FRONT ROW: Arizona looks to keep Rose Bowl dream alive

THE BIG TIME: Three games stand between Arizona and the Rose Bowl, with none bigger than Saturday’s showdown with Oregon (6 p.m., ABC).

It’s so big, in fact, that ESPN has deemed it the marquee game of the day and will send its “College Gameday” crew (Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Hirbstreet and Desmond Howard) to Tucson for the first time in the program’s history.

Will that be enough to snap the Cats out of their funk after the squad’s disappointing 24-16 loss at Cal? It better be.

In Thursday’s “Three things to watch” article on www.gvnews.com, I spent most of that piece explaining all of the dangers in that Cal match-up (the classic trap game), but went against my better judgment and picked the Wildcats to win. Why? Because I believed the team’s offensive diversity would overwhelm the beleagured Cal defense. Boy, was I wrong.

Arizona’s offense struggled mightily to run the ball with any consistency, allowing Cal to drop eight into coverage and swallow up Nick Foles’ quick-pass attack. Outside of the UCLA game (where he was playing with the flu), last week’s performance was Foles’ worst of his young career.

Yet, the Wildcats still had more than a few chances to pull out the win. The defense made a number of key stops and kept the Cats well within striking distance.

Oregon is clearly the most talented team the Cats will face during this brutal four-game stretch. Most people expect the Ducks to secure the Pac-10 championship and represent the conference in the Rose Bowl.

If you remember back to the last time Oregon came into Arizona with a Rose Bowl berth on its mind (Nov. 15, 2007), the Ducks lost star quarterback Dennis Dixon and the Cats stunned the highly touted Ducks 34-24.

This time, the Ducks come in as six-point favorites, but the Cats are a live underdog. It doesn’t get much bigger than this.

“If we want to stay in this thing, we have to win,” Stoops said. “Otherwise, our visions of a championship are over. We still control our destiny.”

Now all that’s left is to convince the city of Tucson that this is, in fact, a big deal. The Wildcats are a perfect 5-0 at home this year, but the stadium has been less than packed for much of the action. Hopefully, the ESPN presence and the fact that the Wildcats have a serious shot to climb back into title contention will bring out the best in Arizona’s fans.

Check www.gvnews.com on Thursday for my “Three things to watch” for the Arizona/Oregon game.

COACH JAWANN: Among all of the athletes and coaches I’ve interviewed during my four years at this paper, Jawann McClellan still stands out.

The former Arizona basketball star is much more thoughtful, introspective and self-aware than your typical athlete. He was the focus of a profile I wrote in January, 2008 — an article that currently stands as my favorite piece.

What started out as a standard Q-and-A between reporter and athlete developed into McClellan’s honest portrayal of his career and what the game of basketball means to him.

“I’ve met so many great people in Tucson and worked through all the adversity to turn myself into the man I am today,” McClellan said. “It’s not the career I thought I’d have, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m very happy where I’m at.”

I think back to our discussion from time to time and think that McClellan would make a fantastic coach some day.

That day came even sooner than I expected.

The Arizona Daily Wildcat’s terrific sports reporter Lance Madden recently caught up with McCellan, who is now an assistant coach at hoops powerhouse Yates High School in Houston, just a few blocks from where J-Mac grew up.

The head coach? Greg Wise — yes, Nic’s father.

“It was a no-brainer for me to bring him on board,” Greg Wise told Madden. “I don’t think we’regoing to have him long because he just has everything that you’re looking for in a coach, no matter what level.”

I’d wish McClellan luck, but he doesn’t need it. Some people were born to coach. McClellan is one of them.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747