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.”

Looks like it will be 40 degrees and raining. Anything you ever get used to?
“Sounds like high school practice every day (laughing) … It’s a little bit different. I have been here for six years now, so we’ll see how it goes. I don’t think it will be that bad. (Quarterback) Nick (Foles) was wanting to practice with wet footballs to get used to it. I don’t think it’s going to factor in very much.”

How does it change the game? What do you have to do?
“Sometimes things are going to happen and you’re going to slip or whatever. You just have to be more focused and you have to expect things to happen certain ways. Rain is rain. It’s going to happen. It’s a natural element. We come here and practice in 100-degree weather, and they practice in the cold. So, a little bit of this, a little of that. … You’ll get cold, but they’ll probably have heaters out there.”

At offensive tackle, how does the crowd noise affect you?
“Oh, there’s no way I can hear Nick. We’re at UCLA and one of the false starts … I couldn’t hear. There was no way. Me and (right tackle) Phil (Garcia) have to really focus in this week. We have a lot of hand signals this week. Hopefully, this goes well for us.”

As an offense, do you feel like you have to put up 40, 45, 50 points?
“Definitely. I mean, they’re the top offense in the country. They score like every 30 seconds or whatever. We’re definitely going to try to keep up and keep pace with those guys, and we look forward to it. Hopefully, we become the victors.”

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