Mike Stoops is 40-43 in his seventh season at Arizona. Photo by Chris Morrison, US-PRESSWIRE

The University of Miami is still in pursuit of former NFL coach Jon Gruden to replace the fired Randy Shannon as its football coach, but Arizona’s Mike Stoops is among the reported fallback candidates.

The Miami Herald reported that Gruden is the Hurricanes’ top priority. According to the story:

Meanwhile, UM has put together a list of other candidates that it has interest in if Gruden says no. That list includes Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen, Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh, Connecticut’s Randy Edsall, Utah’s Kyle Whittingham and Arizona’s Mike Stoops, plus at least two others names, sources said.

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A little bonus for Arizona basketball fans this weekend: Wildcat great Steve Kerr will be helping call Sunday’s game against Oklahoma for the national telecast on Fox Sports Net.

Kerr will be working with play-by-play man Steve Physioc. The game begins at 2 p.m. at McKale Center.

Kerr, who stepped down as the general manager of the Phoenix Suns after last season, will work two other games for FSN: UCLA at USC on Jan. 9, and Arizona State at Arizona on Jan. 15.

In other Kerr-related news …

Nice story in the San Diego Union Tribune on Kerr and his son, Nick, who is a senior at Torrey Pines High School. Nick — naturally, an excellent shooter, will be attending the University of San Diego.

“I want to look like that,” Nick said of his dad’s form. “His shot was incredible. That’s what I’m trying to get to. He shot 56 percent as a senior in college. That’s just incredible.”

You can also see Steve in Arizona’s intro video that is played at McKale Center, although this is the original version, not the version that was updated after the first game to splice in Derrick Williams’ over-the-head one-handed dunk.

Eben Britton will be cheering from the Arizona sideline Thursday night. Photo by Fernando Medina-US PRESSWIRE

Former Arizona Wildcats offensive tackle Eben Britton has no need to hold back how he feels about Arizona State.

“We hate those guys,” Britton said Monday. “There are no ifs, ands or buts about it.”

Britton, who left after his junior season and was a second-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2009, is in town this week to watch the Territorial Cup showdown between Arizona and ASU. Britton, the Jags’ starting right tackle, suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in late October.

He was wandering the halls of McKale Center on Monday morning when he got pulled into Arizona’s weekly interview session with coach Mike Stoops and selected players.

“It’s bitter, man,” he said of the rivalry. “As a young guy, you come in and you don’t really understand that hatred.”

It takes only one time.

“It’s a lot of fun to play those guys,” Britton said. “It gets nasty. Especially in the trenches. That’s what it’s all about.”

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Alex Zendejas doesn't figure to do more finger-pointing any time soon. (ESPN3 screenshot)

Arizona Wildcats kicker Alex Zendejas was iced — twice — and he didn’t think that was so nice.

Oregon coach Chip Kelly called two timeouts at the end of the first half as Zendejas lined up to kick a 29-yard field goal last Friday night at Autzen Stadium.

It’s certainly not an out-of-line strategy. It’s something coaches do on a weekly basis all across the country, playing a little mind game with the kicker, making him wait, making him think about it.

After the delay, Zendejas booted the ball through the uprights for a 19-14 lead, but then he turned and pointed at Kelly on the Oregon sideline as he was leaving the field — an unusually brash move, especially for a kicker.

“It was kind of disrespectful,” Zendejas said after Sunday night’s practice, talking about his gesture.

“I wouldn’t do it again, to be honest with you. … I don’t think he is going to hear this, but I apologize for doing that, Coach.”

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ASU quarterback Brock Osweiler strikes the Heisman pose (in reverse) as he runs against UCLA on Friday. Photo by Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

Arizona State will have a new starting quarterback for Thursday night’s game at Arizona.

Sun Devils coach Dennis Erickson said Saturday that sophomore Brock Osweiler would get the call after an excellent relief effort against UCLA. Osweiler came in for ASU’s third possession after Steven Threet suffered a concussion.

ASU trailed 10-0 at the time, and would fall behind 17-0, but Arizona State dominated the rest of the way, winning 55-34. Osweiler completed 27 of 36 passes for 380 yards and four touchdowns, without an interception.

“He was just outstanding,” Erickson said after the game.

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Mike Stoops triumphantly leaves Sun Devil Stadium after last season's last-second win over the Sun Devils. Photo by Mark J. Rebilas, US Presswire

Time to move on to Arizona State. That’s all that is left for Arizona.

The Wildcats entered the month with all their big dreams intact — starting with a Rose Bowl appearance — but three consecutive losses in this back-loaded schedule have put Arizona right where they started the season:

Shooting for an eight-win season and battling it out in the middle of the Pac-10.

That was, pretty much, the target for this team back in the preseason. Things changed, as things do, when the Wildcats beat Iowa and took care of the punier teams on their schedule. There’s nothing wrong with embracing the expectations.

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Nick Foles threw two touchdown passes in the first quarter. Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer-US PRESSWIRE.

Some cumulative errors from Arizona in the second half — and some typically hot Oregon play after halftime — made this game a laugher.

Oregon is the Pac-10 champ for the second consecutive season after beating Arizona 48-29 (which is right on the point spread set by Las Vegas … how do they do it?). Anyway, the Wildcats fall to 7-4, losing their third game in a row.

It’s on to next Thursday night, when Arizona State visits Arizona in the regular-season finale. I’d call that one a toss-up right now. Your thoughts?

* * *

Arizona-Santa Clara basketball game has started. Javier Morales is there in Las Vegas for TucsonCitizen.com and has an in-game blog.

* * *

Arizona safety Adam Hall leaves with an apparent right arm injury.

* * *

Nick Foles has 385 passing yards tonight.

* * *

The UA offense mostly has done its part tonight. It might not matter much, other than to make the final stats look a little glossier, but Nick Foles leads the Wildcats on a six-play, 81-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 32-yard pass to a wide-open David Roberts.

It’s 48-29 with 10:45 left.

If the Cats can recover three on-sides kicks, they might have a chance.

* * *

Not sure why Mike Turner is the primary kick return tonight. Maybe we’ll find out after the game.

* * *

Mike Turner fumbles the kickoff return. Oregon recovers. Game can’t end soon enough. LaMichael James disagrees, though, because he wants to pick up some Heisman votes.

Another TD, LaMichael James.

Oregon leads 48-22. Hard to believe that about 80 minutes ago in real time, Arizona led 19-14.

* * *

Another step toward Oregon-Auburn in national title game. Who do you have?

* * *

Touchdown, LaMichael James. Oregon up 41-22 with 12:46 left. Fun while it lasted?

* * *

Oregon converts on fourth-and-9 from the Arizona 34. Yeah, I’m sticking by the o-v-e-r comment.

* * *

Keenyn Crier shanks a punt to the UA 35 with 14 minutes to play.

It’s not too soon, is it? This one is o-v-e-r.

* * *

Going to the fourth quarter. Arizona has the ball deep in its territory, down 34-22. Not looking good.

* * *

I’m guessing there is no stopping the Ducks now. Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas throws a touchdown pass to D.J. Davis late in the third quarter, and the Ducks now have some breathing room. They lead 34-22 with 36 seconds to go in the quarter.

That’s a 20-point quarter for Oregon.

As far as Arizona is concerned, Thomas = Jeremiah Masoli.

Masoli had six touchdowns (four in regulation) against Arizona last season. Thomas as four, three by passing.

* * *

Tweets AP college football writer Ralph Russo: “Bo Pelini watches Mike Stoops and thinks, ‘That guy needs to chill out.’

* * *

Arizona hanging around. Alex Zendejas hits a 41-yard field goal attempt to cut the deficit to 27-22 with 2:46 to go in the third quarter. The defense got some rest, too, as the Cats moved down the field.

But if Oregon gets a two-score lead, the panic level increases exponentially.

* * *

Joseph Perkins was out for 13 plays with that leg injury before he returned. So, let’s definitely call that “not faking.”

* * *

Killer. Senior defensive end Ricky Elmore jumps offsides as Oregon misses a 42-yard field goal. The 5-yard penalty gives the Ducks a first down. And two plays later, Darron Thomas keeps for a 20-yard touchdown and a 27-19 lead with 4:44 to go.

Just. Can’t. Happen.

We’re talking about the penalty there, but also the 99-yard drive.

* * *

Ducks do it again on fourth down, picking up the 1-yard conversion as RB Kenjon Barner out-wrestles linebacker Paul Vassallo near midfield. Now, the Cats seems back on their heels a bit as Oregon is trying for a 99-yard drive.

* * *

Free safety Joseph Perkins leaves game with a leg injury. Faking? Doesn’t look like it. Let’s see how true freshman Marquis Flowers does and how long Perkins is out.

* * *

Alex Zendejas, as we wrote about last week, is handling pooch punting duties in place of Keenyn Crier. “He’s really good at it,” special teams coach Jeff Hammerschmidt told me last week about Zendejas.

Indeed. He knocks one 40 yards out of bounds inside the 1.

Uh-oh … does that mean a 99-yard Oregon play is coming up?

* * *

And here go the Ducks. True freshman speedster Josh Huff takes an option pitch from Darron Thomas for an 85-yard touchdown run. Gotta pin the blame on this one on free safety Joseph Perkins.

Defensive end Brooks Reed had contain on Thomas, so Perkins should have covered Huff out of the backfield. Instead, Perkins made a move toward the quarterback … so Huff was able to ramp up to full speed in a hurry.

Arizona denies the two-point conversion pass… Oregon leads 20-19 with 13:30 to go in the third quarter.

* * *

No momentum coming out of halftime. Arizona has to punt after three plays. But nice punt coverage pins Oregon at its 15.

* * *

No backing down from the Cats. Number of faked injuries on defense: Zero.

* * *

Arizona — 274 yards. Oregon — 175.

* * *

It’s not a touchdown, but Arizona ends the half with a 29-yard field goal from Alex Zendejas for a 19-14 lead.

Oregon doesn’t mind being behind. The Ducks have been in this position before. They bank on wearing out the other team in the second half. We’ll see.

Anyway … whew. That was a thrilling half.

Take a deep breath and enjoy halftime.

Now, things get really interesting.

* * *

Arizona in the red zone in the final two minutes of the half. Plus, the Cats start the second half with the ball. A TD here would be H-U-G-E.

* * *

Is linebacker Paul Vassallo the best junior college recruit that coach Mike Stoops has ever brought to Arizona? Vassallo, who leads the team in tackles, probably just saved seven points when he blitzed and forced a fumble from Kenjon Barner that Arizona recovered at the 7.

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Arizona Wildcats quarterback George Malauulu couldn’t sleep. It was sometime in the early morning, the clock ticking toward the biggest game of his life.

It was Nov. 7, 1992, hours away from a game against No. 1 Washington. The Huskies had won 22 games in a row. They had humiliated Arizona 54-0 a year earlier.

But these Cats were different. They had come so far, so fast. From a 1-1-1 start that included a 14-14 tie at woeful Oregon State, to a near-upset at No. 1 Miami, to an improbable four-game winning streak — including victories over 11th-ranked UCLA and No. 8 Stanford — to this:

Another date with No. 1.

Malauulu sat up in his bed at the Plaza Hotel. He grabbed a pillow and tossed it toward his sleeping roommate, hitting Heath Bray in the face.

Into the darkness, Malauulu said, “Hey, bro, we’re going to win tomorrow.”

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This could be a short story about Arizona forward Derrick Williams. It’s as New Mexico State coach Marvin Menzies said last week: “He’s an NBA player. What can I say?”

That nicely sums it up. He will be an NBA player. Shoot, that’s probably going to happen next summer. He’ll be next in Arizona’s pipeline to the pros.

But what else can we say about the sophomore star? Well, plenty.

Even in Arizona’s low-energy, poor-shooting, snooze-a-palooza Tuesday night in a 78-45 home victory over Bethune-Cookman, Williams did about the usual — 19 points, six rebounds … and one highlight reel dunk.

This game won’t be long-remembered — Bethune who? — but Williams’ fast-break 360-degree dunk will be a digital favorite for a long time. He took a pass from Kyle Fogg near the lane and, in one move, jumped to spin away from a defender and came full circle for the dunk.

“I don’t even know what that was,” Arizona senior forward Jamelle Horne said in amazement.

“You should have seen Coach (Sean) Miller’s face. You should have seen my face. All I know is that was a great play. That’s something that is definitely going to be on SportsCenter. I can’t believe he did it. But he’s crazy like that.”

Miller can live with that kind of crazy all season long.

Please continue reading the rest of my story on Williams at FoxSportsArizona.com

Adam Grant was in a good mood after the win over Iowa earlier this season. Will he be smiling after Friday's game at Oregon? Photo by Chris Morrison, US PRESSWIRE

Arizona Wildcats sixth-year senior left tackle Adam Grant met with the media after Tuesday’s practice to discuss various elements of the Oregon game.

One thing for sure: As a kid from Puyallup, Wash., the expected weather in Eugene on Friday night against the No. 1 Ducks should be right up his alley.

Do you guys sense that if you win this game you’ll be talking about it 20 years from now?
“Yeah. It’s the No. 1 team, but you have to look at it as just a game right now. I’m pretty sure in the future, if we do win, it’s definitely going to be a big moment in all our lives. I hope that can happen because it’s just great for our coaches, our program and us.”

Does it fuel the preparation at all?
“Oh yeah. Definitely. Everything has been a little bit more upbeat. We had some new periods this week with some speed stuff, which I didn’t really care for (smiling) … but, no, I think the defense is definitely looking up and ready to go for this game. They are excited for the challenge. Statistically, we have a great defense so we have a great matchup with them.”

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