Wildcat Notebook: Back to the drawing board

The Arizona Wildcats were six minutes away from the outright Pac-10 lead.

Jason Bondzio hammered through a 23-yard field goal to give the Wildcats a six-point lead, but it was the third time in the contest Arizona had to settle for three despite driving inside Stanford’s 10-yard line.

Even though Arizona (4-2, 2-1 Pac-10) led the game for the majority of the afternoon, it’s not wise to leave that many points on the field against any competitve football team.

Even though Stanford (4-3, 3-1) was down to its third-string quarterback (erratic sophomore Alex Loukas), Jim Harbaugh’s squad proved that any team dangerous on its homecoming.

After poor kick-off coverage, Stanford started with the ball on its 40. Loukas and bruising tailback Toby Gerhart went to work.

Loukas only needed to complete one pass — a 21-yarder to Ryan Whalen — in the game-winning drive. It was Arizona’s increasingly vulnerable run defense that couldn’t come up with any key stops.

Loukas and Gerhart combined to average nearly five yards a carry, ducking and dodging their way past a sloppy and fatigued Wildcat defense.

Despite yet another stellar performance from the pass defense — 152 total yards and two touchdowns from Stanford’s aerial attack — Gerhart racked up 116 yards on 24 carries, and his backfield cohort Anthony Kimble added 110 yards on 10 carries.

“Stanford’s offensive line did an outstanding job,” Arizona coach Mike Stoops said. “Their kids executed well and controlled the line. That’s really where we lost a good part of the game.”

Another big back — New Mexico’s Rodney Ferguson — had a big day against this Arizona defense, rushing for 158 yards and two touchdowns on Sept. 13.

The ground game

It seems like a simple formula is starting to set in. If Arizona limits an opponent’s success in the ground game, it wins. In four victories, the Wildcats have given up 79 yards per game on the ground. In two losses, that number skyrockets to 253.5 yards.

This is bad news for any team getting ready to face the Pac-10-leading California Golden Bears (4-1, 2-0) — a team averaging 180 yards per game on the ground.

Had the Wildcats gotten past the Cardinal, this battle would be for sole possession of the Pac-10 lead. However, it is now a crucial contest simply to stay in the race.

Starting tailback Jahvid Best sat out last week’s game against Arizona State with a dislocated elbow he suffered against Colorado State on Sept. 27. He has returned to practice this week and Cal coach Jeff Tedford expects him to be ready to go on Saturday.

“We’re going to monitor his progress closely and see how he feels,” Tedford said.

If Best is available, that gives the Golden Bears one of the nation’s most dymanic offensive weapons. He leads the nation in all-purpose yards (215.5 ypg) and arguably rates among the nation’s best in “oooh and aaah” plays.

Cal is no stranger to speedsters, but Tedford said Best is among the fastest players he’s coached.

“Jahvid and Desean Jackson play the fastest out of anyone I’ve been around,” Tedford said. “Someone can have Jahvid in his sights and all of a sudden, he makes a cut and he’s gone.”

If the super sophomore sees limited action, expect fellow speedy tailback Shane Vereen to see the bulk of the workload.

At quarterback, Tedford will likely alternate between Kevin Riley and Nate Longshore, who returns after slipping a disc in his back last week. Both signal-callers have seen significant action on the field, but Riley has been much more successful.

However, Tedford remains coy when discussing who will start Saturday’s game.

“We’ll see how the week progresses,” Tedford said.

Home cooking

Throughout the first half of the Pac-10 season, few factors have been as significant in determining the outcome of games as home-field advantage.

Thus far, the home teams are winning nearly every week, with Stoops surprisingly pointing out that his Wildcats arguably own the league’s best road win — at UCLA on Sept. 20.

“That just goes to show you the parity that’s in college football these days,” Stoops said. “Everyone plays a little better at home.”

The Wildcats have yet to lose at Arizona Stadium this season, winning their three contests by a 159-30 margin.

Of course, their three opponents (Idaho, Toledo, Washington sans Jake Locker) aren’t nearly as talented as the Golden Bears.

This is Cal’s first league game on the road, and it didn’t have much success on its last trip here. In 2006, Cal came into Tucson ranked No. 8 in the nation, but the Wildcats pulled out a 24-20 victory.

“It’s challenging to win on the road, especially against a team with this much talent and this many weapons,” Tedford said.

Kickoff Saturday is scheduled for 7 p.m.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747

Details

What: No. 25 California (4-1, 2-0) at Arizona (4-2, 2-1)

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

Where: Arizona Stadium, Tucson

Time: 7:00 p.m.

TV: FSN Arizona

Radio: 107.5 FM, 1290-AM, 990-AM (Spanish)