Adjectives spewed from first-year Arizona head coach John Mackovic’s mouth this week when describing Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington.
While Mackovic has yet to coach against Harrington, he saw plenty of the signal-caller last season while working as a college football analyst for ESPN.
“I have great admiration and respect for him,” Mackovic said. “He doesn’t quit. He has the poise, confidence, courage and toughness to stand in the pocket and deliver the ball.
“Joey has been called the ‘comeback kid,’ and I have to agree with that.”
Certainly that’s been Harrington’s tag over the last year and his reputation has only grown since leading the Ducks on a last-minute, game-winning scoring drive against USC on Sept. 22.
But where did the ‘comeback kid’ get his first break? Where did his first come-from-behind thriller take place at, and who was it against?
Naturally, that would be at Arizona Stadium on the evening of October 23, 1999, when a young energetic sophomore quarterback entered the game in the third quarter and the led the Ducks to a wild 44-41 victory against the Wildcats. Harrington, who replaced then-starter A.J. Feeley, had engineered the first of his much-talked-about eight comeback wins.
Almost two years later, that fresh-faced Harrington is now the seasoned veteran of the seventh-ranked team in the country and is leading his team back to Tucson, Ariz., Saturday for a 7:15 p.m. duel in the desert with the Wildcats (3-1).
“Last time we were there we pulled one out in Joey’s debut,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. “It’s a fun place to play. There’s great emotion whenever Arizona and Oregon step on the field together.”
That held true for last season’s game at Autzen Stadium when both teams entered the contest sporting 5-1 records. After Oregon grabbed the 14-10 first half lead, the game turned into a defensive battle.
No points would be scored in the second half as the Ducks would capture the crucial win that would send the Wildcats reeling. Arizona finished the season with five straight losses, which shut the Wildcats out of the bowl picture and eventually got then-head coach Dick Tomey fired.
Now, with Mackovic at the helm, the Wildcats are out to prove that they are a changed team and an upset victory over the Ducks (4-0) could go a long way for them.
“Their very best play will be on display Saturday, so we have to raise our level of play,” Mackovic said. “Not to be unfair, but they haven’t played at the same level for all of their games as they did against Wisconsin. We haven’t played at the same level for that matter.”
The Wildcats didn’t look sharp in their 48-21 loss to Washington State last week, but the Ducks are not taking them lightly. Arizona quarterback Jason Johnson has thrown seven touchdown passes this season, including a school and Pac-10 record 99-yarder, and sophomore halfback Clarence Farmer has already recorded a 100-yard game and two 90-yard outings.
“It’s an uphill climb from here because every team in the Pac-10 is good and has a chance to knock you off at any time,” Oregon linebacker David Moretti said. “There aren’t any weeks off, that’s for sure.”
Bellotti has stressed over the past couple weeks that his team needs to become “road warriors.” The Ducks passed their first road test last week with their 38-21 victory at Utah State, but now comes the challenge of a Pac-10 foe in a hostile environment.
“I really believe that the team that can stay healthy and continue to improve all season long is the one that has the best chance in this conference,” Bellotti said. “And we get our first real test, in my mind, this week.”