? He caught three touchdown passes from Tom Brady Sunday night. UA fans will always cheer for GRONK! in the NFL but every time he crosses the goal line a Wildcat will think, “Why couldn’t he have played with Nick Foles? Not even one time?!?”

Positive:
Terrence Miller locked up the team’s 2010 Most Improved award in just one week. After looking like his hands were allergic to leather against Stanford he doubled his season totals with seven catches for 116 yards against USC. Can the 6-4 sophomore be the down-the-middle threat the Cats have so desperately needed? A bye week is a great opportunity to get a young guy ready to take on an increased role and find out.

- – -

Negative:
It’s true the offense was down three starters due to injury (four if you count guard Vaughn Dotsy who hasn’t played all year). But the second-line receivers did just fine, and injuries don’t make you fumble in the red zone, or fail to read a corner blitz, or miss a short field goal.

Positive:
The Arizona offense converted an impressive 11-of-16 third downs (69%) but it was even more incredible than that. The Cats attempted to pass 15 times on third down and Nick Foles completed 14 of them. Foles was 14-of-15 for 166 yards, 10 first downs and two touchdowns on third down alone.

Usually you try to avoid third down. The Wildcats should have just taken a knee on first and second down.

- – -

Negative:
It was the first loss for the white helmets/red pants combo after a 4-0 start.

Positive:
The White-Red-White and White-Red-Blue combos are still unblemished and available for the ASU game.

- – -

Negative:
Arizona’s first punt was with three minutes left in the 3rd quarter yet the team only had 14 points. How do you pull that off? 1) Fail in the red zone. 2) Give up drives lasting 8:57 and 6:48. 3) Only have one full possession in the 2nd quarter.

Positive:
Arizona’s first punt was with three minutes left in the 3rd quarter!

- – -

Negative:
Those long USC drives were a new way for the Wildcat defense to get beat. The Trojans were the first team to dominate the UA on the ground from the opening kickoff. Even Stanford’s first two touchdown drives were the result of 148 passing yards compared to just 19 via the rush.

Positive:
The secondary didn’t get beat deep!

- – -

Negative:
Things Nobody Else Does

Offsides on offense. Not a false start, offsides. Wide receiver David Douglas didn’t move before the snap, he just stood in the wrong place. Strangest loss of five yards I’ve seen in a while.

Positive:
Douglas’ two touchdowns increased his career total by 50%. Thanks, roomie!

- – -

Negative:
Alex Zendejas attempted five kicks including one that got called back due to a penalty. Three of the five were deflected.

Positive:
Zendejas’ first punt of the year was nicely angled out of bounds at the 6.

- – -

Negative:
Zendejas’ second punt of the year only went 30 yards.

Positive:
It wasn’t blocked!

- – -

Negative:
Seeing Steve McLaughlin getting his jersey retired at halftime reminded Wildcat fans how rare it is to witness such poor punting and kicking at Arizona.

Positive:
The Cactus Comet was there! Anybody who can run for 3,000 yards without a facemask is a hero in my book.

- – -

Negative:
After 27 sacks in their first eight games the UA defense was shut out for the second straight week.

Positive:
You got me on this one. The other team’s quarterback had a very pleasant evening?

- – -

Negative:
Losing two straight games drops Arizona to a mediocre 4-3 in conference play.

Positive:
There are still three more opportunities to watch the Cats play in 2010 and momentum can shift in a hurry in college football.

- – -

Negative:
The first of those three games is at #1 Oregon.

Positive:
It’s time for that basketball talk!

You read the in-game commentary. You saw the highlights. It’s hard to think of a better start to a season than scoring 90 points and holding a team scoreless for an 11-minute stretch.

My main question going into the year was: Where are the Cats going to go for scoring when Derrick Williams is off the court (or just off)?

One game is one game but it was still encouraging to see the all-around play of Solomon Hill (10 points and 8 rebounds, including 3 on the offensive end), and the outside shooting of Brendon Lavender and freshman Jordin Mayes (combined 6-of-9 on threes) off the bench.

I fully expect the team defense to be better this year. The players have a full year of experience with Sean Miller’s system and expectations, and the team has enough athletes to keep guys fresh. But even if you have a 17-man rotation it doesn’t do you any good if you can’t put the ball in the bucket.

The season opener was certainly a positive.

- – - – -

(Negative: This post is done. Positive: Learn about the next one on Facebook and Twitter!)

Lolomana Mikaele was robbed of his chance to live the dream.
Photo by Chris Morrison/US Presswire

The Arizona Wildcats are riding high after their dominant victory over Washington. Does it make them the team to beat among those trying to beat Oregon?

Sorting through the Duck-chasers, here are this week’s Survivor Rankings:

1. Oregon
2. Oregon State
3. ARIZONA
4. Cal
5. Washington
6. Stanford
X. Arizona State
X. UCLA
X. Washington State
X. USC

Not a whole lot of movement. Last week’s #2 drops to 5th and everyone else moves up. Cal and Washington are hanging on by a thread but they do both get a crack at Oregon so they’re technically still alive.

It’s worth noting that five of the six remaining contenders will reside in the Pac-12 North next year.

- – - – -

The bowl bubble watch is crystal clear at the top as a couple more teams punched their postseason tickets:

ALREADY IN:
Oregon (7-0)
Stanford (6-1)
Arizona (6-1)

BUBBLE IN:
Cal (4-3)
OSU (3-3)
Washington (3-3)

BUBBLE OUT:
UCLA (3-4)
ASU (2-4*)

(*ASU’s second FCS win not included.)

Cal looks to be in pretty good shape after walloping Groupon U. The Bears still get WSU and they finish with three games at home. Yes, two of them are against Oregon and Stanford but there is the season finale against Washington in case a last-minute sixth win is needed.

Don’t dismiss the significance of the Wildcats getting eligible for a third straight bowl game. When you’ve only done something once before in your program’s history, it’s a big deal.

As for the rest of the team’s goals? We’ll see how things look after the UCLA game.

- – - – -

More from the joy that was the Washington game:

The game started with a UA fumble and the secondary getting beat deep. Can’t start much worse, right? The Cats were so devastated at that point they went on to outscore the Huskies 44-7.

Matt Scott was a huge reason why. He made all the throws that were asked of him and even a couple that you won’t find in the training manual. There was the Tebowesque jump-pass to get the ball over the oncoming defender and into his running back’s hands. But nothing could top Scott’s final snap of the night when he dropped the ball, distracted the defense, picked it up and found Juron Criner in the end zone. It was the passing version of the fumblerooski.

- – -

Nick Foles’ passing efficiency rating is 156.37 for the year. Matt Scott’s is 156.28. Foles has completed 75.3% of his passes. Scott is up to 72.7%. Does this mean Arizona is now producing system quarterbacks?

- – -

The White/Red/Red uniform combination is now 3-0.

- – -

Nic Grigsby is deservedly getting recognition for moving into 2nd place on the UA’s career rushing touchdowns list but it should be noted that Keola Antolin has joined him in the top 10. With his two scores against Washington Antolin now has 19 career TDs on the ground, tying him with Chuck Levy and Clarence Farmer for the 8th most in school history.

The best part of Antolin’s career-long run wasn’t the move he put on the safety to turn a double into a home run, it’s Grigsby leading the way as a blocking back and Scott sprinting downfield to run interference. The formation with those three lined up next to each other is the speediest UA backfield since Trung Canidate lined up behind Keith Smith.

- – -

One Wildcat who did not have a good night was Trevin Wade. He absolutely whiffed on multiple one-on-one tackles and Washington’s second touchdown drive was the result of Wade grabbing air on a short third-down pass.

Maybe Wade could get some pointers from Nick Folk’s brother, the kicker who brought down Travis Cobb to save a touchdown. Why are your genes so strong, Nick Folk?

Speaking of strong-gened kickers, Alex Zendejas has now missed five extra points in the past two years. Why do you have no more eligibility, Nick Folk?

- – -

Hidden big play: Trailing by 16 at the end of the first half, UW completes a 43-yard pass. The Huskies rush to the line and snap the ball but Sione Tuihalamaka breaks through and sacks Jake Locker to set up a 2nd-and-20 and effectively kill the drive. Tuihalamaka didn’t have time to get into his three-point stance so he just juked the guard and made the hit before Locker could think.

In other sack news, the defensive ends did a great job of finding the football when they got near Locker. Ricky Elmore swatted the ball loose to record his sack and later D’Aundre Reed ripped it out on the play that was (incorrectly) blown dead.

With the trio of B.Reed, D.Reed and Elmore continuing to wreak havoc the only thing missing is a nickname. Just in time for Halloween I give you Breed, Dread, and Hell More.

Back to the fumble that wasn’t, they should have let Lolomana Mikaele’s recovery and rumbling return stand on principle alone. Let the big man tote the coconut!

- – -

Washington’s most embarrassing moment wasn’t the final score. It wasn’t Jesse Callier woofing with the Red Zone before the game and then dropping two passes including one off his facemask. The biggest Husky fail belonged to the UW cheerleaders. Late in the game, with the stands emptying, the Dawg cheer squad decided to try some new stunts. They attempted to do this but it ended up like this. There were no injuries except for bruised egos.

- – -

Seeing the Boise State game Tuesday (?!) night got me thinking: What if Oregon loses to USC, Auburn loses to Alabama, Michigan State loses to Iowa, and Missouri loses to Nebraska? Do Boise State and TCU play for the national championship?

If the establishment were to allow it, it would be the third straight year the Broncos and Horned Frogs met in a bowl game. But since it would mean they went from the Poinsettia Bowl to the Fiesta Bowl to the BCS championship game, I don’t think you’d hear any complaints.

Cheers!

- – -
(Rah rah, sis-boom-bah! Goooo Facebook and Twitter!)!

Holiday Bowl week is here!

The Las Vegas Bowl trip was an absolute blast and I’m looking forward to more of the same this year. I do hope we make this bowl game thing an annual tradition.

Although, looking at UA history the return bowl trip shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Dating back to the ‘80s every time the Cats broke a bowl draught they made it back to the postseason the following year. Now, going bowling again next year would be a bigger accomplishment as the Wildcats have only played in a bowl three straight years one time (1992-’94).

Arizona’s all-time bowl record is 6-7-1 so a win on Wednesday would even things up. That wouldn’t be bad at all considering the school went 65 years between its first bowl game (1921) and its first bowl victory (1986).

This is the first time we’ve played a school in a bowl game a second time. In our previous 14 bowls we played 14 different teams, from the obscure (Centre and Drake) to the name brand (Auburn, Georgia and Miami), but Nebraska is the first rematch.

The ’09 Cornhuskers are known for three things: defense, defense, and defense. In their last seven games Nebraska has only given up more than one offensive touchdown twice. They kept the other team’s O completely out of the end zone three different times. The Huskers intercepted 14 passes over their final six games.

This is not a game for Nick Foles to try and buy time with his feet. Holding the ball against these guys is a turnover waiting to happen. The game plan has to be read-read-read-throw it away.

I would love for our guys to score two quick TDs and coast but we’re probably going to see a game similar to the last two we played. What we need to not see is a third quarter like the last two. Just one first down in the opening period of the second half against both ASU and USC. What’s the opposite of halftime adjustments?

Sustaining long drives is going to be difficult so the Cats have got to look for a couple opportunities to take a shot deep with Juron Criner. We need to get the ball into #82’s hands as often as possible (remember the huge inside screen against Oregon) but it makes a lot of sense to try and set up a quick score or two with a one-on-one jump ball deep.

Field position is crucial in defensive struggles so Keenyn Crier needs to come up big. Thirteen-yard punts aren’t going to cut it. Along the same lines Alex Zendejas can’t miss any short field goals. Hopefully his kick against the Sun Devils will have him ready in case more 4th-quarter heroics are needed.

The fans won’t like it but I don’t see Mike Stoops doing a lot of gambling in the red zone. Yes, touchdowns are huge in this game, but field goals are semi-huge.

I will say this: One act of well-timed deception could make all the difference. I’m thinking something along the lines of going for it on 4th-and-inches, lining up in the “Hey! We’re running a quarterback sneak!” formation…and then passing. If that happens I will leave my nosebleed seat, storm the press box and lift Sonny Dykes onto my shoulders myself.

So word must have gotten out about our poor record wearing white jerseys and white pants. It’s like someone said, “Uniform stats, shmooniform stats. I see your fear of White-on-White and give you White-on-White-on-White.”

Whatever Arizona wears the program will be trying to finish a season ranked for just the sixth time in the Pac-10 era. A win would also give the Cats a rare year-ending win streak. Since leaving the WAC Arizona has only won three or more to end a season four times, with three-game streaks in 1984 and ’88 (no bowl game either year), a four-game streak to end 1997 and the seven-game run that took us to our first Holiday Bowl in ’98.

That’s a lot at stake for the guys from Tucson. What’s not at stake is a successful season. Mike Stoops has already proven that last year was no fluke and he’s providing solid evidence that he’s building a program with staying power.

Because of that it’s a perfect opportunity for the Wildcats to come out relaxed, confident, and ready to play their very best.

Grab your beef jerky and let’s ride.

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.

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?