B.J. Denker has just one career start but it’s more than any other QB on the roster.
Photo by Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Is there anything more taxing than a quarterback battle?

If you didn’t spend your whole weekend calculating your annual contribution to the IRS you may have taken in the Arizona Wildcats’ spring football scrimmage on Saturday. And if you sat in the sun at Kindall Field/Sancet Stadium or tuned in to the Pac-12 Network I know you focused intently on the guys in the red jerseys calling signals.

Who is going to be the next quarterback to run Rich Rodriguez’s offense? Here’s what we know, what we don’t know, and what we can guess.

It was disappointing that half of the competing quarterbacks weren’t able to play due to injury. Is Javelle Allen faster than B.J. Denker? What kind of arm does Allen have? Do the skills that made Nick Isham a freshman starter at Louisiana Tech translate to the Pac-12?

The answers to these questions will remain hidden from public view until the fall and so all the talk is going to center around Denker, last year’s backup, and Jesse Scroggins, the former USC player who saw his first live action on Saturday.

The starting quarterback job certainly isn’t going to be won or lost in a single scrimmage, especially when Rodriguez said they only used a couple coverages on defense.

“We see more in practice than in a scrimmage,” Rodriguez said.

But as the long summer awaits, you take all the fuel for your football debates that you can get.

Denker has the experience edge and it showed on Saturday. The senior lefty knew when to throw it and who to throw it to. He didn’t hesitate when there was an opportunity to tuck the ball and run, and he showed good speed on the edge.

Rodriguez said, “I’ve seen (Denker) make a lot of strides this spring. Getting more confident, having great eye discipline, making the right decisions.”

The confidence is certainly there. When asked about his strengths Denker said, “I’m a leader on and off the field and I’m the smartest guy on the field. There’s nobody that knows this offense better than me and there’s nobody that knows football better than me on the offense and defense side of the ball.”

Scroggins has the look of a quarterback: tall, strong, big arm. He has a smile you could put on a billboard. If this was the Arizona QB battle of 2009, Scroggins would be Nick Foles.

“I’m naturally a drop-back passer,” Scroggins said, “but you’ve got to push your game even further. (Throwing on the run) is another tool I can use.”

Another similarity to Foles four years ago is Scroggins is the new transfer trying to unseat the previous year’s number two. But after seeing Matt Scott last season, if Rodriguez was coaching here in 2009 I’m not so sure Foles wins the job.

(It’s also worth noting that if RichRod was coaching here four years ago he would’ve been making about $2.5 million a year which would have meant T. Boone Pickens had moved to Tucson.)

Competition is going to be the name of the game all summer and into the fall and both quarterbacks in the spring spotlight know it.

“He’s going to be a good weapon,” Denker said of Scroggins. “We’re going to compete with each other and make each other better.”

Scroggins said, “As a competitor, as tall as I am, as much as I weigh, with all my might I’m going to compete.”

You can’t predict the future based on one scrimmage so…I’m going to try and predict the future based on one scrimmage.

I will be surprised if B.J. Denker is not Arizona’s starting quarterback against Northern Arizona on Aug. 30.

Not only are the other guys having to play catch-up but the UA can win all three games on its less-than-daunting non-conference schedule with last year’s Colorado gameplan: Ka’Deem Carey left, Ka’Deem Carey right, fake Ka’Deem Carey up the middle and send Denker around end.

The real question is who will be The Guy when Pac-12 play starts on Sep. 28? Or, more importantly, who is the starter after the first Pac-12 loss? That will be the QB RichRod thinks gives him the best shot to continue his climb back among the national elite.

Now, if there are no injuries involved and Denker is not the starting quarterback against NAU I would take that as a very positive sign for the Wildcats. Denker has looked solid and done nothing to lose the job so if he doesn’t end up with it, it means another quarterback was outstanding in fall camp.

Scroggins was asked on Saturday why he chose Arizona and he said, “Coach Rod told me, ‘I’m going to give you a fair shot, a fair opportunity and may the best man win.’”

Until that best man is named, may the best summer debaters win.

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Scott Terrell is happy to keep the football talk going. Send in your QB predictions on Twitter and Facebook.

At the end of the day RichRod had plenty to smile about in 2012.
Photo by Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The 2012 Arizona Wildcats football season is now in the rear-view mirror. It sure looks good from here.

What did we learn from the first season with Rich Rodriguez at the helm in Tucson?

The national media likes RichRod.

It started with the near-universal approval of the hire a year ago but the best argument is how the UA jumped into the polls on two different occasions this year.

The Cats went from receiving no votes in the Week 1 poll to being ranked No. 24 after the Oklahoma State win. The voters didn’t mind that Arizona had needed overtime to beat Toledo the week before.

Two months later Arizona went from just seven points in the Week 8 poll back to No. 24 after beating USC. The people casting ballots had no problem with the Cats’ pedestrian 5-3 record.

It showed the voters were watching Rodriguez and it appears they expected him to do well.

When you hear RichRod on national sports radio programs, win or lose, cracking jokes and dropping sound bites you can see why most people outside of Michigan and West Virgina would like to see him make the most of his redemption tour.

Rodriguez started preaching to his team about becoming relevant before the Oklahoma State game and it’s still true. People are paying attention. The UA program is back on the radar.

RichRod’s offense still works.

There was concern after his stint in Ann Arbor that defenses had figured him out or that younger read-option guys like Oregon’s Chip Kelly (who is actually just six months younger than Rodriquez) had passed him by. But after a season of watching the offense at work it’s easy to see the early struggles at Michigan were due to ill-fitting personnel (not to mention the cloak-and-dagger stuff) and not due to the system being outdated.

(Which, if you think about it, was a silly notion to begin with. It was only five years ago that Rodriguez was coming off of three straight 10-win seasons. He was in position to be courted by (and reject) Alabama just six years ago. We’re talking about a college-career-and-a-half, not ancient history.)

In fact, Rodriguez looks even more innovative than before.

He didn’t just run-run-run with his lone scholarship quarterback. He kept his trademark fast-break pace but modified it to a pass-first attack to protect Matt Scott as much as possible. Through the first six games this year the Wildcats passed for twice as many yards (2,210) as they gained on the ground (1,098).

Then the offense adapted again. Over the final six games of the regular season Arizona gained more yards via the rush (1,667) than the pass (1,287). Was this shift due to Scott’s injury, or was it the emergence of Ka’Deem Carey? Either way it led to two 50-point games in each half of the season and a total of six games scoring at least 48 points.

It was the first Arizona team to score at least 50 points four times in a season since 1921. The last time a UA team hit 48 six times? Never and ever.

RichRod’s half-dozen-year hoist-less drought is over.
Photo by Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

RichRod’s teams will not be boring.

The matchups with Toledo, USC and the bowl game were thrilling, last-minute wins. Even among the losses Oregon State and Stanford were entertaining football games.

(Losing to ASU is never entertaining.)

Rodriguez honestly believes he can win big here.

RichRod’s post-game press conferences this year showed he’s still as competitive as they come. He hates losing. He would not have come here and he wouldn’t have uprooted two longtime West Virginians in assistant coaches Jeff Casteel and Bill Kirelawich if he thought they were going to do a lot of losing. And, after year one, Rodriguez remains happy.

There’s football talent in southern Arizona.

Both Arizona’s leading rusher (Carey) and leading tackler (Jake Fischer) went to high school in Tucson. When’s the last time that happened? The Vance Johnson days? The Pop McKale era?

Rodriguez has talked about needing to “blanket the state of Arizona” to keep the best local recruits at home. After this year it certainly appears to be a worthwhile pursuit.

Does all this mean next year will be even better?

We’ll dig into that at another time but I’m not going that far just yet. The quarterback position is a major question mark next year and the defense has a long way to go. Even if – and that’s still an if – Arizona takes a step back and looks more like a rebuilding program in 2013, Rodriguez and his staff showed enough in 2012 to make it very exciting to see what can happen here two, three, four years down the road.

Hope is back.

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Scott Terrell is always looking to learn. Spread the knowledge on Twitter and Facebook.

The New Mexico Bowl is Matt Scott’s last option.
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

The wheels were set in motion to get there when Rich Rodriguez was hired 13 months ago. Four months ago the hope was the Arizona Wildcats could get there this season.

In just a couple more days there will be here.

The Cats are playing in the very first bowl game of the 2012-’13 season. The early date has caused logistical issues for the team and fans but at least the players get some paint out of the deal.

Wait, the New Mexico Bowl sponsor isn’t Glidden, the paint company? Oh, Gildan? What do they do?

[Google break]

Socks? All right then. I hope the players get some cool socks.

Rich Rodriguez has waited six years to hoist a bowl game trophy.
Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images

RichRod doesn’t have a lot of experience with lower tier bowls. All six of his teams’ postseason appearances at West Virginia were as either the first or second place team in the Big East. He coached in the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl on Dec. 28 but every bowl after that was in January. Even his one bowl game at Michigan, after going 7-5 in 2010, was the Gator Bowl played on New Year’s Day.

The short turnaround makes it more like an extended bye week than a full bowl preparation. The positive is it decreases the chances of the team coming out rusty and it’s less time for the Wildcats to hear how big a favorite they are against Nevada.

The challenge for Rodriguez and his coaching staff is to get their team ready to play its best and not worry about what bowl they’re in and what conference the Wolf Pack is from.

What I really want to see is Matt Scott completing some passes early. The big storyline is obviously the battle between the nation’s top two rushers but Scott hasn’t completed over half his passes in a game since returning from his injury. Scott excelling as a redshirt senior this year was a huge part of the team’s surprising success and it would be great to see him end his college career on a high note.

Challenging Nevada from sideline to sideline with the passing game will also open up running lanes so Ka’Deem Carey can break the long runs needed to win the rushing title.

We took a look at all the backs still in the hunt for that title but on Saturday it’s a two-man race. Arizona’s Carey and Nevada’s Stefphon Jefferson will share the same field with the Wildcat holding a 55-yard advantage.

The Arizona defense gives up 190 rushing yards a game while the Wolf Pack surrenders an average of 213 yards per game on the ground. The race may end up looking like a track meet.

It’s been a topic of conversation for the past month but don’t take it for granted. Arizona has a consensus All-American who is leading the FBS in rushing on a team that was 11th in Pac-12 in rushing last year.

Incredible.

Losing a bowl game is not incredible. I realize it happens to 35 teams each year but it still ruins half your trip. I don’t regret going to either of the UA’s last two bowls but those were not fun rides home. Add in the bad taste of losing the Territorial Cup and the Wildcats could really use one last 2012 victory. Taking a two-game losing streak into the offseason would put a damper on what has otherwise been an excellent first year for RichRod.

A win would mean an 8-5 record (matching Mike Stoops’ best two years) with five victories in the team’s final seven games. That would take the excellent first year and add an exclamation point.

One last game to enjoy and then we start counting down to the start of the second year of the Rich Rodriguez era.

Next stop…Albuquerque!

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Scott Terrell could use some extra socks to stay warm this weekend. Can’t make the trip? Look for reports on Twitter and Facebook!

Rich Rodriguez and the Wildcats have one last chance to win in 2012.
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Good news: The 2012 Arizona Wildcats are playing in a bowl game!

Bad news: It’s not the date, time or location anyone wanted.

Once We The People get over the disappointment of the last ten days we will find that the New Mexico Bowl is a chance to cap off Rich Rodriguez’s unexpectedly strong debut season as the UA football coach.

There wasn’t an ounce of bad news to be heard after the Utah game. The Cats had won on the road for the first time and sat at 7-4. Arizona was favored to win the Territorial Cup at home. When Washington blew its lead against Washington State the UA had a chance to be the only 8-4 team in the Pac-12. A Sun Bowl bid was a strong possibility and the worst-case scenario would’ve been the Vegas Bowl.

A trip to Las Vegas as a consolation prize? Sign me up for that sweepstakes.

Alas, unlike Powerball, that winning ticket wasn’t printed in Arizona. The Wildcats couldn’t hold on against the Sun Devils and now we have learned that the UA slipped all the way down to the Pac-12’s worst bowl.

Frustrating? Absolutely. Frustrating enough to ignore the game and close the book on this team? Not a chance.

This is why we set preseason expectations. In a season that went up (3-0 start!) and down (0-3 Pac-12 start!) and up (4-1 after the bye!) and down (bye-bye, Cup!) it’s good to look back and see where you are compared to where you thought you would be.

It’s funny, in a year when few of the games went as I had envisioned, the one thing that does match is the New Mexico Bowl. I thought the Cats could win six games including Oregon State, UCLA and ASU. They won seven games including Oklahoma State, Washington, USC and Utah. I thought Arizona could win enough to get to Albuquerque. The Wildcats are going to Albuquerque.

This isn’t a time to dwell on the disappointment of Territorial Cup Friday and Selection Sunday. It’s a chance to appreciate the first UA senior class in 17 years to play in three bowl games and help them get their first bowl win.

RichRod’s first Arizona team earned a trip to a bowl game. It’s time to go to the bowl game.

* * *

Now the challenge is getting there. Or deciding if you want to get there.

At first glance it’s a simple trip. An hour flight. A six-and-a-half hour drive. But you don’t have a lot of lead time. When you talk to your boss today you’re asking for time off next week already.

Then there’s the basketball game. Sean Miller’s team has one marquee matchup on its non-conference schedule and that’s against fellow-top-10 Florida at McKale Center on Dec. 15, the same day as the New Mexico Bowl.

An added bonus of the 2008 Las Vegas Bowl trip was the UA basketball team playing at UNLV earlier that same day. Even though the BasketCats lost it was an unforgettable double-header for UA fans.

No such luck this time. If you have tickets to the hoops game you have to make a choice. No commercial flight that comfortably leaves after the football game (ending at 2:30 or 3) gets you back to Tucson in time for tipoff at 8. So unless you leave the bowl early or you’ve got a charter flight you can’t see both in person.

I don’t have basketball tickets so I’m going to Albuquerque. The tricky part is I have family commitments that require I get back Saturday night. I booked a flight into Phoenix that will let me see the entire football game with plenty of time to spare and then – theoretically – land in time to watch the basketball game at the airport before driving back to Tucson.

This isn’t a Who’s a “better fan”? thing. I don’t play that game. Real life often gets in the way of our sports fun and we all support our teams the best we can.

If you’re going to the basketball game, cheer like crazy. If you can’t make either contest, hey, that’s one heck of a Wildcat sports-watching Saturday.

A huge day for the Cats is fast approaching so get ready (and be extra nice to your boss).

- – - – -

Scott Terrell is at the mercy of the airlines. Dream of on-time departures on Twitter and Facebook.

The ASU defense forced Matt Scott into one too many turnovers.
Photo by Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Ah, rivalry games.

They really are a season unto themselves. The 2012 Arizona Wildcats football season is absolutely a success considering the preseason expectations and the year could look even better with a bowl victory next month. But Friday’s loss to Arizona State will be another one of those head-shaking defeats that lives on in fans minds.

For UA coach Rich Rodriguez it was his first taste of the unpredictability that is the Territorial Cup but it was a rivalry game result that he has known too well in recent years.

In his post-game press conference RichRod was asked what most disappointed him about the game. He scoffed, looked away, muttered, “Wow!” before facing forward and giving his gruff answer:

“We lost!”

That’s it. It’s all that matters in any game but the bottom line is especially rigid in rivalry showdowns. Wildcat players and fans certainly aren’t happy about losing two of three to the Sun Devils, but Rodriguez has now lost five straight rivalry games spanning three jobs.

Rich Rodriguez’s Last 5 Rivalry Games

The first one on the list is the one that started all the transition in RichRod’s professional life. If the Mountaineers had won that game they would have played for the national championship which would have made it less likely Rodriguez leaves for Michigan which would have eliminated any chance he ends up in Tucson.

While it has been a while since RichRod got to enjoy the good side of local bragging rights, his resume shows that if he gets things going, he’s going to make the other guy suffer. During Rodriguez’s peak run at West Virginia he beat Pitt four out of five years and the average margin of victory in those wins was 20 points.

“We lost!”

It’ll be a fire that burns in this program for the next 12 months.

* * *

The Arizona defense started the game exceptionally well, forcing punts on ASU’s first four possessions. It was the Wildcat offense that struggled, only able to turn those stops into six points. And why six? Because of a missed extra point. That’s right, John Bonano, who had made 74-of-74 career PATs, missed. Against ASU.

Ah, rivalry games.

Arizona ended up with more yards (522 to 460), including almost 300 on the ground, and committed just one penalty. Even after the first two interceptions the Cats were able to take a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter.

Then there was the flurry of activity that had the Arizona Stadium crowd going from comfortable to concerned to panicking in what felt like three minutes.

The obvious turning point was the Matt Scott fumble in the middle of the final period but the tide started shifting two possessions earlier. The Cats had just gotten the Garic Wharton circus catch and Bonano’s sly two-point conversion to take their first second-half lead. On ASU’s next snap the Wildcats recovered a fumble and set up shop on the Sun Devil 24. Three plays later it was 1st-and-goal at the 2. Sparky was quaking in his tights.

But then Daniel Jenkins lost yards on two straight runs, Scott threw an incomplete pass and the Wildcats had to settle for a field goal. Would they have been able to punch it in if Ka’Deem Carey was available? Are things different from that point with a 14-point lead?

The victors get the hardware and the year of boasting. The losers get the what-ifs.

You only need to have been a Wildcat fan for three years to say this isn’t the most painful Territorial Cup loss but it’s always frustrating to know the Sun Devils are doing the “Two Hoe Rock” in the visitors’ locker room.

I have my own personal rivalry slump. The Cats are 1-4 in the last five Territorial Cup games I’ve witnessed from the stands and 2-0 in that span with me sitting at home. If you see me making plans to go to Tempe next year you may want to let the air out of my tires.

* * *

Turning the page. The Wildcats have one more football game this year. When and where will it be? Let’s look at how the possibilities have changed since last week. Assumpitons:

• Oregon (11-1), Stanford (10-2), UCLA (9-3), Oregon State (8-3) and USC (7-5) will all be selected before Arizona. For the sake of this exercise we’ll call them the Fit Four and Overhyped One.
• Oregon will receive an at-large bid to a BCS bowl.

That fills the Pac-12’s contracted bowls from the Rose down to the Sun. Here are Arizona’s slimmed down bowl scenarios from best case to worst:

Las Vegas Bowl – Sat. Dec. 22
The reasoning: Vegas decides it wants Boise State from the Mountain West. The bowl committee really wants a team from the neighboring state of Arizona but it prefers to avoid a rematch of last year’s game so they take the UA.

Fight Hunger Bowl – Sat. Dec. 29
The reasoning: The people of the Bay love the story of RichRod overachieving in his first year back. They want the nation’s leading rusher and the team that beat USC and Oklahoma State and took Stanford to the wire.
The reality: On paper this is actually a less likely destination for Arizona than Vegas. If San Francisco has a choice between ASU and UA it’ll take ASU for the head-to-head win and better conference record. If the options are Washington or Arizona the Hunger Game will most likely take the closer team.

New Mexico Bowl – Sat. Dec. 15
The reasoning: Albuquerque takes the only eligible Pac-12 team left.

The bowl possibilities aren’t as bountiful as they would’ve been if Arizona had finished with an 8-4 record but they’re much better than those of last year’s 4-8.

Keep your Saturdays free in December.

- – - – -

Scott Terrell is still happy to be going bowling. Join the travel party on Twitter and Facebook.

A packed ZonaZoo. Not pictured: The 4th quarter.
Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

You’ve heard it at every Arizona Wildcats football game this year. You’ve probably said it yourself.

Where are the students?

Attendance has been light all year and by the time the fourth quarter rolls around the ZonaZoo has often resembled a petting zoo. What needs to be done to fill up the student section again?

Bring back the fun. Bring back rushing the field.

Early in the Mike Stoops era the students were indeed zoo-like. The section was crammed with 10,000 energetic bodies and the noise was deafening. The tighter the game, the louder it got and if the Cats pulled off the win you knew what was coming next.

The Zoo is on the field!

Oh, what a sight it was. A sea of red at Arizona Stadium. Rushing the field became so synonymous with the ZonaZoo that you can still see it in Pac-12 Network promos. But then it went away. More specifically, it was taken away.

A five-foot concrete wall was built in front of the student section before the 2010 season, making it an eight-to-10 foot drop down to field level onto more concrete. Add in the noticeably larger police and security presence and field rushing wasn’t just slowed, it was eliminated. The Zoo had been caged.

I understand the safety and liability concerns but pouring out of the stands is a part of college football. When you don’t see any fans on the field after beating USC at home for the first time since Ka’Deem Carey was six years old, the pendulum has swung too far the other way.

No student is going to say, “I leave games early or don’t come at all because I can’t rush the field,” but you will hear, “I had other things to do.” Translation: “I was doing something I thought was more fun.”

It’s really simple. If college kids aren’t studying they want to be having fun. More fun equals more students.

What’s the most fun you can have at a college football game? Besides an attractive classmate falling into your lap? Students want to get on TV and rush the field after a big win.

Celebrating on the turf with fans and players is the one part of the game day experience that can’t be mimicked with high definition TVs. You don’t get to be a part of it unless you are in the stadium and you miss out if you’re not there until the very end.

This is not to take anything away from the students who have stayed four quarters every game this year. They are the football fanatics and they do a great job supporting their team. I wish there were 10,000 student die-hards but there aren’t.

In order to attract (and keep) the casual fans you have to provide them with something extra and the possibility of rushing the field is it. The time has come to bring it back.

It reminds you of another barrier in history that kept people from freedom and a powerful call for change.

(Photo illustration by RC)

Greg Byrne has done a tremendous job since taking over as athletic director at Arizona. The Wildcat Walk and new scoreboard have brought football fans closer to the game. The baseball team’s move to Hi Corbett Field paid immediate dividends. I’m completely on board with Rich Rodriguez and seeing where he can take this thing.

RichRod has already had some big wins at Arizona. He’s going to have bigger ones. Let the ZonaZoo celebrate them in the biggest way possible.

Now, I’m not calling for complete chaos. As we discussed before, there should be selective field-rushing. Wins over bad teams don’t count. Wins with nothing at stake don’t cut it. And anyone leaving the stands before the game is over should be strapped to the bleachers and forced to watch the entire 2003 season. But fan false starts have been a part of Arizona Football for at least 20 years.

Byrne and Rodriguez have the longest-suffering Wildcat fans dreaming big again. You can imagine a time when the Wildcats clinch a Pac-12 South championship at home. Close your eyes and think about it. What do you see?

Exuberance. Overwhelming pride from the alumni. And the ZonaZoo rushing the field.

Mr. Byrne, the fun is in your court. I know you had valid reasons for containing the student section and you probably feel you can’t tear down the wall.

But if you want a packed student section again, at least put in a gate.

- – - – -

Scott Terrell has been known to rush a field or two. Sound the call for freedom on Twitter and Facebook.

Ka’Deem Carey may have to start paying property tax on the end zone.
Photo by Rick Scuteri-US PRESSWIRE

You know what helps ease the pain of giving up 66 points?

Gaining 366 yards.

Ka’Deem Carey absolutely bludgeoned the Arizona Football record book with his 366 rushing yards, 400 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns against Colorado. The sophomore from Tucson also claimed a couple Pac-12 records and even left his mark in the NCAA annals.

And, oh, by the way, the Wildcats won for the sixth time in 2012 to become eligible for a bowl game with two weeks to spare.

I don’t want to hear anybody saying it was “only Colorado.” Did you know Arizona had a 1-13 all-time record against the Buffs before Saturday? It had been 26 years since the UA beat this program. And you remember last year, right?

Carey’s career high coming into the game was 172 rushing yards against Washington. He more than doubled it against CU.

No, the quality of opponent does nothing to detract from this performance. Ka’Dream and his offensive line deserve full credit for making sure this game against Colorado is one we’ll never forget.

Read on for the updated NCAA, Pac-12 and Arizona record books!

* * *

Six wins! Six wins!

Don’t miss the opportunity to fully enjoy Arizona’s bowl eligibility. Last year wasn’t fun and you never know what the future holds. The Cats will be in the postseason for the fourth time in five years, the second-best stretch in school history behind the five bowls in six seasons from 1989-1994.

Yes, technically a 6-6 team could get left out but I agree with the projections that have room for nine Pac-12 bowl teams if ASU and Utah both get to six wins. Thanks, Big Ten Leaders (in Sanctions) division!

While it would be cool to see your team play in a bowl in a different part of the country you’ll really strain your fan base’s travel budget if you end up in a place like Shreveport or D.C., so it’s better to keep winning and ensure you play out west.

Speaking of winning, Rich Rodriguez now has the most victories by a first-year Arizona head coach since the school joined the Pac-10. With three games left, RichRod still has a shot at the all-time mark:

Most Wins by an Arizona Football Coach in His First Season

.
* * *

Here are all the records and lists that had to be rewritten due to one Ka’Deem Carey:

NCAA – FBS RECORD

Most Rushing Yards, Game

.

PAC-12 RECORDS

Most Rushing Yards, Game

.

Most Rushing Touchdowns, Game

.

ARIZONA RECORDS

Most Rushing Yards, Game

.

Most Rushing Yards, Season

.

Most Rushing Touchdowns, Game

.

Most Rushing Touchdowns, Season

.

Most Rushing Touchdowns, Career

.

Most All-Purpose Yards, Game

.

Most All-Purpose Touchdowns, Game

.

Most All-Purpose Touchdowns, Season

- – - – -

Scott Terrell has tabled the conversation. Set some records on Twitter and Facebook.

There will not be a second photo opportunity in 2012.
Photo by Andrew Fielding-US PRESSWIRE

So were you really in love?

That’s what determines how much it hurts after a breakup. Was it a serious relationship that had long-term potential or were you still in the getting-to-know-each-other phase?

The Arizona Wildcats and their fans had a short fling with the concept of a Pac-12 South championship. That relationship came to an embarrassing end at UCLA and the UA may be looking for a new dance partner without its starting quarterback.

Some fans will say they weren’t that into it from the start, that they didn’t take the idea of the Cats running the table seriously, and that’s fine. Some, however, fell head over heels after the USC win and thought, This is the one! Those are the UA fans that will have the hardest time moving past this and getting up for the remaining games.

Me? I was somewhere in the middle. I’m not going to apologize for digging into scenarios that would’ve put Arizona in the Pac-12 Championship Game or beyond. The buildup to the UCLA game was a lot of fun. I’d much rather have things play out exactly like they did as opposed to squeaking by Washington, losing to USC and having a “respectable” loss in Pasadena with nothing at stake.

The stakes have been lowered but there’s still a big milestone right in front of this team. Arizona needs one more win to become bowl eligible so all the focus now needs to be on Colorado. That’s not just a sports cliché because the UA’s worst-case scenario came true with Matt Scott’s injury. We got a glimpse of Life After MARS and it wasn’t pretty.

(Obviously the Hank Hobson scare was the biggest injury. It’s great to hear he was able to leave the hospital on Sunday and fly back to Tucson. But in terms of the rest of this season, Scott taking a knee to the head was a bigger blow than any of UCLA’s 66 points.)

The Wildcats are currently 10th in the nation in total offense. How far does that drop with B.J. Denker, Richard Morrison or even Javelle Allen playing quarterback? I expect those of us in Saturday’s homecoming crowd to find out.

Colorado is 115th out of 120 FBS teams in total defense. But you know who is below CU, allowing 0.67 more yards per game than the Buffaloes? Arizona. I expect Colorado to have a very enthusiastic week of practice.

The Wildcats will be looking to hold onto the hunger after a hefty dose of humility.

Mike Stoops’ rebuilding job gave this program two chances to play as a contender, two opportunities to face the big boys as a peer. In both instances – the 2009 GameDay showdown with Oregon and the 2010 top-15 clash with Stanford – the Cats came up short and it was soon determined Stoops and Arizona Football had irreconcilable differences.

The results of Rich Rodriguez’s first UA game with contender status were shockingly poor. Perhaps when it’s all said and done we’ll look back at this team and see it had no business being on that battle-for-first-place date, like a regular Joe somehow finding himself at dinner with a beauty queen. If that’s the case this year’s wins will be held in higher esteem and the upset of USC will far outweigh the UCLA loss. Or maybe these Cats have three more wins in them and we’ll look back at “L.A. Nights” and wonder what might have been.

Either way I don’t believe for a minute this will be the last time RichRod has Arizona playing a high-stakes game in November, and I expect the program to be ready the next time. It’ll take a lot of work in the weight room, possibly a wardrobe enhancement and definitely a boost to the bank account, but when that next shot at a dream date comes along the Wildcats will be far more charming.

And maybe, just maybe, they’ll be able to seal the deal.

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Scott Terrell is here if you need an Arizona Football shoulder to cry on. Feel the love on Twitter and Facebook.

Matt Scott has fond memories of playing UCLA on the road.
Photo by Kelvin Kuo-US PRESSWIRE

All season long Rich Rodriguez has talked to his team about becoming relevant. To do that, he preached, you have to beat ranked teams. You have to become a ranked team.

By defeating USC the Arizona Wildcats jumped beyond relevant. This week the UA plays as a contender.

RichRod and his fightin’ Cats are working hard to change the way UA football fans view their program. This is a week to embrace that change.

TWit-Pac is stepping past bowl projections and going all-in with a breakdown of who to root for to give the Cats a shot at reaching the Promised Land without even having to beat Oregon.

But first, the initial TV schedule of November (all times Arizona/Pacific):

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A quick look at the bowl bubble:

Look who has moved up to the Bubble In line. Funny what beating USC does for your outlook. On the other end of the spectrum, Cal’s bowl chances are on life support after losing to Utah, and Colorado is officially flat-lining.

Now for your pro-Arizona rooting guide:

Washington (4-4 / 2-3) at Cal (3-6 / 2-4)
The Huskies got a much-needed win last week but they have only scored 89 points in five conference games. How bad is that? It’s just three points better than Colorado.

Who do Wildcat fans want to win?
Washington. Go Strength of Schedule!

Stanford (6-2 / 4-1) at Colorado (1-7 / 1-4)
The Cardinal isn’t nearly as strong as last year but Stanford eeked out its fourth one-score win last week (and both its losses were by one score). This will not be a one-score game.

Who do Wildcat fans want to win?
Colorado. A loss to the Buffs would torpedo Stanford’s computer rankings and give Arizona a better chance to leapfrog the Cardinal. But don’t waste a lot of your rooting power on this one.

WSU (2-6 / 0-5) at Utah (3-5 / 1-4)
With a big win against Cal, Utah snapped its losing streak to enhance its chances of extending its Pac-12-best bowl streak to ten years.

Who do Wildcat fans want to win?
WSU. When the Cats travel to Salt Lake City in two weeks it would be preferable to face a group of demoralized Utes.

Oregon (8-0 / 5-0) at USC (6-2 / 4-2)
If you want a reason to pick against the Ducks there’s the note from last week that still holds true: Thrashing Colorado doesn’t prepare you to beat anyone else.

Who do Wildcat fans want to win?
Oregon. This is the biggest one besides Arizona’s own game. The UA needs USC to lose once more and it needs to happen now because the Trojans’ remaining conference games are against ASU and UCLA. Both L.A. teams need to lose at home this weekend to keep the Cats’ dream alive.

ARIZONA (5-3 / 2-3) at UCLA (6-2 / 3-2)
The Bruins’ Pac-12 wins are against Colorado, Utah and ASU, and UCLA lost to Cal. The Bruins’ best win remains the non-conference victory over a Nebraska team that has gone 5-1 since losing in Pasadena.

ASU (5-3 / 3-2) at OSU (6-1 / 4-1)
The Beavers went from undefeated media darlings to a team suddenly trying to navigate through a quarterback controversy. ASU is trying to avoid another autumn fall.

Who do Wildcat fans want to win?
OSU. If you follow the script, you want the Beavers to lose a couple more games to ensure dropping behind Arizona in the BCS standings. However, Oregon State still plays Stanford and Oregon so it’s safe to root for them to continue ASU’s tailspin this week.

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There’s this one chart that needs updating:

Arizona’s Most Recent Home Win Against Pac-10 Opponents

Much better.

I won’t post all the numbers because it’s a broken record at this point, but Arizona has now put up the most yards and points against the 2012 defenses of Oregon State, Stanford, Washington and USC.

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UCLA will be debuting new uniforms Saturday night. Maybe they’ll work out as well as Arizona’s copper helmets.

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I know some will say What are you doing? Pac-12 South championship scenarios?? Are you trying to douse the hot streak?!?

This is part of the rehabilitation process. Haven’t we been told to Think Arizona all season? Didn’t RichRod say, “Why not Arizona?” the minute he got here?

UCLA is a dangerous team and Arizona still doesn’t have any road wins so, yes, the Nose Hole dream could easily vanish this Saturday. But it’s been three years since the Cats had a dream this late in the season. Enjoy it.

Why Not Think Arizona?

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Scott Terrell is wearing his optimistic red hat. Get positive on Twitter and Facebook.

Arizona stood up to USC. Can Wildcat fans now stand tall?
Photo by Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

Hello, my name is Scott and I’m an Arizona Football fan.

I knew when Ka’Deem Carey’s first-quarter touchdown run was called back the Wildcats would settle for a field goal. I knew when John Bonano’s second-quarter field goal was called back the retry would be missed. I knew Arizona wouldn’t be able to run out the clock with the lead. And I was right.

I also knew USC would run away with it after taking a 15-point lead. I knew the UA would not build a two-score lead in the fourth quarter. I knew the Cats would find a way to finish off another agonizing defeat. But I was very wrong.

The rehabilitation of wounded Wildcat fans has begun under the watchful eye of Dr. Richard A. Rodriguez.

You can’t blame long-time followers of UA football for expecting the worst. You can understand the collective dread. It’s like Pavlov’s dogs but with missed extra points.

Fumbling while running out the clock. Losing to a 1-8 team at home. Losing on an interception that hit the ground. Losing by throwing two passes on the same play. And that was just under the previous coach.

You want gut-wrenching defeats with history on the line? How about blowing a 20-point lead against Cal in 1993? Or falling 10-9 to Oregon a year later. Do you prefer epic collapses? There’s always the Snafu of ’72.

It takes a lot of work to go 76 years without an outright conference championship. To put it simply: Arizona Football has historically found a way to lose and Wildcat gridiron fans expect it to happen.

Are things now changing? Good stuff is happening in spite of the doubt. Records are falling and another long-time bully just left Tucson with a black eye. Arizona won consecutive games against the two best returning quarterbacks in the Pac-12 because it turns out the best returning QB plays for Arizona.

Is it finally safe to get optimistic?

Two weeks ago there was legitimate fear that RichRod would start 0-6 in conference play. Now the Wildcats are one more good weekend away from becoming the favorite to win the Pac-12 South.

The UCLA game is a crossroads and it’s not the kind we’re used to. Usually the sign says If the Cats lose this game the season is toast. Now it’s If the Cats win this a big fat opportunity smacks them in the face.

Lose and the goal returns to going to a bowl game and posting a winning record, which would still be a fine debut season for RichRod. But…if they win in L.A.? You won’t be able to hide from the possibilities anymore.

And, oh, what possibilities.

Consider this: Arizona wins out. USC, Stanford and Oregon State lose to Oregon. Arizona is competitive in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Arizona, currently No. 22 in the BCS standings, moves into the top 14 (Baylor and Oklahoma both finished in the top 14 with only nine wins last year). Oregon plays for the national championship. Arizona is selected to play in…I still can’t type it…the Nose Hole.

What on that list looks impossible after what we witnessed the last two weeks? Are we past counting out Rich Rodriguez and this group of Wildcats? Can we peek around the corner without the fear of getting hit by a bus?

As RichRod said after the USC win, “We’ve got a long way to go. But the process has started.”

The doctor is in.

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Scott Terrell is an Arizona season-ticket holder and he needs help. Support groups are forming on Twitter and Facebook.