Arizona’s need for speed: The Wildcats are in danger of lagging behind Pac-10 foes

Speed kills.

In a sport as unpredictable as football, few things remain as consistent as that two-word phrase.

The Arizona Wildcats found this out the hard way on Saturday, when No. 6 California sprinted to a 45-27 win in Berkeley, Calif.

The win gives the Golden Bears (4-0) some revenge for last year’s 24-20 upset on Arizona (1-3) field that knocked Cal out of Rose Bowl consideration.

“They have a lot of talented playmakers on that team,” said head coach Mike Stoops. “We played good defense in spots, but we didn’t stop them when we needed to.”

Most of the pregame focus centered around Cal’s Heisman Trophy candidate, DeSean Jackson.

Arizona shifted its coverage to make sure Jackson—hampered with a thumb injury—didn’t spring loose.

While he only caught three passes and never broke free in the return game, the threat of Jackson’s speed allowed his fellow explosive teammates to shred the Arizona defense.

Justin Forsett carried 23 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns, while lanky wide receiver Lavelle Hawkins hauled in six passes for 95 yards and a score.

“We spent a lot of time focused on DeSean, but their other guys really hurt us,” Stoops said.

Arizona fell behind 28-3 in the first quarter, seeming almost overwhelmed by the Golden Bears’ speed on both sides of the ball.

However, Arizona did regain its composure in the second quarter, keeping Cal out of the end zone while freshman tailback Nicholas Grigsby punched in a 3-yard touchdown.

Grigsby carried 13 times for 42 yards in his first start.

Cal seemed to have put the game out of reach by the end of quarter No. 3, but Mike Thomas’ 4-yard touchdown reception pulled Arizona to within two scores.

On the next series, seldom-used freshman James Montgomery fumbled, giving Arizona tremendous field position to cut into Cal’s lead.

Missed opportunities

Instead, Arizona’s habit of struggling to create a key play at the most crucial point of the contest crept up at the worst possible time.

After settling for a field goal, Arizona trailed 38-27, but Forsett marched his troops 80 yards for a backbreaking touchdown.

“We’ve squandered away points in crucial situations,” Stoops said.

For the third consecutive week, junior quarterback Willie Tuitama continued to set personal bests in the statistical department.

His 42 completions and 61 attempts were career highs, while his 309 yards proved that the Wildcats were able to move the ball effectively.

However, two costly interceptions and a poor 5-17 on third-down attempts kept the score in favor of the Golden Bears for the duration of the contest.

“We haven’t hit things as well as we would’ve liked, but we’re not far off,” Stoops said. “Our offense is showing more confidence and effeciency every week.”

It’s not the offense that has Stoops worried, however. It’s his defense—which is returning 10 starters from last year—that has created cause for concern.

In the Pac-10 conference, Cal’s speed isn’t the exception. It’s the rule.

Each offense in the Pac-10 features a handful of athletes with NFL-caliber speed. Stoops believes this season might feature the most offensive talent the Pac-10 has ever seen.

Brink’s crew

This Saturday, Arizona will face yet another high-profile offensive talent in Washington State’s star quarterback Alex Brink.

Brink will lead his Cougars into Arizona Stadium in a rematch of last season’s 27-17 Wildcat win that knocked Washington State out of the top 25.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Last week, the Cougars hung tough with No. 1 USC through the first quarter, but the Trojans opened up their potent offense en route to a 47-14 victory.

“Alex showed great poise in that USC game,” Stoops said. “We were able to get some pressure on him last season, which is what we’ll need to do again on Saturday. He’s a very talented quarterback.”

Brink is averaging just under 300 yards passing per contest while spreading the ball around to his favorite targets, wide receivers Michael Bumpus and Brandon Gibson.

Saturday’s game features two teams at a crossroads in their respective seasons. Both teams have also struggled on the defensive side of the football.

If either squad has hopes of making noise in the Pac-10 this season, they will need a win this week to build some momentum before taking on some of the conference’s heavyweights.

If Arizona falls to 1-4 on the season, with an 0-2 mark in conference play, it will need a phenomenal second half in order to even think about possible post-season play.

“Everyone can move the ball in this conference. It’s all going to come down to defense this season,” Stoops said. “You’re not going to hold many teams to under 300 yards of total offense this season, so whatever team can make a few big plays on defense will have a tremendous edge.”

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