UAsports.net

Where’s a Niq Wise senior day rewrite when you need one?

That certainly wasn’t what we had in mind. The Cats scored the first basket on Thursday then never led again. The game looked a lot like last week’s UCLA game for the first 27 minutes but there was no McKale crowd (and Kyle Fogg 3s) to turn things around.

Our young team gave us one last memory of inconsistency. How do you get out-rebounded and fail to get back on D every other possession?

Ben Howland had his guys in the perfect defensive position all afternoon. The Bruins knew exactly where Derrick Williams would try to go with the ball when faced with a double-team. They knew which lanes to step into when an Arizona player got caught in the air or trapped on the baseline. Of course, it would help if the Cats didn’t self-trap themselves but that’s a discussion for one of our many offseason days.

And so the moment we’ve been dreading is here. Selection Sunday will come and go without any selecting of the team from Tucson. Will you be able to watch?

Personally, I don’t know what I’m going to do on Sunday. Part of me wants to watch to get some closure and see what we hope Sean Miller is building toward. But I know it’s going to hurt.

The thing is, it’s completely understandable that we don’t know how to react. The last time an Arizona fan went through missing the tournament we weren’t “Arizona.” We were coming off a season with our third coach in three years. Back then “the streak” was the UA missing the tournament seven straight years. This is brand new for all of us.

But life goes on. And so might the games. The streak is over but the season may not be. Yes, an NIT bid is possible and, yes, I want it. I hope the Cats get invited, I hope they accept, and I hope the team plays well. The more games our freshmen play the better.

How funny would it be if ASU just stole our NIT bid when they also lost in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament? Even though I hope the Wildcats’ season continues sometimes you have to give credit where credit is due. ASU and the NIT belong together.

For one sad year, Arizona hopes to join them.

- – - – -

The BatCats bounced back nicely from their rough week. Arizona punctuated its 2-1 series victory over top-25 Cal State Fullerton with a 10-1 victory last Sunday. Daniel Workman went six innings without giving up an earned run to secure his first win of the year and guarantee he’ll be in the starting rotation again this weekend.

Next was the age-old college baseball tradition of warm weather teams beating up on their chilly visitors from the north. This week’s victim was St. Joseph’s as the Cats swept the two games by a combined score of 29-5.

As a result our guys are sporting some gaudy offensive numbers. Arizona is hitting a cool .334 as a team highlighted by five players above .350. The highlights of the highlights are Steve Selsky at .446 with a .492 on-base percentage, and Jett Bandy with his video game .490 average, .559 OBP and .863 slugging percentage.

On deck are the Northern Colorado Bears who sit at 3-5 on the year. The UA looks to build another three games’ worth of momentum before top-25 Wichita State pays a midweek visit.

Game times for the UNC series are 4 p.m. on Friday, 1 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday. The WSU games are Tuesday and Wednesday, both at 6 p.m.

Perhaps on Sunday you can select some baseball and let the ping of leather meeting aluminum sooth your Wildcat soul.

Despite what you may have heard, the Pac-10 will be getting a basketball team in the NCAA tournament this year. That automatic bid will be earned by one very excited team this week.

It’s not going to be Arizona, right? No way a lowly 4-seed wins the tournament…right?

Did you know, since the Pac-10 tournament returned in 2002, a team seeded 4 or worse has won the tournament three times, or just as often as the #1 team has won?

#5 Oregon in 2003, #4 Oregon in 2007, and #6 USC last year. It can be done. It’s just a matter of who’s going to do it.

Here comes TWIT-Pac, Staples style:

Wed. Mar. 10 (all times Arizona/Mountain)

Thu. Mar. 11

Fri. Mar. 12

Sat. Mar. 13

Wed. Mar. 10
#8 Oregon (15-15 / 7-11) vs. #9 WSU (16-14 / 6-12)
With Ernie Kent getting fired is Mike Dunlap going to coach the Ducks, or did he turn that down too?

Thu. Mar. 11
#4 ARIZONA (16-14 / 10-8) vs. #5 UCLA (13-17 / 8-10)
Remember in 2004 when the Cats lost twice to Washington in the regular season and then played a third time in the Pac-10 tournament? Yeah, we lost again. The UA is looking to be the three-peting team this year.

#1 Cal (21-9 / 13-5) vs. the Oregon/WSU winner
Mike Montgomery won one Pac-10 tournament while at Stanford, in 2004 when he was the #1 seed.

#2 ASU (22-9 / 12-6) vs. #7 Stanford (13-17 / 7-11)
The Devils finished second in this tournament last year, playing as the 4-seed.

#3 Washington (21-9 / 11-7) vs. #6 OSU (14-16 / 8-10)
Do the Beavers have one last stink attack in them?

‘Tis the season to survive and advance. Win on Thursday and the dream lives on.

Streak or die.

Now we can talk about the streak.

Twenty-five glorious years. The second-longest NCAA basketball tournament run of all time. And the Arizona Wildcats have a chance to make it 26.

All season long the message has been to let go of the streak and prepare for it to end. I still maintain that was the proper mindset…for the first 30 games of the season.

Now it’s time to give in to four months of built-up anxiety. Arizona’s beloved March Madness streak ends if the Cats lose this week! Dwell on it, obsess about it, and hope our team plays like it.

This week isn’t about foundation-building and long-term thinking. This week Sean Miller needs to do all he can to win three games and get into the Dance.

Whatever it takes. Gimmicks. Tricks. Junk defenses. Hack-a-Boateng. You name it, it should be in play.

The best players get all the minutes they can handle this week. You can develop other players next week. Just win. No excuses. No distractions.

The streak is on life support. But it’s not dead yet.

- – - – -

Nic Wise. Dominique “Niq” Wise. How often do you get four chances at a storybook ending on your senior day after playing for four coaches in four years?

Dribble it off your foot down one at the end of regulation. Miss two free throws up four with 49 seconds left (then your coach draws up the next in-bounds play to get someone else to the line). Miss a jumper at the end of the first overtime. But Niq got his rewrite and the fourth time was the charm for #13.

How does Kyle Fogg go from 0-for-9 against Oregon (and 28% from the field over a five game streatch) to raining seven threes on UCLA and making the most intense three free throws possible against USC? Let’s hope Kyle hasn’t used up his cool guy points.

Note to the McKale Center technical staff: Before next season you may want to adjust the scoreboard closed captioning so it no longer credits the occasional basket to “Bobo Jones.”

You have to bench Jamelle Horne for the UCLA game, don’t you? After floating around for nine rebounds in three games Horne sat for the opening tip last Thursday and responded with 16 boards over the weekend. Mind games should certainly be in play this week.

It took Kevin O’Neill 31 seconds to call his first timeout on Saturday. Ah, the memories.

"And don't get me started on the Gem Show!"
Photo from TucsonCitizen.com

So how much does KO hate the University of Arizona right now? He gets run out of town after being named Lute’s successor, then he takes over at USC after the UA has pillaged his recruiting class. In this game you had the shot clock violation (no way Fogg got that shot off), the three-point foul (hardly ever called), and the game-winner where Wise may or may not have travelled (I don’t think he did). The Tucson Visitors Bureau should probably cross O’Neill off the list of potential spokespeople.

The longest regular season in the past 25 years didn’t want to end but the postseason is finally here. How on earth are the Cats going to win the Pac-10 tournament? I’m glad you asked.

Start stronger.
Arizona has been trailing at the half in each of its last six games (and the margin has been at least five every time).

Attack.
If someone is Fogg-like from beyond the arc, so be it. But don’t launch up three after three while you wait for someone to get hot. Get into the lane and make things happen. Niq and MoMo – a.k.a. Wise and Otherwise – need to keep the pedal down.

Feed the big man.
Derrick Williams is our best offensive player. Give him the ball. I don’t care if they’re playing a zone. Move the ball, dribble-penetrate, and create lanes for #23 to get clean touches.

Big man, feed yourself.
Williams made 63% of his free throws in his first 12 games. It then jumped to 80% over his next 12 games, but now he’s back down to 57% over his past six games. I’ve never heard of a streak free-throw shooter, but it would help a lot to have the good streak come back.

Win on Thursday.
Just don’t lose to UCLA in the first round. Please? If Cal’s big three all hit their shots and you exit in round two, so be it. But don’t kill the 25-year tournament streak by losing to the worst UCLA team since Steve Lavin and his exercise bike were involved.

Bottom line, is it possible? In a word, yes. If you could hand-pick a year to try and steal the Pac-10’s automatic bid this is it. Six of the nine teams in the tournament are 16-14 or worse. This is the time to be thankful for conference mediocrity.

The Wildcats could have quit any number of times this year. But they didn’t. They could have been defeated in each of the past three games. But they weren’t. Now they might end the most impressive achievement in the history of UA athletics.

Might.

TWIT-Pac takes a look at the teams trying to make the NCAA tournament. But first, your Pac-10 TV schedule:

Thu. Mar. 4 (all times Arizona/Mountain)

Sat. Mar. 6

In a couple weeks the Pac-10 will have its reckoning day. After a season as the butt of national jokes the conference will get its final report card. Will only one Pac team make the NCAA tournament while all the others fail?

I truly believe the Cal Bears will get in even if they don’t win the Pac-10 tournament. I know they don’t have any great wins (or even many good ones) but their computer numbers are excellent and they have a big-six regular season championship to wave around. Cal will go dancing.

As for everybody else? It’s not looking good. The question for the Pac-10 this week is how many wins are too many to ignore for an at-large bid?

The two teams in play are Arizona State and Washington. Both can win four more games without winning the automatic bid. Are 24 wins enough when your non-conference schedule looks like it was delivered by a bakery? How about 23 wins when 17 of them were served up with home cooking?

Both the Devils and Huskies have an RPI in the 50s which is better than the lowest to ever get an at-large bid (New Mexico at 74 in ’99) and the lowest to get in last year (Your Arizona Wildcats at 62). But last year’s UA team had wins over Kansas, Gonzaga and a ranked UCLA. If you combine ASU and Washington this year you have one home win each against Texas A&M, San Diego State and an unranked Cal. The only jobs you could get with resumes like that involve asking, “For here or to go?”

Can we vote for “None of the Above”?
Photo by David Wallace, The Arizona Republic

The problem for Arizona fans is we don’t particularly want anybody getting an at-large bid since neither of the bubble teams is very likeable. Do we really want Venoy Overton and his “What, me foul?” attitude bumping and whining on a national stage? (Stat of the week: Overton has had more fouls than assists 13 different times this year.) And most Wildcat fans would rather ship one of their kids to Dnipropetrovsk than have anything good happen to the Sun Devils.

So, no, if the Cats can’t steal the automatic bid, the embarrassment of only having one Pac-10 team make the field wouldn’t be hard to get over.

Thu. Mar. 4
USC (16-12 / 8-8) at ASU (20-9 / 10-6)
This is the first of three chances for the Devils’ last Pac-10 co-championship balloon to pop. I think we’re all going to be Kevin O’Neill fans Thursday night.

Washington (19-9 / 9-7) at Oregon (14-14 / 6-10)
What’s more shocking: UW winning two straight on the road, or UO winning two straight, period?

WSU (16-12 / 6-10) at OSU (13-15 / 7-9)
OSU just locked up Coach Craig Robinson through 2016. And why shouldn’t they after the President-in-law’s 31-win season? Oh wait, no, that’s his two-year total. But, hey, if the Beavers could play Arizona, Oregon and USC over and over they’d be national champs.

UCLA (13-15 / 8-8) at ARIZONA (14-14 / 8-8)
Unless Washington falls apart, this game is just to decide who will wear the white uniforms in the 4 vs. 5 matchup at Staples Center.

Sat. Mar. 6
USC at ARIZONA
Senior Day for Nic Wise. Homecoming for KO. The Trojans’ last game before their self-imposed exile. Quite a few subplots to go with brunch.

UCLA at ASU
UCLA will not have a winning regular season record. I like that a lot.

Cal at Stanford
Cal dropped all the confetti after beating ASU. Are they going to care enough to beat their cross-bay rivals?

Washington at OSU
In Pac-10 play Oregon State has hit 70 points twice. Six more years, Beaver fans!

WSU at Oregon
Two teams. One basement. Who will climb those steps to 9th-place redemption?

As far as the Pac-10 tournament the only seeds locked up are Cal at #1 and USC at #DIV/0! Everyone else is trying to move up the standings to make their long-shot bid at the Big Dance a little less long.

Forward…March!

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?

I was eating some whole wheat crackers at lunch and the box said: “May help reduce the risk of heart disease.” Really? It’s legal to brag about what your product might do? Alright then….

Reading about UA sports may help make you smarter, funnier and downright irresistible.

There. If you find yourself getting some extra attention from your Person of Significance today you’ll know who to thank.

On to the bonus thoughts from the UCLA game!

I appreciated the Wildcats’ ferocious strategy. On Arizona’s third play from scrimmage Delashaun Dean took the handoff, ran toward the UCLA sideline, went out of bounds and “accidentally” dismantled the Bruins’ hydration station. I believe that’s straight out of “The Art of War.”

The official attendance was 53,000 for Stanford and 51,000 for UCLA. Even if that’s true (and the wide shots of the east side stands weren’t pretty) how do you get fewer people after that Stanford game? Too much excitement? Too many wins? Come on, Tucson. Let’s go ahead and wait until the team loses again before we find something better to do on Saturdays.

Seventeen of Nick Foles’ 20 first-half passes were caught. It just so happens that three of them were snagged by the wrong team.

Chuck Cecil! Anyone who gets tired of that replay immediately gets his CatCard revoked.

Averted Turning Point I: After the Cats fumbled on their first snap of the second half UCLA set up shop on the UA 17 in a 10-point game. The defense forced two incomplete passes (including the one that should have been called a lateral/fumble) and successfully defended a screen to keep UCLA out of the end zone. Well done, D.

Keola’s top helmet straps stick out like antennae. Perfect for the Ant.

For the second straight game Matt Scott came in for one play and, just like last time, it was an inaccurate attempt at a WR screen. Are we trying to set something up for later in the year, or is this just to make sure we don’t take Foles for granted?

Watching the replay I noticed Fox Sports Arizona missed a play due to being late coming back from commercials a handful of times. With one fewer down to work with, those of you viewing live must have thought you watching Canadian football.

It’s true, there is someone on campus who can kick the ball into the end zone. Actually, he was already on the team; he just doesn’t have a scholarship. During the bye week you have to see what John Bonano can do as a placekicker, right?

You know how when people talk about needing a touchdown they say, “We gotta get six”? Arizona fans say that because it’s probably all we’re going to end up with.

The Cats had five turnovers against UCLA. We had five in the previous four games combined. I would like to order the offense from OSU/UW/Stanford and the defense from CMU/UCLA. To go.

Averted Turning Point II: After UCLA scored on the lateral/fumble (and I’m fine with the call. It was too close to overturn the ruling on the field) to cut the lead to 20-13, Arizona faced a third and 11 from its own 36. We ran an inside receiver screen to Terrell Turner and he cut it upfield nicely for 17 yards and a first down. The drive ended with Booth’s touchdown and the Bruins never threatened again.

From a wild final quarter filled with big plays, fourth-down drama and two long UA touchdowns, to a placid fourth quarter with zero combined points. Maybe that will whip the ticket-buying public into a frenzy.

Your Arizona Wildcats are now ranked in every poll. Is it because of our sterling record? No, 5-2 isn’t earth-shattering. Was it due to an impossible-to-ignore victory? Nah, UCLA is winless in conference play. So what changed? I guarantee the voters saw the UA listed among the BCS Top 25 all week and thought, “Wait, Arizona is ranked? I didn’t vote for them. I’ll have to change that so I don’t look like an idiot.” Sometimes peer pressure is a good thing.

Enjoy the bye week and soak in those rankings. Sometimes no pressure is a great thing.

Don’t you dare complain about this game.

“The Cats should’ve won by 30,” you say. I don’t want to hear it. “Should’ve won by more” is far superior to “Should’ve won.” You know what they say:

‘Tis better to have stunk and won
Than never to have won at all.

We knew the letdown was coming. If you have been following this program for any length of time you can rattle off countless examples of games where the Cats played down to the level of their completion. The same was true this weekend. But something strange happened.

The Wildcats won anyway.

The game script was looking straight out of our Arizona Football nightmares. When you play a team with a bad offense there are three things you want to avoid: Turning the ball over, giving the other team a short field, and yielding defensive or special teams touchdowns. We suffered through the ugly trifecta…and still won by two touchdowns.

The secret to Arizona’s success the last couple weeks has been the equivalent of keeping the president and vice-president on separate planes. As long as only one goes down in flames the country survives.

One-ply defense against Stanford? Don’t worry, we’ve got 43 points waiting. Butterfinger O versus the Bruins? Fear not, we’ll shut the UCLA offense out of the end zone.

I don’t care how bad UCLA’s quarterback was (or their next one, or the one after that). It was good to see the Cat defense looking fast again. I loved the caboose blitz where Cam Nelson followed Xavier Kelley through the same hole and leveled the quarterback. (I have no idea what it’s really called but doesn’t using cryptic lingo make it sound like I know what I’m talking about?)

Uniform fun fact of the week: Arizona is 3-0 when wearing red jerseys and blue pants against UCLA and 1-3 when wearing them against anyone else.

Uniform unfun fact of the week: Every time Arizona wears red Nick Foles throws three interceptions in the first half.

So there goes the Heisman. You figured Foles would come back to earth at some point and he did it with style. Nick had a direct hand in all five turnovers (although Nwoko was officially credited with the one fumble) that led to all 13 of UCLA’s points. But if a horrible game still looks like completing 65% of your passes and throwing two TDs, you’ve got to be excited about the future.

Bad: Nic Grigsby running to avoid contact and re-aggravating his shoulder injury anyway. Good: Keola Antolin getting 17 touches and looking sharp.

Speaking of looking sharp, Foles and Antolin might just be the hairiest backfield in the nation. Put in Taimi Tutogi at fullback and we could get Paul Mitchell as a game sponsor.

As we head into our second and final bye week the name of the game is health. They say you can’t overlook anybody in college football but for the next two weeks I hope Arizona does just that. The Cats have to do just that. Instead of spending two weeks preparing for Washington State I hope we spend three weeks preparing for Cal.

What I mean is nobody on the injury report should play against WSU. Start Nick Booth at tailback. Play the second-string defensive line. Go deep down the O-line depth chart. It’s worth gambling that Wazzu is indeed that bad in order to give the Wildcats the best possible chance to beat the California Golden Bears on November 14.

One could argue it was good that the Arizona offense played poorly this week. The inevitable letdown game is out of the way and the coaches now have plenty of things with which to get the players’ attention during the time off. It’s not like the team is going to spend the next two weeks hearing how great they are.

Offense: Five turnovers, huh?
Defense: I think Stanford just scored again.
Special Teams: THREE missed extra points?!

But you aren’t going to hear me complaining. Yes, I was just as frustrated and nervous as you during the game (Fall on the ball, Terrell!!!) but now that the dust has settled and win #5 is in the books I’m more than satisfied with the big picture.

The Cats are guaranteed to spend the next two weeks in the Top 25. Our next game is against the worst team in the league. All the big dreams are still out there. This was a great weekend for Arizona Football and no one can convince me otherwise.

I can even wait on that Heisman Trophy.

It’s time to find out which teams have made the best half-season adjustments.

Before we get to the roots it’s a good time to take a look at the Pac-10 bowl picture. Every team but WSU has at least three wins. Seven teams have at least four wins. Apparently there are no volunteers for eighth and ninth place.

With 5-1 records USC and Oregon are locks to make the postseason. So unless one goes 11-1 and the other goes 10-2 and both make BCS bowls, we’re left with four Pac-10 bowl slots for seven teams. Because of the big bunch in the middle it’s becoming clear that six wins isn’t going to cut it this year. Post a winning record or go home.

Cal has both USC and Oregon behind them so their schedule eases up considerably. OSU has UCLA and UW at home plus their WSU game. Stanford has four more home games. The Bears, Beavers and Cardinal seem to be good bets to get to seven wins.

And Arizona? We’ll find out soon enough. On to TWIT-Pac!

Oregon (5-1 / 3-0) at Washington (3-4 / 2-2) – 12:30 PM (all times Arizona/Pacific), ABC
Washington has proven to be tough at home and the Ducks have a certain Trojan team coming to town next week. Uh-oh…

Who do we root for?
UW. If you want to be the best you have to beat the best, or have someone else beat the best for you.

WSU (1-5 / 0-4) at Cal (4-2 / 1-2) – 1:30 PM
Jahvid Best had a 93-yard run last week. The Cougars may find a way to give up a 110-yarder this week.

Who do we root for?
WSU. Just because.

UCLA (3-3 / 0-3) at ARIZONA (4-2 / 2-1) – 3:30 PM, FSNAZ
The Cats are coming off a big win and the Bruins are sliding, which is precisely why I’m nervous about this game.

Who do we root for?
Your Top-25 Wildcats. More on this game in a bit.

OSU (4-2 / 2-1) at USC (5-1 / 2-1) – 5 PM, ABC
The Beavers pulled off the upset last year but they’ll find the going a wee bit tougher in L.A.

Who do we root for?
OSU. I don’t care who’s undefeated. The Trojans are the team to beat in this league until they get beat again.

ASU (4-2 / 2-1) at Stanford (4-3 / 3-2) – 7:15 PM, FSN
Both teams had a chance at buzzer-beater wins last week. The Devils made their shot while the Cardinal hopes to rebound.

Who do we root for?
Stanford. ASU knocked off a bowl contender last year. They can go back to losing now.

As you can see, the above assumes the Cats are going to stay in the conference race a bit longer. Again, if you think the UA is a lot closer to sixth place than first place, that’s fine. If you just want to focus on securing a bowl bid and nothing else, root for Oregon and USC to knock a couple bowl wannabes a step closer to elimination. I know that high hopes and Arizona Football don’t usually mix.

But I’m going to mix them, at least for now. Just for fun, here are the only teams that still control their own destiny for the Rose Bowl: Oregon, USC and…Arizona.

That means we have to beat UCLA.

A thrilling comeback win, a national ranking, a Player of the Week award and national recognition for our quarterback. Things seem to be going pretty well for the Wildcats, don’t they?

That’s when longtime Cat fans get anxious. Even if your UA fandom only covers the Mike Stoops era you know that a loss can pop up from anywhere, any time. The Cats have lost to a four-win team each of the last two years. A .500 UCLA squad has no reason to be intimidated.

When you get to your seat on Saturday, buckle up. Prepare for a close game. Expect points to be harder to come by. Remember, the Bruins played Oregon to a 3-0 halftime lead just two weeks ago.

It could come down to which unit stinks less, the UCLA offense or the UA defense. Can the Cats avoid giving up the big plays that have plagued them in recent weeks? Can the Bruins score more than two touchdowns for the first time in Pac-10 play?

Arizona fans are still trying to figure out if this team is any good. We can’t get a Yes for a few more weeks, but we can get a big fat No this weekend.

Are we ready? Is this the week our program finally builds some sustainable momentum?

Maybe.

I hope you’ve got your health insurance up to date.

The Arizona football season is only half finished.

Three Pac-10 games, three games packed with stress to the final gun. Forget the injured players; are the fans going to survive the season?

Not only did the Cats stay close enough to get your hopes up, not only did they take a late lead on an improbable run, not only did they let Stanford fly down the field for what would have been a game-losing touchdown, but on top of all that the officials took what seemed like an hour to figure out how much time went off the clock on an incomplete pass to set up 3rd-and-10. As the seconds went by the blood pressure went up. Are they trying to torture us?

I know we should be happy with a win any way it comes, but I’m up for a nice blowout victory any time now.

It’s not going to happen against UCLA. Don’t you try and talk yourself into it. No. I don’t want to hear it. The Bruins just posted their highest point total in six weeks and Norm Chow is going to be salivating as he watches game film this week.

I fully expect another close game on Saturday. I am already preparing for another ending that will trigger a prescription spike in Southern Arizona.

Don’t fall into the what-if trap. We The People are funny that way. Fan math says you earned every win you got and you should have won all the close losses. Remember how we turned 3-8 into 5-6 after the Wisconsin and WSU losses in 2004? What did that get us? 3-8 in 2005.

This is our team. We have a quarterback who makes all things seem possible, and a defense that makes the other team feel the same way.

How bad is it when your QB throws for 400 yards and he isn’t even the game’s top passer? As soon as David Hasselhoff stepped up to the mic we should have known we were going to end up needing CPR.

There was a lot of strategy déjà vu at the end of this one. Stanford found itself in the same position we were in last week: up nine on the road facing fourth down in the red zone. Just like Stoops, Harbaugh elected to push the lead to 12 instead of going for the kill, only Stanford’s kicker missed.

That had to factor into Harbaugh’s thinking when confronted with the 4th-and-2 from the UA 8 and the lead down to two. Interestingly enough, Stanford was now playing the role of Arizona in last year’s game. Kick the field goal – which is what Stoops did last year – and you avoid losing by a field goal but you leave open the possibility of getting beat by a touchdown – which…you know.

Because of that I can understand why Harbaugh went for it. A two-possession game with five minutes left probably ices the win. He was playing to win the game right there. I get that.

But calling a passing play? Arizona thanks you, Jim. I know Gerhart was hurt, but you had been just killing us with that seven-lineman formation in short-yardage situations. Your #2 running back couldn’t run through one of those massive holes?

Add in declining to put the ball on the 40 after the kickoff out of bounds (dusting off a rule I didn’t even know still existed), and taking a delay-of-game after a timeout with less than a minute to play, and…I’m just glad it happened to someone else for a change.

Those of you watching the game on TV, were you ready for it? After Nwoko’s run made it 38-36 you knew it was coming, and the Versus stat team did not disappoint. “Arizona is 2-16 in its last 18 games decided by three points or less.”

The funny part is, by scoring a touchdown instead of a field goal this win doesn’t even count against that stat. For the record, Mike Stoops is now 3-1 in games decided by four to six points. He’s undefeated in games decided by exactly five points. I have no idea what that means.

Three points, five points, thirty-five points, a win is a win for this team. We’re right where we wanted to be at the halfway mark: 4-2 record, 3-0 at home and…ranked in the BCS standings?

Wow. That came out of nowhere. From barely getting votes in the human polls to #22 in the official standings after the computer polls are factored in. Thank you, Iowa and Central Michigan! It doesn’t help gain one yard against UCLA but, hey, at least it makes it easier to find Arizona on the scoreboard all week.

I hope your doctor’s phone number is just as easy to find…

The Wildcats play again this week.