Tucson kid Jake Fischer didn’t get to play against Arizona State last season. Photo by Rick Scuteri-US PRESSWIRE

The first-year coaching staffs at Arizona and Arizona State are eager/determined/desperate to get the stronger foothold into in-state recruiting, and striking first in the Territorial Cup couldn’t hurt.

Todd Graham’s first recruiting class at ASU included running back D.J. Foster, who might turn into the Devils’ version of Arizona’s Ka’Deem Carey.

Rich Rodriguez hired Scottsdale Chaparral High coach Charlie Ragle, establishing a pipeline to a school that traditionally has sent players to Tempe. Ragle is UA’s assistant operations director and liaison for high school relations.

Graham countered by hiring veteran Valley high school coach John Wrenn to a similar position.

Both programs have work to do. Of the top 10 in-state prospects last year, as ranked by Rivals.com, seven of them left the state — including five to rival Pac-12 schools.

Here’s a look at 10 in-state prospects who stayed and who could make a difference when Arizona and Arizona State clash Friday night:

Arizona RB Ka’Deem Carey, Tucson Canyon del Oro High

Well, of course. He has 570 rushing yards just in the past two games (which is more than Tulane and Washington State have had all season).

Carey’s best day as a freshman came in last season’s win over Arizona State — 13 carries for 92 yards, four catches for 47 yards and a touchdown.

Carey is the nation’s leading rusher this season with 1,585 yards, and can you imagine how bitter Arizona fans would be if he was wearing ASU colors? He nearly committed to ASU — he called it a “great school” this week — but picked the Cats on Signing Day.

So, he’s a hometown hero who has especially impressed with how hard he plays, how tough he runs.

“I love contact,” he said. “If you’re not going to come at me 100 percent, then you’re going to pay.”

As for ASU?

“They are going to come with than 100 percent, so I have to be ready for that,” he said.

Arizona State CB Deveron Carr, Scottsdale Chaparral

The senior is an experienced cornerback who has started 32 games in his career, including every one this season. He has 21 tackles this year, with one interception and seven pass break-ups. Graham said last week: “I think Carr is probably the most improved player in the program.”

Carr had five tackles and a pass break-up vs. Arizona last season.

Arizona LB Jake Fischer, Oro Valley Ironwood Ridge

The junior is Arizona’s leading tackler with 98, putting together a successful comeback season after missing 2011 because of a torn ACL.

He remembers his first trip to play at ASU in 2009, walking out of the tunnel at Sun Devil Stadium.

“You had 60, 70-year-olds with ASU stuff on, flipping the guys off as they were walking out,” he said after Tuesday’s practice. “It shows that no matter how old you are, you’re always going to rep your colors. I like that.”

Arizona LB Marquis Flowers, Goodyear Millennium

The junior is adjusting better all the time to linebacker after being moved from safety late in fall camp. Flowers has 38 tackles, including 4.5 for loss and two sacks, in the past four games. He also has two interceptions, both against USC, in that span.

“He’s still learning. It’s like going to job training,” defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel said a few weeks ago. “For him to be doing some of the things he’s doing is remarkable.”

Flowers has the kind of ranginess and athleticism Arizona likes in its outside linebackers, although this could be just a one-year thing at outside linebacker, depending on how next year’s defense shapes up.

“He’s done it unselfishly,” Casteel said. “That I think speaks volumes for the way he is. I’m sure he’s thought of himself as a safety. He’s helped our football team immensely.”

D.J. Foster scored on this 23-yard run vs. Oregon. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Arizona State RB D.J. Foster, Scottsdale Saguaro

Foster was the centerpiece of Graham’s first recruiting class, and he hasn’t disappointed, sharing caries in the backfield with Cameron Marshall and Marion Grice, and being active in the passing game.

Foster has 85 carries for 443 yards and is third on the team in receptions with 34 for 484 yards. He has six total touchdowns.

Graham, in one of his weekly press conferences last month, recalled his first impression of Foster during recruiting.

“I watched him score 10 touchdowns in one game. My first impression on film was, ‘Wow, this guy’s a special player,’” Graham said.

“The dynamics of his ability to run the ball and his ability to catch the ball are special. He’s not a very big guy but he’s a really good inside runner. He’s a complete back. On film, I thought, ‘This is a guy we have to get.’ …

“He’s a guy that’s all in and is buying in. I think he is becoming a leader as a true freshman and that’s pretty hard to do.”

Arizona S Jourdon Grandon, Avondale Westview

He missed the Colorado game two weeks ago because of a concussion, then was used in a reserve role last week at Utah. Before that, he started the first nine games, and he ranks fifth on the Wildcats with 55 tackles.

In a banged-up secondary, the more he can play Friday, the better it will be for Arizona.

Arizona State NT Jaxon Hood, Chandler Hamilton

This has been one of the storylines of the week with the Hood family having a player on each side of the rivalry. Jaxon is a true freshman at Arizona State. Tevin is a junior nose tackle for Arizona.

“I won’t go out of my way to say anything (this week), but I’ll let him know what the deal is,” Tevin said.

And what’s the deal? Jaxon figures to have a chance to make a bigger impact. He has started every game at nose tackle — remarkable for the true freshman — and has three sacks. Tevin will see time behind Sione Tuihalamaka.

Arizona State FS Keelan Johnson

Johnson, a senior who has four interceptions and 73 tackles, can’t forget Arizona celebrating on the Sun Devil Stadium turf last season.

“When they were down here they stomped on the pitchfork,” he said this week. “That’s one of the things I’ll remember and I’ll use it to my advantage.”

And what kind of challenge does he see from the Arizona offense?

“It all comes back down to what we need to do,” he said. “As long as we can stop the run and rattle the quarterback, everything else should take care of itself.”

Arizona State WR/PR Jamal Miles, Peoria High

He has had a disappointing senior season after being one of the nation’s top all-purpose threats a year ago. Miles scored nine times in 2011 — six by receiving, two on kick returns and one on a punt return — but has zero scores this season.

All it takes is one good game — one key play — against Arizona to change how everyone feels about his senior year.

Arizona S Jared Tevis, Tucson Canyon del Oro

The former walk-on has been quite a find for Rodriguez, and Tevis was probably the team’s best defender through the first month of the season before being sidelined by an ankle injury.

That kept him out for two games, and he hasn’t made as many big plays since his return, although you never know when those big plays are going to happen. He had two interceptions and three forced fumbles in the first four games.

Jared Tevis lies on the ground after injuring his ankle against Oregon State on Sept. 29. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images.

Arizona Wildcats safety Jared Tevis went up to defend a pass into the end zone and landed awkwardly on his left ankle, gruesomely turning it so it was flat against the ground.

“It was excruciating,” Tevis said after Wednesday’s practice.

“I knew I hurt it pretty good. I was looking down, making sure no bones were sticking out. I was scared to look down, but I did. It didn’t look too bad. So that was promising. It was just a really bad sprain. It could have been a lot worse.”

That all happened in the second quarter of the game against Oregon State on Sept. 29. Tevis actually returned briefly before half, but didn’t play after the break and then missed two full games before stepping back into his starting role Saturday against USC.

Tevis didn’t play a full game — as he did early in the season — sometimes coming out in Arizona’s third-down package, but he probably got around 60 plays.

“It felt good,” he said of the ankle.

“It wasn’t sore afterward. I’m still trying to get to 100 percent, but it didn’t swell up again or anything, so that was promising.”

Tevis made three tackles against USC, below his season average. He was part of 39 stops through the first four games, the team’s best defender. Playing the “Bandit” safety position, he had two interceptions and three forced fumbles in that span.

The sophomore should be closer to 100 percent this week against UCLA, which is led by redshirt freshman quarterback Brett Hundley and senior running back Johnathan Franklin. UCLA is averaging 502.9 yards per game.

Tevis

Tevis (5-10, 197) has been a key part of what has been a “hang-on” defense, as coach Rich Rodriguez describes it. The Cats played four walk-ons last week against USC, including Tevis, who earned a scholarship this summer.

In addition to Tevis:

–Redshirt freshman Sir Thomas Jackson started at outside linebacker, making four tackles, including half a sack.

–Junior Tevin Hood played as a backup nose guard, forcing a fumble.

–Backup safety Vince Miles recovered that fumble at the USC 37 late in the third quarter, a huge momentum play that allowed Arizona to score quickly and cut the lead to 28-26.

Miles, a redshirt freshman in his first extended playing time of the season, made three tackles, including an assist on another huge play on the ensuing series. He and cornerback Jonathan McKnight brought down USC’s Marqise Lee a yard short of a first down on an end around on fourth-and-2 from the Arizona 29.

Imagine. Four walk-ons doing that against USC’s future first-round draft picks.

Tevis said the defense will draw confidence by doing enough to turn away USC on the final possession in last week’s 39-36 win at Arizona Stadium.

“We’ve had a chance to come up big in a couple of games this year and haven’t been able to pull it out,” Tevis said. “That was big for us. We wanted to have the pressure on us and to pull it out.”

Arizona’s Matt Scott gets ready to fire the winning touchdown pass in overtime vs. Toledo. Photo by Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

The Arizona football team is better than it should be, not as good as it could be.

The Wildcats — part encouraging, part frustrating, rarely boring — suffered their third consecutive loss last Saturday, leaving them at 3-3 overall at the midway point of the regular season.

Which is basically on par with preseason expectations.

Are you a glass-half-full fan?

Rich Rodriguez took over a 4-8 team that lost four NFL players, including quarterback Nick Foles, upset No. 18 Oklahoma State and, amid an injury crisis, came within a play or two of beating ranked Oregon State and Stanford. With a smile from the football gods, the Cats would be 5-1.

Or are you a glass-half-empty fan?

The Wildcats are disappointing because they haven’t made a play in crunch time in the past two weeks, a leaky defense has little chance of getting better in the second half of the season, and Arizona will run out of gas before getting to bowl eligibility. Wait till next season. Or maybe 2014.

As the Wildcats sit out this weekend before resuming play against Washington on Oct. 20, let’s take stock at the season’s halftime.

OFFENSIVE MVP

QB Matt Scott — He’s been Foles-like, passing for 2,099 yards and coming off a game in which he set Pac-12 records with 45 completions and 69 pass attempts. Yeah, he’s missed some big throws, too, but he’s led a fast-paced attack that leads the Pac-12 with 553.8 yards per game. That’s possible because Arizona has a talented, senior quarterback.

Scott, who has completed 186 of 289 passes, with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions, could end up breaking some of Foles’ school season records in the major passing categories.

DEFENSIVE MVP

Tevis

S Jared Tevis — Linebacker Jake Fischer could fit here (maybe safety Tra’Mayne Bondurant, too), but Rodriguez said recently that Tevis could have been the defense’s top player in each of the first four games, so who are we to argue?

The former walk-on has missed the past game-and-a-half because of an ankle injury, but Tevis has been the kind of the savvy, chip-on-his-shoulder playmaker the coaches need to clone.

The sophomore has two interceptions, three forced fumbles and seven pass break-ups.

KEY NUMBERS

10 — Number of rushing touchdowns by Ka’Deem Carey. He should threaten Arizona’s 58-year-old record of 21 rushing scores, set by Art Luppino.

10.5 — Tackles for loss for Bondurant, the Spur safety. If he matches that total in the second half of the season, he’ll have the most stops behind the line of scrimmage at Arizona since defensive end Tedy Bruschi made 27.5 in the Desert Swarm defense of 1993.

21-4 — The combined record of Arizona’s five FBS opponents.

32.17 — First downs per game for Arizona, which leads the nation.

68.0 — Percentage of scores in red-zone opportunities (21 touchdowns and six field goals in 40 chances), which ranks tied for 105th nationally.

98.0 — Penalty yards per game of UA’s opponents, the most in the country.

494 — Defensive snaps played by the Wildcats, another mark that is first nationally.

TOP PLAY (OFFENSE)

We’ll call this a tie.

A couple of players this week, including Scott, picked the overtime touchdown pass to Terrence Miller against Toledo. Scott, on third-and-goal from the 10, was chased to the right sideline, nearly out of bounds, and had defensive lineman Danny Farr tugging on his jersey. Scott had just enough time, strength and moxie to fire to Miller at the goal line for the score.

That play gets additional high marks because of the circumstances, but as for dazzling, nothing beats Austin Hill’s diving 30-yard catch in the end zone against Toledo. Not a bad way to make the first score of the Rodriguez era.

TOP PLAY (DEFENSE)

No debate on this one. Jonathan McKnight’s 48-yard interception return for a touchdown with 10:24 left against Oklahoma State gave Arizona a 45-31 lead after the two-point conversion. McKnight, anticipating an early throw from Wes Lunt because of a blitz, jumped in front of a sideline pass and raced untouched into the end zone.

Matt Scott leads the band in “Bear Down, Arizona” after Arizona beat Oklahoma State. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

WHAT’S GONE RIGHT?

–Scott has been better than advertised as a passer, with Hill and Carey emerging as offensive stars.

–Arizona’s win over Oklahoma State snapped a six-game losing streak to ranked teams and put the Wildcats in the Top 25 for a couple of weeks, temporarily, at least, relevant nationally.

–Fischer and McKnight returned successfully from last year’s ACL injuries to be among the team’s best defenders.

–Rodriguez has, as he always said he would, adapted his read-option offense to suit the skills of his quarterback. The coach who typically runs the ball two-thirds of the time has an offense that is ranked fourth nationally in passing (370.8 yards per game).

Before finding success with running quarterbacks, his early version of the spread at Glenville State tilted toward the pass.

“We have a quarterback who can throw it around, and we have some receiver who can run and catch, so I’m not surprised,” said co-offensive coordinator Calvin Magee. “It’s just proof that this offense is flexible.”

WHAT’S GONE WRONG?

–Arizona lost at least nine potential starters/key contributors from spring through the first month of the season: DB Cortez Johnson (transferred to Oklahoma), S Adam Hall (torn ACL in the spring game, not expected to return to the program), LB Brian Wagner (left team), LB David Lopez (left team), LB Rob Hankins (quit football because of concussion problems), LB Greg Nwoko (hip), OL Jacob Arzouman (torn ACL), OL Jack Baucus (knee), OL Lene Maiava (torn ACL in the fourth game).

–The in-season injuries have been significant. Arizona was down five starters vs. Stanford last week: Tevis, center Kyle Quinn, guard Trace Biskin, and defensive ends Dominique Austin and Reggie Gilbert. Rodriguez said about 20 guys didn’t practice Wednesday while nursing injuries.

–Nothing has helped the pass rush. Even with the move of fullback Taimi Tutogi to a third-down pass-rushing defensive end, and more blitzing than the Mike Stoops-coached teams, Arizona is averaging a mere one sack per game.

–PK John Bonano, solid after taking over the job at midseason a year ago, has missed from 24, 25, 25, 31 and 41 yards. A dropped hold scuttled a 22-yard field goal attempt. Special teams woes have not abated after a couple of disastrous seasons.

–Arizona started no seniors on defense against Stanford, which is likely to be the case if Austin (foot) remains out with a foot injury. The Cats’ defense started five sophomores and two freshmen vs. the Cardinal.

This isn’t a 3-3-5 scheme problem. It’s a personnel problem.

The Cats are giving up 480.5 yards per game — 20 yards per game more than last season — but are giving less per play (5.8 to 6.6).

With no pass rush, little depth and injury worries, don’t expect defensive miracles from this unit in the second half of the season.

“We knew coming in, our depth issues, our lack of experience issues, our size issues, our speed issues … we knew what we had,” Rodriguez said.

“But we can play better than what we’re playing defensively. So there is some level of frustration there. … The problems that we have are fixable, but I don’t know how soon. I know we can fix it over time, but we’re trying to fix it as soon as we can.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

Rodriguez doesn’t have many personnel buttons to push, but look for walk-on receiver Johnny Jackson to get more time on offense. On defense, lineman Justin Washington returned last week after missing the first five games because of suspension and should stay in the rotation, Rodriguez said.

It might take industrial-size rolls of duct tape to hold the Cats together in the second half of the season, but if the figurative bleeding stops, Arizona has the offense to find itself competing late into games with almost everyone on the schedule.

Maybe not USC, but who knows?

The other five games are some kind of winnable. Some more, some less. Washington, Colorado and Arizona State at home. UCLA and Utah on the road.

Are there three victories among those five games that would make UA bowl eligible?

Maybe. Is the glass half full?

Austin Hill dives for a 30-yard touchdown catch in the opener vs. Toledo. Photo by Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

Sophomore safety Jared Tevis has been part of five turnovers in five games. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Arizona Wildcats sophomore safety Jared Tevis and senior center Kyle Quinn have been ruled “questionable” of Saturday’s game at Stanford, according to the weekly injury report released Thursday afternoon.

Those two players marked the biggest injury questions following last week’s game against Oregon State.

Also, senior defensive end Dominique Austin has been ruled out because of a foot injury. He has started the first five games.

Tevis severely turned his left ankle in the first half of last week’s game against Oregon State, landing awkwardly as he defended a pass in the end zone. He returned briefly in the first half, then missed the entire second half.

Tevis, with 42 tackles, three forced fumbles and two interceptions, has arguably been the Wildcats’ top defender.

“Jared has been playing as great as any safety we’ve had in a long time,” coach Rich Rodriguez said.

Redshirt freshman Patrick Onwuasor replaced Tevis last week, and “played very physical, played pretty well,” Rodriguez said.

Onwuasor was recruited by the former Arizona coaching staff as a receiver out of Inglewood (Calif.) High School, where he was a two-way star. His preference back then was to play offense, and he picked Arizona over ASU, Miami and Nebraska on 2011 Signing Day.

Rodriguez and his coaches moved Onwuasor (6-1, 212) to safety during fall camp.

Quinn suffered an ankle injury in the second half of last week’s game. His replacement was senior Addison Bachman, who could make his first career start this week.

Starting right guard Trace Biskin (toe) and starting defensive tackle Reggie Gilbert (ankle) are also listed as questionable after missing last week’s game. Sophomore Dan Pettinato started for Gilbert last week. Chris Merrill or Willie Mobley could be next up at end to replace Austin.

That’s Patrick Onwuasor upending Oregon State running back Storm Woods in the second quarter. Rick Scuteri-US PRESSWIRE

One of the big questions for the Arizona Wildcats this week: How’s that left ankle of Jared Tevis?

The sophomore safety landed awkwardly on the ankle in the first quarter Saturday night and, although he returned for one series, missed the entire second half.

He tweeted after the game that “it’s looking like a bad sprain.” His status likely won’t be updated until Thursday, when the school releases its weekly injury report.

Tevis entered Saturday’s game against Oregon State with 39 tackles, one behind the team lead of linebacker Jake Fischer. Tevis forced three fumbles and intercepted two passes through four games.

“He’s a really good football player, probably one of our best defensive players,” coach Rich Rodriguez said after the 38-35 loss. “Makes plays. Anybody who watched him in the first four games saw that.”

Redshirt freshman Patrick Onwuasor came in to play the Bandit safety spot, which is designed to be a playmaking position in the 3-3-5 scheme of coordinator Jeff Casteel. Onwuasor made eight tackles.

As for me, it’s looking like a bad sprain, I’ll keep everyone updated after the xray, but like Schwarzenegger #Illbeback #Godisgood

— Jared Tevis (@TucTownTevis) September 30, 2012

He said it

“We’re playing every freshman we can. I mean, every special teams is made up almost entirely of walk-ons and freshmen. Look at the kickoff returns, which are awful … I think everybody but one guy is a freshman or walk-on. They’re trying hard. They’re going to be all right. Just not right now.” — Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez.

Carey’s carries

Arizona sophomore running back Ka’Deem Carey ran for 115 yards on 17 carries against Oregon State, which entered the game second nationally against the run.

The Beavers held Wisconsin’s Montee Ball to 61 yards and UCLA’s Johnathan Franklin to 45.

What did Rodriguez think of the run game: “Not very good.”

Injury update

Three Arizona starters who were listed as questionable this week did not play — guard Trace Biskin (toe), defensive end Reggie Gilbert (ankle) and receiver Terrence Miller (thigh).

Shane Zink started for Biskin, with true freshman Cayman Bundage also seeing time at that position. Sophomore Dan Pettinato stepped in for Gilbert, and redshirt freshman receiver David Richards got the start for Miller.

He said it, part II

“To me, they’re kind of both equal, just a different kind of loss. This one was right in our hands; we just let it go.” — Arizona receiver Austin Hill, comparing the 38-35 loss to Oregon State to a 49-0 defeat at Oregon the previous week.

Notable

Coach Mike Riley earned his 74th victory at Oregon State, becoming the school’s winningest coach. … Eleven players had a run or a reception of at least 20 yards in the Arizona-Oregon State game. Two players did both: UA’s Ka’Deem Carey (25-yard run, 47-yard reception) and OSU’s Storm Woods (21-yard run, 25-yard reception). … Oregon State receiver Markus Wheaton: “Arizona is a good team. They fought back — they didn’t want to lose and they showed it.” … The Wildcats are a combined 4-24 against Oregon and Oregon State since the 1999 season.

Oregon State’s Rashaad Reynolds seals the victory with this last-minute interception. Photo by Rick Scuteri-US PRESSWIRE

Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion fired the game-winning touchdown pass between two redshirt freshman defenders — a walk-on linebacker and an injury-replacement safety who was a receiver until fall camp.

Such is Arizona football these days.

Young and beat up, but battling, the patchwork Wildcats eventually succumbed to the passing of Mannion, who rang up a career-high 433 yards, the final nine coming on a perfectly timed pass to backup tight end Connor Hamlett with 1:09 left.

The Beavers won 38-35, their sixth consecutive victory at Arizona Stadium. They are 12-2 against Arizona since 1999.

The Wildcats had enough time left to mount a counter-strike to cap a wild second-half show, but Matt Scott and receiver Tyler Slavin weren’t in sync on a crossing pattern, and Scott’s throw over the middle was picked off by Rashaad Reynolds at the UA 44 with 38 seconds left.

Scott threw ahead of Slavin, who hesitated, perhaps breaking off the route because linebacker Michael Doctor had dropped into coverage and was occupying the middle of the field. Reynolds slipped inside Slavin and made the interception.

Even complete, the play wasn’t gaining more than few yards with precious time ticking away.

“There are five options on some of those routes,” said Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez.

“I don’t know what Matt saw. They made a nice play on it, but it’s never one play that beats you.”

The Wildcats will look back at a number of plays with regret.

–An early running-into-the kicker penalty that gave Oregon State a first down after missing a 32-yard field goal. The Beavers went on to score a touchdown for a 7-0 lead.

–A missed 41-yard field goal from John Bonano in the second quarter.

–A tipped pass that Arizona receiver Richard Morrison tried to corral, only to bat it back over his head, allowing cornerback Jordan Poyer to intercept it at midfield. Oregon State converted the turnover into a touchdown and a 24-21 lead late in the third quarter.

–Back-to-back 15-yard penalties on safety Jourdon Grandon — a late hit and a facemask — helped Oregon State drive for a touchdown and a 31-28 lead with 8:35 left.

–Mannion’s final touchdown pass, which came on third-and-5. Linebacker Sir Thomas Jackson jammed Hamlett at the line but couldn’t keep up when Hamlett released to the front left corner of the end zone after a play-action fake. Safety Patrick Onwuasor, playing for injured Jared Tevis, couldn’t close the passing window quickly enough.

Ka’Deem Carey dives into the end zone for a 1-yard score in the second quarter. Photo by Rick Scuteri-US PRESSWIRE

“I wasn’t sure I was even open at first,” Hamlett said. “But Sean made a great throw and I adjusted.”

Tevis suffered an ankle injury in the first half, came back briefly, then sat out the entire second half. Whether he could have made a play on that ball, we’ll never know.

Rodriguez continues to say his young defense is “hanging in there.” But the Cats gave up 613 yards to Oregon State, the second time this season an opponent has gone over 600. Mannion was sacked twice but was rarely pressured on his 45 throws.

“A lot of guys wide open and a lot of passes thrown,” Rodriguez said of the Oregon State offense. “When we blitzed, we couldn’t get there and that makes it tough on our DBs.”

It’s just tough all around on defense right now.

UA starts one senior in its 3-3-5 scheme and gets help from just two or three other seniors, none in the back eight.

“There ain’t a whole lot of bodies,” Rodriguez said.

“Whoever is in there has to make the plays. We’ve covered this: We’re not a really deep team.

“I’m proud of the way they showed some heart and some fight, and some guys who went in there as backups played really hard and I’m proud of them. Are they as good as the starters? If they were, they would be the starters.”

Starting center Kyle Quinn went out in the second half with a leg injury. Three other starters didn’t dress out because of injury.

Scott, still protecting a hip injury suffered last week, twisted his ankle in the first half and had to leave for a play. His planned runs were curtailed, but gutted through a career-best passing performance — 403 yards, completing 31 of 52 passes.

Scott helped rally Arizona from a 17-0 second-quarter deficit. UA took a 21-17 lead with 8:48 to go in the third quarter, the first of six lead changes in the second half.

Arizona needed there to be a seventh.

After the defense couldn’t get a final stop, the offense failed to respond.

“We have an offense that is high tempo, and when it gets going and we get momentum behind us, we can put together some drives really quickly,” said receiver Dan Buckner. “We had a good spurt coming out for the second half, but then we didn’t finish.”

Funny how a couple of plays — those made or not made — can completely change how you feel about a season.

With a win, Arizona would be 4-1 with victories over two ranked teams and probably would have landed back in the Top 25 this week.

With the loss, Arizona is 3-2 and staring uneasily at a longer skid because of a difficult three-game stretch that starts with Saturday’s game at Stanford. After a bye, the Cats play host to Washington and USC. They would do well to be 4-4 at the end of that stretch.

“We have another test coming,” Buckner said.

“It hurts, but we fought. There are positives in the game as well as negatives. It’s never as bad as it seems and never as good.

“We have work to do. It’s a long season. It’s not even halfway done.”

Sophomore safety Jared Tevis has been part of five turnovers in four games. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Back in spring, the three players who now form the Arizona Wildcats group of starting safeties were a walk-on, a guy on suspension and somebody the former coaching staff kept on the bench for half a season.

All sophomores, Jared Tevis, Tra’Mayne Bondurant and Jourdon Grandon have been the cornerstone of the Cats’ new 3-3-5 defense.

“It’s probably the most productive part of our defense,” coach Rich Rodriguez said of the safeties.

Start with Tevis.

The walk-on from Canyon del Oro High School played last season on special teams and he impressed the new UA coaches in the spring, but it would have been impossible to predict his fast start to the season:

Thirty-nine tackles in four games, five pass break-ups, three forced fumbles and two interceptions.

“I had big goals coming into this season,” said Tevis, who was put on scholarship this summer. “I had a lot of goals in my mind that people wouldn’t have even been thinking of before the season.”

Now, he never leaves the field, also playing on special teams.

“That kid the other night played 90 plays (against Oregon),” safeties coach Tony Gibson said of Tevis.

“And he was playing as hard as he could from play 1 to play 90. He was wearing out wideouts. He was knocking helmets off. He’s just a tough-ass kid who does everything we ask him to do. He plays with a chip on his shoulder.”

Tevis plays the “Bandit” safety position, which is something like a strong safety spot. Bondurant is the “Spur” safety, more of a hybrid safety/linebacker who gets to be a disruptive force in the backfield. He leads the team with 6.5 tackles for loss.

“They are doing a heck of a job right now, and they should in this defense,” Gibson said. “In this defense, we kind of highlight these guys to make those plays.”

Based on what we saw last season, we knew Bondurant could be a playmaker. He got his first extended chance as a true freshman in 2011 after Mike Stoops was fired at midseason.

Interim coach Tim Kish put Bondurant into the starting lineup against UCLA, and he responded with eight tackles. Playing as a linebacker/nickel back, Bondurant went on to earn honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors while essentially playing half a season.

“You would look at him on the street and wouldn’t think he’s a great football player by any means,” Gibson said.

“But he has a knack for the ball. Knows where he’s at. He maneuvers his body in ways you can’t even coach. It makes my job a lot easier.”

The only things big about Bondurant (5-10, 207) and Tevis (5-10, 197) are the chips on the shoulders. They play with a certain edge, combined with smarts and uncommon instincts. Rodriguez credits these two, plus junior linebacker Jake Fischer, as being able to quickly diagnose plays and get to the ball.

“A lot of the better players as you go through time, whether it’s Ray Lewis or Ed Reed or Tedy Bruschi or Chuck Cecil, I bet all those guys had that one genetic gene that allowed them to trigger things in their mind a step quicker than the average guy,” Rodriguez said.

Grandon, the free safety, falls under the tutelage of cornerbacks coach David Lockwood. Grandon came back from a spring suspension for his part in an off-campus fight and claimed the starting spot in fall camp. He has four pass break-ups.

Grandon played cornerback and safety last season, starting four games.

“He’s a tough guy,” Rodriguez said.

“He’s a physical guy who is a very good athlete. He’s still learning. We’ve moved him around a little bit, but I think we’ve found a home for him and he’s pretty solid there.”

Rodriguez is in one-game-at-a-time mode, so he’s not thinking of how this trio of sophomores could all grow up together in the next couple of seasons. What’s more, cornerback Jonathan McKnight is a sophomore. The other cornerback, Shaquille Richardson, is a junior.

There’s a promising future in the secondary, with Tevis and Bondurant, in particular, manning those playmaking safety positions.

“Jared probably could have been our player of the week in every week so far,” Rodriguez said. “He and Tra’Mayne, they just have a feel for the game.”

Matt Scott leads the band in “Bear Down, Arizona” after the game. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Arizona Wildcats quarterback Matt Scott ascended to the conductor’s platform in the southeast corner of Arizona Stadium, ready to direct the school’s marching band.

In this new postgame winning tradition, he and the rest of the Wildcats belted out “Bear Down, Arizona,” singing along with the band and students and fans. Scott punctuated the lyrics with fist pumps, reveling in the team’s 59-38 victory over 18th-ranked Oklahoma State.

What better way to symbolize that Saturday night was out with the old and in with the new.

The old Arizona lost, meekly, to Oklahoma State in each of the past two years and had dropped six consecutive games, also meekly, to ranked teams.

The new Arizona of coach Rich Rodriguez took the fight to the Cowboys, pounced on numerous OSU mistakes — including four turnovers and a ridiculous 167 yards in penalties — and scored the school’s most points ever against a ranked team, spanning 138 games.

“From the opening kickoff, I could sense our guys wanting to battle,” Rodriguez said.

“We might be a little smaller, maybe not as fast or whatever, but if a kid is a competitor, you always have a shot.”

Rodriguez is crafting a gutty, gritty outfit, one that didn’t panic after falling behind 14-0 following the Cowboys’ first two possessions. At that point it seemed as if the matchup would be following the same script as the meetings in 2010 and 2011.

“Every time a team goes up 14-0 it makes us concerned, but we went out there and played,” Scott said.

Arizona played to the tune of 30 consecutive points before Oklahoma State delivered a couple of third-quarter body blows and climbed within 30-28.

Arizona responded with a five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. The Cowboys countered with a field goal.

Then came the play of the game — cornerback Jonathan McKnight’s 48-yard interception return for a touchdown with 10:24 to play. A two-point conversion gave the Cats a 45-31 lead. Breathing room.

Arizona can only hope that college football fans on the East Coast were still awake and that they got the Pac-12 Network, because the Wildcats say they deserve to be noticed.

“I feel it makes us relevant,” Scott said of the victory. “A lot of people out think we’re not relevant at all. We beat a ranked team. We beat a good team.”

Arizona’s no-huddle, read-option offense ran 90 plays, with Scott accounting for 375 of Arizona’s 501 total yards. The Cats scored on all eight of their red-zone possessions, including five touchdowns.

They did not commit a turnover. They were penalized only four times. The defense, as it did a week earlier against Toledo, “hung in there.”

The Wildcats stopped Oklahoma State on six consecutive possessions at one point, but the Cowboys no-huddle spread offense is as relentless as any and accumulated 636 yards of offense, the fifth-most ever allowed by Arizona.

“Did you see how big they were up front?” Rodriguez said. “I mean, they were eating peanuts off our guys’ heads. It was scary. In warm-ups, I quit looking over there because I was losing confidence.”

Confidence isn’t an issue now for the Wildcats, who have found a core of competitors to lead the team into this new era.

Former walk-on safety Jared Tevis looks like a guy who should be playing intramural flag football, but he hits hard (cue the Chuck Cecil comparisons) and has a nose for the ball, intercepting a tipped pass and snatching another INT off a bobbled catch.

Jake Fischer, Arizona’s 215-pound middle linebacker, had a team-high 14 tackles and recovered a fumble.

Nobody has questioned running back Ka’Deem Carey’s toughness, and he persisted through 26 carries and some tough sledding, scoring three touchdowns on the ground and another through the air.

Scott? He passed for 320 yards, ran for 55 and further earned his coach’s admiration.

“He’s as good a competitor as I’ve been around,” Rodriguez said.

So, heck, maybe these Wildcats have a shot at something good in RichRod’s first season.

It was only reasonable to make the Oklahoma State game as a loss in any preseason prediction, so Arizona is “plus-one” on the season. The Cats should move to 3-0 next week at home against lower-division South Carolina State.

After that, Arizona would need only three Pac-12 victories to become bowl eligible.

No one should think that is going to be easy. Consider the UA’s first six league games:

At Oregon, home to Oregon State (which beat Wisconsin on Saturday), at Stanford, home for Washington and USC, then at UCLA (which beat Nebraska on Saturday).

Rodriguez spent all of fall camp stamping down expectations. Now what?

“This is a nice win. We’re going to enjoy this for 24 hours and I’ll see how the guys handle it,” he said. “If I have to, I’ll humble them again in Tuesday’s practice.”

Relevancy will be earned week to week.

But now we really can’t wait to see what’s next.

Rich Rodriguez walks off the field with his son, Rhett, and daughter, Raquel. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Ka’Deem Carey runs away from Toledo’s Chris Dukes at the end of his 73-yard touchdown run. Photo by Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

The Arizona Wildcats’ first-time starter at running back rushed for 147 yards.

Their starting middle linebacker, coming back from an ACL injury, led the Cats in tackles.

A first-time starting safety, a former walk-on, was deemed the team’s defensive player of the week.

These competing, encouraging, storylines share something in common:

Ka’Deem Carey, Jake Fischer and Jared Tevis are played their high school ball in Oro Valley, north of Tucson.

“We’re out there making plays,” said Carey, a sophomore who played with Tevis at Canyon del Oro High School. “I think we just wanted to do it for our city. We always talk about it — to play as hard as we can for our city.”

Let’s break down the local breakout players in the opening 24-17 victory over Toledo:

RB Ka’Deem Carey

Carey, who had a tantalizingly good season as a true freshman behind Keola Antolin, carried 20 times for 147 yards, both career highs. The highlight was a 73-yard burst up the middle, with Carey weaving among tacklers diving at his legs.

“As a running back you have to pick up your legs, because they’re coming after your legs, just because you’re a big dude,” said Carey.

At about the 15, he had to take a right turn to run away from pursuing cornerback Chris Dukes.

“When you break a long one, you’re not going to be like, ‘This last person is going to tackle me,’” Carey said. “So you’re going to give it all you got, kick it into that second gear and break away from him.”

Carey had three other runs of more than 10 yards but had trouble finding any sort of running room on many of his carries. He gained two yards or fewer on 11 of his 20 carries.

“He ran pretty hard,” coach Rich Rodriguez said.

“Ka’Deem is a good football player. He’s a tough guy. He loves the game. I wish we could have got him loose a couple more times.”

This was the first 100-yard game of Carey’s career. Carey, the gem of Mike Stoops’ 2011 recruiting class, rushed 91 times for 425 yards and six touchdowns last season.

LB Jake Fischer

Fischer, an Ironwood Ridge High graduate who tore his ACL late in the 2011 spring game, returned to the field with a team-high 13 tackles, including 2.5 for loss, both career highs.

He had eight tackles at halftime against Toledo, one more than his previous career high for a game.

“I loved it. There was a ton of emotions,” he said of playing again. “I just worked my tail off to get back. I’m just glad we got a win. I think that’s what matters most.”

Fischer, a junior, recently moved from outside linebacker to middle linebacker in UA’s 3-3-5 scheme. He can handle any of the linebacker spots.

“I know it killed him last year to not be out there, but you can see the immediate impact he has and the aura he brings with him on the field,” Tevis said. “It was great to be out there playing with him, first of all, and then just to see him play so well.”

S Jared Tevis

Tevis, a sophomore who was a special teams player last season, quickly caught the eye of Rodriguez in the spring with his hustle and hitting. What he lacks in stature as a major college safety — he’s 5-10, 197 — he makes up for with that big chip on his shoulder.

“The kid flies to the ball,” Fischer said.

“He had to earn his scholarship. He went out there every day and competed his butt off. He’s smacking people in practice, too. That translates to the field. He had a couple of nice hits (Saturday) night, so I’m proud of the kid.”

When the coaches selected their players of the week Sunday, Tevis got the nod for defense. He played all 94 plays on defense, as did Fischer, making 12 tackles and breaking up two passes.

“I was really feeling more tired in the second quarter than I was in the fourth,” Tevis said. “I kind of sucked it up and that second wind kind of kicked in. It was a tiring game, but we knew we had to push through it.”

Jake Fischer tries to bring down Toledo quarterback Terrance Owens. Photo by Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

Jared Tevis finishes off a drill in fall camp. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

If you’re a undersized walk-on playing defense for the Arizona Wildcats, there is one sure way to get the coaches’ attention. Bring down punishing 260-pound fullback Taimi Tutogi.

That was a litmus test of sorts in the spring. Coaches didn’t allow in cut tackling in practice, so it was big-boy tackle football — stick your face in there, wrap up, get the ball-carrier to the ground.

Up stepped walk-on safety Jared Tevis, all 5-10 and 198 pounds of him.

“I came out and didn’t stand down to anybody and was hitting,” Tevis said as fall camp started last week.

“Me and Taimi had a few battles, and nobody likes to go up against him. We went heads-up a few times … We stalemated. He keeps his legs moving, but I brought him down pretty much every time, and I think I just proved my physicality to the coaches.”

That’s it right there. The physicality.

Spring was a fresh start for everyone in the program. The new staff didn’t care that Tevis was a walk-on. If he was tall or short. It didn’t matter that he was a local kid from Canyon del Oro. A clean slate.

Can he play?

“The first thing you saw is that he is a hitter,” said safeties coach Tony Gibson.

“Every day in practice, if you heard someone get popped pretty good, you looked up and Tevis was the guy at the bottom of the pile. He’s a great competitive kid, works hard, is smart. That’s what we really like as a staff.”

First-year head coach Rich Rodriguez, duly impressed, awarded Tevis a scholarship after the spring.

“I have been working a couple of years in the program and finally got the opportunity to catch the coaches’ eye. It was a blessing,” Tevis said.

“I have had goals all along. It’s been cloudy at times, but I have always stuck to it. I’m in the position I want to be in to succeed and I’m going to accomplish the goals I have in mind.

“I knew there was no stopping there,” he added about being on scholarship. “That was just one of the notches I wanted to get to.”

The secondary needs another hitter after safety Adam Hall suffered a torn ACL in the spring game.

Tevis is listed as the starting “Bandit” in Arizona’s 3-3-5 odd stack defense. Gibson said that is like a strong safety kind of position that can be interchangeable with the free safety spot.

The new scheme relies on disguise, so it’s necessary to have the built-in versatility of guys like Tevis.

“Physicality is always a good way to get the coaches’ attention, but it’s gotta be more than that,” said Tevis, a redshirt sophomore.

“You have to be able to run around and make plays. In my position, you have to be able to cover and get to the ball, too. Physicality was just a way to get my foot in the door.”

And then he walked through that door with the chip on his shoulder he has been carrying around since high school. He helped lead CDO to a 14-0 record and a state title as a senior in 2009 — making 114 tackles, with eight interceptions and five forced fumbles — although his only scholarship offers were from small schools that he said he didn’t much consider.

“I wanted to be on the big stage, and that’s where I am and what I’m trying to do,” Tevis said.

He is overlooked no more.

He had to battle the “too small” label in high school and grew up having to compete with older brother, Aaron, who became a standout linebacker at Boise State and is now in camp as a rookie with the New Orleans Saints.

“I got roughed up a little bit, but that just made me tougher,” Jared said.

“I always feel that I’m going against the grain and I just have to keep working and have that self-determination. I always had a chip on my shoulder, and that brings out the intensity that some people don’t have.”