Four points.
That’s all the Arizona Wildcats needed last season to upset Oregon.
Four measly points.
But instead, the Ducks (4-0 overall, 1-0 Pac-10 Conference) narrowly defeated the Wildcats (3-1, 0-1) 14-10 in Eugene on Oct. 21, 2000. Had Arizona quarterback Ortege Jenkins’s last minute pass been caught, the Ducks may have been the team that went on to a 5-6 record and out of bowl contention after losing five in a row to end the season.
Instead, then head coach Dick Tomey’s squad dropped from 21st in the nation at the start of the Oregon battle, to tied for fifth in the Pac-10 at 3-5.
It’s a year later, and all bets are off for the ‘Cats.
Tomey has been fired after leading the team to its worst record since 1996 (5-6). In comes John Mackovic to replace the embattled coach. But it won’t be an easy job for the former head coach at Texas, Illinois and Wake Forest in the collegiate ranks and at Kansas City in the NFL.
Jenkins has graduated after leading the Wildcats for the past two seasons. Junior Jason Johnson takes over the reins and hopes to lead Arizona back into Pac-10 prominence. He beat out a group of six untested players for the spot, having been the only one to throw a pass in a Division I football game. Prior to the start of this season, though, he had thrown only 11 passes in two years. In his four 2001 starts, he has thrown for 911 yards in 117 attempts.
The real key to Arizona’s offense may come from their backfield. Sophomore running back Clarence Farmer leads the ‘Cats rushing offense after netting 84 yards on 16 carries last week against Washington State.
Speaking of the Cougars, Jason Gesser and company pounded Arizona last week en route to a 48-21 win in Tucson, Ariz. What was originally marked to be a strong matchup of two surprising teams turned real ugly, real quick.
Washington State came out with 28 early points against the Wildcat defense, only to see Arizona quickly score 21 points of its own. However, those would be the first and only points the Wildcats would score, as the Cougars came back with 20 unanswered points.
After the game, Johnson knows he has to play better for the team to survive. He completed 13 passes on 25 attempts for 184 yards. He also threw an interception on the third play of the game, setting the tone in the blowout.
“I’ve got to take the blame for the slow start because I’m the quarterback,” Johnson told the Arizona Daily Wildcat. “It was a tough loss, and we’ve got to hand it to them.”
Mackovic knows that for the Wildcats to survive in the Pac-10, Oregon is a crucial opponent.
“Oregon is a really good team,” he said. “They see this as a key Pac-10 game, so they will be ready to play like that. Their very best will be on display Saturday, so we have to raise our level of play this week.”
The Arizona defense must play strong to contain the sluggish yet potentially explosive Oregon offense. The Pac-10’s fourth ranked defense features junior linebacker Lance Briggs and sophomore cornerback Michael Jolivette. Jolivette, known best by Oregon fans as the player who had his helmet knocked off by Ducks’ linebacker Wesly Mallard last season, has two interceptions this season, including a key one against Idaho in the Wildcats’ second win.
But none of this matters if Arizona doesn’t come to play.
“We have to go back to work and go about our business,” Mackovic said. “Football is a high-performance game, and you can try hard, but you still have to perform. We have to make sure that the players understand what they need to do this week.”