Alex Zendejas celebrates after beating ASU with a last-second kick in 2009. Photo by Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Zendejas gets an earful from coach Mike Stoops after missing a PAT late in regulation last season. Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

Every day.

Not just this week. Not just from the media. Every day. For a year.

That’s how often Arizona Wildcats senior kicker Alex Zendejas has heard about his two blocked extra points against Arizona State. The first came with 27 seconds left in regulation, leaving the game tied. The second came at the end of a second overtime in a 30-29 loss.

“A kick like that that, in a rivalry like this, knowing how intense it is between the two schools, it’s kind of hard to forget something like that,” he said this week.

Not that anyone will let him.

He said someone mentions the missed PATs to him every day.

“You have to take the good with the bad,” Zendejas said.

“Probably the same people who congratulated me two years ago are the ones mad at me a year ago. I guess it’s part of the game.”

It is. It’s part of the game. It’s a life lesson. His last-play 32-yard field goal to beat Arizona State 20-17 in 2009 all but got wiped away by the missed PATs. That happens in life. One misstep or error in judgment — or whatever — can overwhelm previous good deeds.

It is, as Zendejas said, what it is. He said he has developed a thick skin. You sign up for the glory, you risk being the goat.

“I don’t ever want to be a kicker,” said special teams coach Jeff Hammerschmidt.

“It’s just so hard on them. I’ve gotten a lot of phone calls from guys who say, ‘Coach, I can kick. I made field goals in high school.’ But, you know what, put them out there in the pressure these guys are in right now … holy cow.”

Barring some crazy circumstances, Saturday night at Sun Devil Stadium won’t bring personal redemption, won’t be the rubber match of Alex Zendejas vs. Arizona State.

Zendejas already had his shot at redemption, reclaiming the starting job he lost in camp to Jaime Salazar in the fourth game of the year. But his kicks were still often low and erratic, and interim head coach Tim Kish gave kickoff man John Bonano the shot at place-kicking at midseason.

Bonano, other than coming up short on a 57-yard field goal after a bad snap, has been perfect. He is 6 of 7 on field goals and 14 of 14 on PATs.

“He’s done great. I’m proud of him,” Zendejas said on Bonano. “I’m happy for him and I hope he comes out and finishes strong against ASU.”

Zendejas still found way to contribute last week when he successfully executed an on-side kick late in the game, knocking the ball in front of him and then sticking his helmet in there to keep the ball away from a Colorado player. The ball popped loose, and Arizona recovered.

Hammerschmidt said it had been Zendejas’ idea to work on that in practice.

“If you see that thing on film, it wasn’t easy,” Hammerschmidt said. “He had a 260-pound guy running right at him and he dove and took one for the team. He came off to the sideline with his helmet wrapped around his head.”

After the season, Zendejas will eventually walk away from Arizona with a degree in economics and, he says, no regrets.

“I have had my good times and I have had my bad,” he said. “But I worked every day.”

Hammerschmidt called Zendejas “a special guy.”

“He’ll be remembered in this rivalry for last year, but also for the year before,” Hammerschmidt said. “You just never know how this damn thing works out.”

Alex Zendejas will get one more chance to get everything straightened out. Photo by Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Arizona Wildcats coach Mike Stoops said Monday that senior place-kicker Alex Zendejas is going to get his job back — at least for this week’s game against Oregon.

And Zendejas talked after Monday’s practice, talking about how he is “grateful and blessed” to be given a second chance.

“That’s all you can ask for sometimes — just another chance to get out there,” Zendejas said.

“I’ve continued to work just to get another chance. I’ve continued to prepare like I was going to play. I haven’t taken a day off.”

As far as redemption stories goes, this could be a doozy.

Zendejas has been the target of fan’s venom since missing two PATs against Arizona State (you all know the story), and then losing his job in camp to Jaime Salazar, who then promptly sprayed kicks all over the stadium and lost the job after three games.

Zendejas — whose game-winning kick against ASU in 2009 seems as if it never happened — could hear some of the biggest cheers, mock cheers or boos Saturday night.

But that is just part of the special teams story for the Wildcats. Let’s take a look at some others:

Who is next if Zendejas struggles?

Senior John Bonano figures to get the next shot. He has a big leg, and has been doing well in his role as the kickoff man. Seven of his 12 kickoffs have gone into the end zone for touchbacks.

Last season, only 12 of his 69 kickoffs resulted in touchbacks.

Part of the problem in 2010 was that he was place-kicking on the side and ended up “over-kicking,” special teams coach Jeff Hammerschmidt said.

“He messed up his groin and stopped kicking off really well,” Hammerschmidt said. “In the back of my mind, I don’t want that to happen because he over-kicked.”

Bonano competed some at place-kicker in the spring, but there wasn’t enough evidence there to make a change at that time. For now, Bonano will do some place-kicking in practice while hopefully not messing up his good kickoffs.

“I told him, just prepare yourself if a field goal is missed,” Hammerschmidt said.

The punt game is in fine shape

While Salazar hasn’t delivered after arriving from junior college, punter Kyle Dugandzic has. He is fourth nationally with an average of 49.4 yards, and Arizona is fourth in the country in net punting at 43.3 yards.

That’s a huge improvement over last season’s net average of 34.1 yards.

Eight of Dugandzic’s 13 attempts have gone for at least 50 yards, but Hammerschmidt is mostly looking for direction and placement. That’s key this week, as Arizona doesn’t want to give open space to any number of speedy Oregon returners.

If Duganzic can force fair catches or pin the returner near the sideline, all the better.

“I always knew he was a great directional kicker,” Hammerschmidt said. “He has been impressive so far.”

Oregon has a punt return touchdown from tailback LaMichael James this season, and has also used Kenjon Barner (who is expected back after missing the past two games because of injury) and superb true freshman tailback De’Anthony Thomas.

The Ducks haven’t even used cornerback Cliff Harris, who was suspended for the opener and has been working his way back into full-time roles. Harris had four punt returns for touchdowns last season.

“They’ll scare you with their skill,” Hammerschmidt of Oregon’s return teams.

It doesn’t help the punt coverage that the injury bug has taken a bite here, too. Elliott Taylor, a walk-on who ran a 10.44 100 meters for the UA track team in the spring, has been one of the team’s gunners, but he is out with a knee injury.

Hammerschmidt said he expects defensive backs Jourdon Grandon and Shaquille Richardson to be the starting gunners — the speedy guys on the outside who have the first crack at stopping the returner.

What about the return game?

Arizona isn’t doing much on punt returns after losing projected starter Jonathan McKnight to an ACL injury during camp. Richard Morrison has three returns for 18 yards. David Douglas is mostly back there to make a fair catch.

The kick return game has potential with freshmen Garic Wharton and Ka’Deem Carey, but the results are average so far — 22.4 yards per return, ranking 56th nationally. Carey has three attempts for an average of 27.0 yards.

Alex Zendejas attempts a kick in the spring game. Photo by David Kadlubowski, The Arizona Republic

Senior Alex Zendejas, who had a pair of extra points blocked against Arizona State last season and lost his starting job in fall camp, will get a second chance.

Zendejas will replace the struggling Jaime Salazar, who missed field goals of 45 and 36 yards last week — the first left and the second right — for Saturday’s home game against No. 10 Oregon.

“We’re going to give Alex his job back and see what he does this week,” coach Mike Stoops said in his Monday news conference.

“There wasn’t a huge difference in camp, but Jaime was a bit more consistent in. He hasn’t kicked as well as we would like from a certain range in, and those are very makeable kicks.”

Salazar, a second-team junior college All-American last season, missed from 46 yards in the opener against NAU. He pushed a PAT wide right in that game, too. Zendejas came into that game later to make the team’s final extra point.

After winning the job in camp, Salazar said of Zendejas: “He’s still going to compete. He’s a really committed kicker. He’s not going to stop.”

Zendejas has been accurate on field goals through his career — 31 of 41 (75.6 percent) — although the coaches haven’t often tested his range past 45 yards. That is a better college accuracy than New York Jets kicker Nick Folk, who made 63.8 percent of his field goal tries at Arizona.

Alex Zendejas doesn't figure to do more finger-pointing vs. Oregon. (ESPN3 screenshot)

Folk, though, had a super leg. The problem with Zendejas has been his inconsistent height on his kicks, especially with the extra points.

Zendejas missed eight PATs in the past two seasons — seven of which were blocked.

Oregon fans likely will remember Zendejas from last season. Ducks coach Chip Kelly called two timeouts at the end of the first half to ice Zendejas before a 29-yard attempt. Zendejas made the field goal and then pointed at Kelly as he ran off the field.

Zendejas apologized for the gesture a day later, saying, “It was kind of disrespectful.”

Dan Buckner caught four passes in his Arizona debut. Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

In advance of the Arizona Wildcats’ game against NAU, I took a look at three players to watch — basically, three X-factors, three players I had lingering doubts about.

Let’s see how they did in Arizona’s 41-10 victory over the Lumberjacks on Saturday:

Cornerback Shaquille Richardson

Richardson was picked on by NAU cornerback Cary Gossart and repeatedly beaten by guys named Khalil Paden and Ify Umodu.

In no time at all — like Thursday night at Oklahoma State with the college football world watching on ESPN — Richardson is going to have to try to stop Biletnikoff Award-winning receiver Justin Blackmon and quarterback Brandon Weeden, a strong-armed NFL prospect.

“Shaquille can play better. He knows it,” said coach Mike Stoops.

“I wasn’t pleased with the way he played, and neither was he. He is going to have to play better next week against a very prolific offense and receiver and quarterback.”

Richardson did finish with a team-high eight tackles, if only because NAU targeted his side of the field so much. For example, he made the tackle at the end of a 36-yard pass to Umodu, who beat coverage with a double move — the kind that often fooled Arizona during its five-game skid to end last season.

“You can’t do that in that situation,” Stoops said.

The situation was late in the first half, and the long pass play put NAU in position to score a touchdown before intermission to make the score 14-10.

Richardson was one of the freshman standouts of last season, starting three games. He is a 6-foot-2 cornerback with athleticism. His progress was slowed as he sat out the spring because of a shoulder injury, and he was behind cornerbacks Trevin Wade and Jonathan McKnight through fall camp … until McKnight tore his ACL less than two weeks before the opener.

Stoops suggested Richardson might be going through a crisis of confidence, much like what Wade went through in a disappointing junior season.

“We can’t afford for him to not show up and compete, and not play with fundamentals,” Stoops said of Richardson.

Bottom line: The injury to McKnight is the most costly of the team’s five ACL tears. Richardson might have to sink or swim Thursday night, considering a true freshman, Cortez Johnson, is the backup at both cornerback spots. Defensive coordinator vowed Arizona would play tighter coverage against Oklahoma State — not giving the receivers as much cushion — so those corners really will be on the spot.

Place-kicker Jaime Salazar

The junior college transfer seems to have caught a bad case of Zendejas.

Salazar won the job in fall camp from two-year starter Alex Zendejas, although Salazar didn’t make a high-enough percentage of kicks to be deemed completely trustworthy. Still, he might have had a slight statistical edge, and coaches wanted to see how he would convert in a game.

Not so well.

Salazar missed badly from 46 yards — the kick started right, then drifted further to the right — and pushed a PAT to the right. The coaches’ response to that was to put Zendejas back in for the final PAT of the game.

Stoops said after the game he didn’t know what he was going to do yet with the kicking game this week.

Bottom line: Going for the two-point conversion after every TD doesn’t sound so crazy, does it?

Wide receiver Dan Buckner

The Texas transfer fared the best of the X-factors, and not just because the other two set the bar limbo low. Buckner was OK in his Arizona debut, catching four passes for 38 yards.

Was he the big-play threat Arizona covets opposite Juron Criner? No, but quarterback Nick Foles has plenty of options, and the reception of everyone not named Criner likely will ebb and flow from game to game. Foles will just take whatever the defense gives him

Foles’ best buddy, David Douglas, didn’t even catch a pass (Foles misfired on one attempt to him over the middle).

Bottom line: NAU made the mistake of covering Criner one-on-one early. Other teams won’t be as generous. “If they are going to take him out of the game, then we have to be able to go to the other side of the field,” Stoops said. That’s when big-play Buckner needs to emerge.

Jaime Salazar made 14 of 15 field goal attempts in junior college last season.

Jaime Salazar is clutch. Just ask him.

And if there is one thing the Arizona Wildcats need from their place-kicker these days, it’s confidence and “clutchiness” as Alex Zendejas tries to clear his head from those two blocked extra points against Arizona State.

“Z started the season very well but he missed them in the clutch game,” said Salazar, a junior college transfer who won the starting place-kicking job in camp.

“Coach said I have the clutch game and I have been proving that I do. So, we’ll see there.”

Salazar cited a couple of clutch examples from his days at Trinity Valley Community College in Texas and Garland (Texas) High School. As for what he will do in front of 50,000-plus at Arizona Stadium and in other pressure-cookers around the Pac-12 … well, like he said, we’ll see.

At this point, the coaches are willing to try something new, but it’s not just a gut feeling on Salazar. After compiling and examining all the kicking stats from fall camp, Salazar simply came out ahead.

“Alex is a heck of a kicker, but numbers-wise … as you looked at it, the guy who kicked it through was Jaime,” said special teams coach Jeff Hammerschmidt. “It was just barely, but that’s who we’re going to with.”

Playing amateur psychologist here after a four-minute conversation with him, but Salazar seems to have a certain “I’ve got this” calmness about him.

“I just kick it. I don’t let anything get in my mind,” he said.

“They always say kickers have an easy job, and we do. We have to kick. That’s what we do. We’re supposed to make it.”

Arizona, seeking junior college help after last season, looked at a small pool of kickers and delved deeper into scouting Salazar after seeing he made 14 of 15 field goals last season (he said his miss came from 55 yards).

“We watched film, we went and saw him in person,” Hammerschmidt said. “It wasn’t super pretty, but every one seemed to go through the uprights.”

Meanwhile, Zendejas’ unpredictability was his undoing.

He has made 31 of 41 field goals in the past two seasons — 75.6 percent. That’s better than the career percentage (63.8) of former Arizona kicker Nick Folk. But Folk’s attempts had a more pleasing height and distance, and he didn’t suddenly drill his blockers in the back with a low kick.

With Zendejas, you just don’t know what you’re going to get.

Give him credit for this, though: Salazar said Zendejas has been helping him with his kicking and has even lent his uncle, UA legend Max Zendejas, for some advice.

“He’s still going to compete,” Salazar said of Alex. “He’s a really committed kicker. He’s not going to stop.”

Maybe Salazar will be consistent and clutch. Maybe not. Maybe there will come a time this season when the Cats need Zendejas to make an important kick.

“Alex is such an amazing hard-worker, and it means so much to him. It hurts. I know it does,” Hammerschmidt said of the demotion. “But he’ll fight through it, and it’s a long season. Crazy things happen. Who knows where we’ll be at the end of the season.”

In other special teams news, true freshman punter Drew Riggleman, from Sahuaro High School, walked-on to the team this week as classes began.

Related: Walk-on arrives during camp, becomes Arizona’s new long-snapper

Alex Zendejas will have to be show more consistency in fall camp. Photo by David Kadlubowski, The Arizona Republic

Here is the 10th part of our Arizona Wildcats football preview in collaboration with our Gannett partner, The Arizona Republic.

We write the words, and they have taken the cool photographs and put it all together in a slick presentation at azcentral.com.

Check back here and at azcentral.com every Friday as we roll out more of our preview every week, all the way into August.

This week: Special teams.

INTRO

The kicking game was a mess last season. That’s not breaking news.

If there is one moment (or two) that will endure from Arizona’s 2010 season, look no further than the two extra point attempts that Alex Zendejas had blocked against ASU — one in the final minute of regulation, the other at the end of the second overtime.

He’s back but will have to fight for his job as a senior.

The punting game deteriorated, as the Wildcats’ net punting average dropped for the third consecutive season, down to 34.1 yards, 98th nationally. Four-year starting punter Keenyn Crier is gone, replaced by a junior college transfer.

It was all enough to put special teams coach Jeff Hammerschmidt (who also coaches defensive ends) on the hot seat. Of the place-kicking, he said: “We’ll be OK,” before adding, “or I won’t be here.”

Alex Zendejas

In 2009, he kicked a last-play 32-yard field goal to beat Arizona State. The next year, he had two extra-point attempts blocked in a painful double-overtime loss to the Sun Devils. Such is the life of a kicker.

He was the flashpoint for a lot of fan anger, which he has had to deal with through the offseason. Not even Zendejas was surprised when the coaches brought in junior college transfer Jaimie Salazar to compete for the job in fall camp.

Zendejas has been accurate (31 of 41 on field-goal attempts in two years as the starter), but the coaches rarely test his range and the height on his kicks have been an issue, as everyone knows from the ASU game. Arizona has missed eight PATs in the past two seasons.

“He still needs to be more consistent,” coach Mike Stoops said. “He showed signs of it (in the spring), but it has be consistently consistent, if that makes sense.”

Jaimie Salazar

The transfer from Trinity Valley Community College in Texas will get every chance to win the starting place-kicking job. He earned second-team All-America honors last season from the NJCAA after making 14 of 15 field goal attempts.

Coach Mike Stoops said the kicking competition between Salazar and incumbent Alex Zendejas will “start even” will camp opens.

“We’ll try to do more intensified drills with those guys to compete,” Stoops said. “We’ll probably spend more time than we have in the past to try to get those guys ready for the season.”

Kyle Dugandzic punts during Arizona's scirmmage on April 2. Photo by David Kadlubowski/The Arizona Republic

Kyle Dugandzic

Without another full-time punter on the roster after Keenyn Crier completed his eligibility last season, Arizona brought in Dugandzic at the semester break and got to work with him during the spring. The starting job is basically his by default. He’s also listed as the top holder for placekicks.

Special teams coach Jeff Hammerschmidt said Dugandzic was “trying to hurry himself” early in spring drills, but began to find his comfort zone later in practice.

Crier was known for a big, but erratic, leg … and he had trouble last season pinning opponents deep. The scouting report on Dugandzic is that he excels at direction and placement, although his right leg looked just fine, too, when he boomed a 72-yarder in his only attempt at the spring game.

Dugandzic is from Ventura (Calif.) Community College.

Chase Gorham

Gorham, the son of former UA placekicker Charlie Gorham (1972-73), has a chance to be a four-year starter as long snapper. He was the true freshman last year who entered camp most assured of playing time, and he did, indeed, start from the first game, doing a solid job.

The Arizona coaches quickly identified Gorham, from Scottsdale Chaparral High, as someone they wanted to recruit. Gorham committed in the spring of his junior season, becoming the first recruit in UA’s 2010 class.

Gorham was considered one of the top prep long snappers in the country, and he earned Arizona Republic All-Arizona honors as a senior.

Returners

This has been an area of strength for Arizona in recent seasons, but the Wildcats have to replace speedy kick returner Travis Cobb and primary punt returner Bug Wright.

Redshirt freshman Garic Wharton seems to be the best answer at kick returner. He’s arguably the team’s fastest player, and he showed show wiggle in his running style during spring drills. Perhaps he will fit in as the punt returner, too.

Some of Arizona’s young defensive backs — such as Shaquille Richardson and Jonathan McKnight — will have a chance at that role, too, each with the athleticism needed to make game-changing plays. When the Wildcats are playing it safe, they can send out sure-handed receiver David Douglas to make a fair catch.

Alex Zendejas throws his helmet after having an extra point attempt blocked at the end of the second overtime against ASU last season. Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

Alex Zendejas didn’t run away from trouble. Now, he has to fix it.

His name became something of a curse word for Arizona Wildcats fans late last season. You know the details. Two low extra point attempts — one in the final minute of regulation, one at the end of the second overtime — were blocked by Arizona State.

Those kicks were the flashpoints in a 30-29 home loss.

Zendejas followed up with another uneven kicking performance in the Alamo Bowl, missing two of three field goal tries.

“I hear it from every angle still,” Zendejas said earlier this week, talking about fan reaction.

“But I never considered leaving. I was here. I wanted to finish out here. I mean, it’s been tough … but it’s not who I am. I’m not going to run away from something that’s happened.

“I love this school. I love the program, the coaches, the players. It was never my intention to leave. I love it here.”

Zendejas is preparing for his senior season, and he and special teams coach Jeff Hammerschmidt know there is no margin of error.

Zenedejas has new competition, not only from kickoff man John Bonano – who has been “kicking great,” Hammerschmidt said — but from junior college transfer Jaimie Salazar, who will arrive for fall camp.

“I honestly expected it. It’s what they had to do,” Zendejas said of the coaches bringing in a junior college transfer.

“It’s part of college life. You’re always having someone come in competing for the job. They recruited freshmen for every other position to compete.”

How does Zendejas get better this spring and hold off the competition?

In practice, to focus on elevation, the coaches have put tackling dummies 3 yards in front of the kickers. Those tackling dummies are about 6 feet high.

“From 3 yards out, they look really big,” Zendejas said.

At other times, a linebacker will be holding blocking pads above his head as he tries to block the attempt, again giving the kicker reason to focus on height.

“I feel good,” Zendejas said. “I’m starting to get a lot more elevation on the ball. Doing that over and over, it doesn’t make you think about it as much, I guess.”

Alex Zendejas celebrates after beating ASU with a last-second kick in 2009. Photo by Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Zendejas’ accuracy on field goals has been fine — 31 of 41 in two years as the starter — although the coaches don’t often test his range. But the low kicks were nothing new. They happened from time to time … and the Arizona State game was the worst possible time.

Arizona has missed eight extra-point attempts in the past two seasons.

“We’ll be OK,” Hammerschmidt said of the place-kicking, before adding, “or I won’t be here.”

Zendejas said he’s had plenty of support from his famous kicking family, and he hopes to use the memory of last season in just the right dose.

Can’t think about it too much; that’s just unwanted added pressure. Can’t ignore it, either.

“It’s definitely some motivation to come back and work your butt off. It’s a little extra push,” Zendejas said. “It’s hard to forget something like that. I’ve learned a lot since December.”

He can’t change what happened in December. His game-winning, last-second field goal at Arizona State in 2009 seems all but forgotten.

What will 2011 bring — glory, agony or a season on the bench?

For now, there’s only one thing do.

“Just focus on consistency, give it my all every practice and get the most out of every day,” Zendejas said. “That’s all I can do, right?”

NOTE
Fans can get a look at the kicking game and everything else at Saturday’s spring-ending scrimmage at Arizona Stadium. The scrimmage will begin at 1:30 p.m.

Motivation isn’t hard to come by for the Arizona Wildcats.

“We lost four straight,” said senior running back Nic Grigsby, “and we don’t want to end on a fifth one.”

Doesn’t get much simpler than that for tonight’s Alamo Bowl matchup against Oklahoma State.

The Wildcats have been claiming that their preparation has been much better than last season. Arizona was past its expiration date when it showed up for the 2009 Holiday Bowl against Nebraska, having spent more than a week in San Diego over the Christmas Holiday.

This time around, coach Mike Stoops worked the team hard in Tucson before giving them a few days off before Christmas.

“The focus has been tremendous with our players,” defensive coordinator Tim Kish said at an Alamo Bowl press conference this week. “The energy level has been up, the enthusiasm has been up.”

A better prepared team doesn’t necessarily mean a winning team, but at least the Wildcats might have a fighting chance against the 10-2 Cowboys — unlike last year in a 33-0 bowl loss to Nebraska.

Bug is back
Arizona junior receiver Bug Wright is back in Stoops’ good graces after being suspended indefinitely late in the regular season because of a violation of team rules.

Wright will handle punt return duties against Oklahoma State, giving the Wildcats a potential jolt on special teams. Wright’s punt-catching has been an adventure at times, but he’s also a threat to score at any time.

The combination of those skills makes him the anti-David Douglas on punt returns … but the punt-catching risk is worth the potential reward.

A good omen?
Oklahoma State had to replace four starters on the offensive line before this season and still had the nation’s most prolific offense, averaging 537.6 yards per game. Arizona will have to replace all five of its starting linemen next season, which will loom as one of the team’s major question marks. But it can be done.

Back in the preseason …
As senior editor of Lindy’s College Football Annuals, I’m in charge of ranking every team in the country, from No. 1 to No. 120. In compiling the list right after spring ball, I thought Arizona and Oklahoma State were as close as could be. I ranked the Wildcats 38th nationally and the Cowboys 39th.

I took some grief on the Arizona message boards when I picked the Cats to finish sixth in the Pac-10. They ended up in a three-way tied for fifth … which averages out to sixth. At least I got something right.

For Lindy’s, I picked Oregon to finish second in the league (this prediction came before USC’s sanctions from the NCAA). At least I didn’t pick the Ducks to end up fifth in the Pac-10, as one writer did in a summer vote of the league’s media.

That honor belongs to Arizona Daily Star columnist Greg Hansen (sorry, Greg, couldn’t resist).

(Speaking of Hansen, he mentions in today’s “Mr. Football” column that Arizona’s oldest player of the Pac-10 years is former linebacker Adrian Koch, who was 26 as a senior.

I can think of one that was older — wide receiver Cullen Plousha, who was with the team from 1992 to 1994 and was 27 years ago as a senior. Plousha, like Koch, was a Marine before attending Arizona.)

Shootout time
Oklahoma State scored at least 33 points in 10 games, went for more than 40 eight times, topped 50 on three occasions and hit 65 twice.

“They have a phenomenal offense, but I have a lot of trust in our defense,” said Arizona offensive tackle Adam Grant. “I hope Brooksy and Ricky have a great night, that’s all I can hope for.”

Senior ends Brooks Reed and Ricky Elmore are a formidable pass-rushing pair, but Oklahoma State has allowed only nine sacks all season.

If the Cats are to win, they might have to score in the 40s. They’ve won a few shootouts in recent seasons, but Arizona is only 3-14 under Stoops when the opponent scores at least 30 points.

Matchup to watch
Arizona’s offense is at its best when quarterback Nick Foles is targeting star junior receiver Juron Criner. Oklahoma State will counter with 6-foot All-Big 12 cornerback Andrew McGee, who had five interceptions in the regular season.

Who wins the special teams?
How will Arizona’s Alex Zendejas react after having those two extra point attempts blocked in the regular-season finale against ASU? He says those low kicks are a focus issue, but something technical must be afoot, because I can’t believe he would have focus problems on either of those blocks against the Devils.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma State has two players out because of academic ineligibility, including All-American punter Quinn Sharp, who averaged 46.2 yards in the regular season. Now, the Arizona defense just has to get some stops and force the Cowboys to punt.

The Cowboys also will be without long-snapper Marc Yerry.

Prediction
The Arizona defense couldn’t slow down either of the two elite offenses it played against this season — Stanford and Oregon. Oklahoma State is another one of those, with balance and top-notch skill all over the offense, led by receiver Justin Blackmon and quarterback Brandon Weeden.

But I’d be most worried about the Wildcats slowing down the Cowboys’ running game, featuring senior Kendall Hunter, who has rushed for 1,516 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Stopping the run has been the defense’s main problem during the four-game losing streak. The Cats allowed four rushing touchdowns through eight games … and 11 in the past four.

I’m going Oklahoma State 38, Arizona 28 … with Hunter winning MVP honors.

More from the TucsonCitizen.com Sports Network:

Class of 2006 makes its final stand at Alamo Bowl

Arizona football: Top 10 plays of the year

Foles happy to return to Alamodome (with video)

Javier Morales: Keys to victory: Make Oklahoma State pass 100 times

Javier Morales: Route 66 is way to Alamo Bowl point total

Scott Terrell: Texas two step: Arizona vs. Oklahoma State preview, with uniform stats

Where does the hiring of athletic director Greg Byrne rate on your list?
Photo by Mark Evans, TucsonCitizen.com

The “best of the year” lists are always tricky.

For the calendar year that was in Arizona Wildcats athletics, do you pick specific games, specific moments, or do you go with larger themes?

Do you choose only the good things? How do you balance the happenings in football and men’s basketball with the success in other sports?

When our Gannett big brother, the Arizona Republic, asked us to come up with a top 10 list of storylines for UA, we muddled through all that and came up with the following Top 10 list.

You can see the Republic’s Year in Review slideshows for all the state-wide sports topics on azcentral.com.

Before you click on that link, vote in our poll and let us know what you you think is the biggest storyline of the year for the Wildcats.

(What did we miss? I’ll get us started: I think basketball coach Sean Miller signing a Top 5 recruiting class in November is potentially worthy of the list as the clearest signal yet that he can restore the program to its previous heights.)

Anyway, on to the Top 10 storylines …

Heyer

No. 10: King of the Ks
Kurt Heyer became the Friday starting pitcher for coach Andy Lopez, setting a school freshman record with 109 strikeouts in 102 innings. Heyer finished 7-4 with a 3.26 ERA, coming up with the victory over Baylor as the young Wildcats won their first game in an NCAA regional in Fort Worth, Texas. Heyer will lead a promising team in 2011 after Arizona finished 34-24 in 2010.

No. 9: Excellence in the pool
The men’s swimming team finished third at the NCAA championships and had two individual champions — Cory Chitwood (200-yard backstroke) and Clark Burckle (200 breaststroke). The women finished fourth nationally, winning the 400 medley and 200 medley relay events, and Annie Chandler won the 100 breaststroke in NCAA record time. The men and women, who each won NCAA titles in 2008, are poised for more championship runs in 2011 for coach Frank Busch.

No. 8: Fabulous freshman
Post player Derrick Williams, who wasn’t even on Rivals.com list of the top 150 incoming recruits, emerges as a Freshman All-American and the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, averaging 15.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. A fast start to the 2010-11 season made Williams a strong candidate for the conference player of the year award.

No. 7: Rising and falling
It was a tale of two seasons for the Arizona football team. The glass-half-full crowd will focus on the 7-1 start, the program’s first top 10 ranking since 1999 and a third consecutive bowl game, tying the longest streak in school history. The glass-half-empty crowd will grouse about the four-game losing streak to end the regular season. Through it all, the Cats created quite a buzz either way.

Fowler

No. 6: Series thriller
Arizona, led by a power-hitting lineup and freshman ace Kenzie Fowler, advanced to the Women’s College World Series for the 22nd time in 23 years. The Series was packed with drama, as the Wildcats dropped their opener 9-0 to Tennessee before reeling off four consecutive victories to reach the championship series against rival UCLA. The Bruins rallied to win the first game in extra innings … and Fowler, battling a forearm injury and illegal pitch calls, ran out of gas as UCLA took the title.

No. 5: NCAA sanctions
The NCAA ruled in July on recruiting violations that occurred under the watch of former basketball coach Lute Olson. The NCAA placed the program on two years of probation, vacated 19 wins from the 2007-08 season and took away one scholarship from the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, giving coach Sean Miller a little less margin of error as he tries to restore the program.

No. 4: Blocked!
Arizona appeared to have pulled out a victory against Arizona State with a late touchdown drive, but the Sun Devils blocked Alex Zendejas’ low extra point attempt, leaving the game tied with 27 seconds left. Then, ASU blocked another low PAT attempt at the end of the second overtime to win 30-29 in a wild Territorial Cup matchup that will be long remembered on both sides.

Schluntz

No. 3: Woman of the Year
For the third time in four years, the Arizona swimming program produced the NCAA Woman of the Year. This time it was Justine Schluntz, a 16-time All-American who is now studying in England as a Rhodes Scholar. She follows in the UA footsteps of Whitney Myers (the 2007 winner) and Lacey Nymeyer (2009) as winners of the NCAA’s top award for female athletes, honoring athletic achievement, academics, service and leadership.

No. 2: No tournament
First-year coach Sean Miller — the program’s fourth head coach in four season — never talked about the NCAA Tournament as a goal, and with good reason. The young, rebuilding Wildcats went through growing pains and finished 16-15. Despite the low expectations for the season, it was still a sad end to Arizona’s 25-year streak of advancing to the Big Dance.

No. 1: Greg Byrne era begins
When athletic director Jim Livengood resigned in December 2009 to take the same position at UNLV, Arizona went through a patient search and landed one of rising stars in the business — 39-year old Greg Byrne. Byrne, the social-media-loving former AD at Mississippi State, brought new energy and ideas — a preseason tour of the state, the pregame “Wildcat Walk” — while making progress toward the construction of football facilities in the north end zone of Arizona Stadium.

This low kick with 27 seconds left at the end of regulation was blocked. Photo by Chris Morrison, US-PRESSWIRE

Sign of the times: Soon after Arizona kicker Alex Zendejas had two extra point attempts blocked against Arizona State on Thursday night, several related Facebook pages emerged.

Zendejas twice kicked low, failing to give the Wildcats the lead with 27 seconds left in regulation and then missing at the end of the second overtime to give the Sun Devils a 30-29 double-overtime victory.

So, you have choices.

Will you like the “I would trade Alex Zendejas for Kyle Brotzman” page? That refers to the Boise State kicker who missed a short field goal at the end of regulation last week, and another in overtime, as the Broncos’ national championship dreams ended in a loss at Nevada.

First post on the site: As the old saying goes “Miss a game winning extra point once… shame on you. Miss it twice and the entire school hates you.”

But perhaps you don’t feel that way and would prefer “The Wildcat Nation Loves Alex Zendejas”

Along those lines, there is also the “Alex Zendejas Is only a Human!!! There’s No I in Team” page.

And this Facebook group: “We still love Alex Zendejas! KEEP YOUR HEAD UP! Still Wildcat Family!!!”

On the other hand, “Betty White kicks better than Alex Zendejas” might be more in tune with your feelings.

Or this: “Alex Zendejas should never show his face in Tucson”

And still more along those lines: “100 people who can kick better than Alex Zendejas”

There are other pages, too, and I assume you know how to search to find them.

Love him, hate him, support him, vilify him, there is a Zendejas page for you.