UA set to end Huskies' dominance

Katherine K. Gardiner Arizona Daily Wildcat Senior cornerback Chris McAlister (11) kneels down for a touchback on a kickoff in the Arizona end zone against Iowa Sept 19. No. 14 Arizona faces No. 20 Washington tomorrow at 7 at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

The other team rolls into the game after being rolled.

No. 14 Arizona (4-0 overall, 1-0 Pacific 10 Conference) and No. 20 Washington (2-1, 1-0) square off tomorrow night at 7 at Husky Stadium in Seattle. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Arizona.

"Our season is really quite dominated at this point by the 55-7 loss and how you get back and recover against a 4-0 Arizona team," Washington head coach Jim Lambright said, referring to his team's blowout loss at the hands of No. 2 Nebraska last weekend.

Arizona head coach Dick Tomey said that the Wildcats should not take the Huskies' demolition as a sign that the game will be an easy one.

"First off, Nebraska had a bye the week before," Tomey said. "If you're playing someone with a bye you need to be better both physically and mentally, and Washington wasn't."

Tomey also noted that Nebraska runs the option, which no team in the Pac-10 does.

"They (the Cornhuskers) hadn't played up to their capabilities," he said. "That was not a true indication of the kind of team Washington has. The Arizona State game was a much better indicator."

The Huskies opened the season with a come-from-behind win over ASU, 42-38, in which quarterback Brock Huard had a field day using the five-wideout set.

The task of stopping Huard (61 of 112, 656 yards, 6 TD, 4 INT) and the UW air attack falls upon the UA secondary, led by senior cornerback Chris McAlister.

"I don't see it as a big challenge for me personally," he said. "I see it as a challenge for the whole team."

Last year Huard challenged and beat the Wildcats, leading UW to a 58-28 win in Tucson.

For Arizona quarterback Keith Smith, who was on the sidelines while nursing an injured shoulder, the game was not one to look back on and smile.

"I tried to forget about that game," he said. "10 to 11 guys off that team went to the NFL, so it'll be a different team than it was last year."

One weapon that Smith and sophomore QB Ortege Jenkins didn't have last year is senior wide receiver Jeremy McDaniel, who missed 1997 because of an injury.

McDaniel has 310 yards on 22 receptions for four touchdowns, combining with junior Dennis Northcutt, who has 23 receptions for 458 yards and three touchdowns. Together they are the most potent pair of receivers in the Pac-10.

"Thank God we've got Jeremy," Smith said. "When you get the ball in either of those two guys' hands they'll make the play."

Because other teams are now starting to key on the two wideouts, that gives the very mobile Smith and Jenkins a chance to run.

"They seem to forget O.J. and I can run," Smith said, even after he ran for two touchdowns at San Diego State last week.

Lambright said he would rather he didn't have to face Smith or Jenkins at all.

"Will you give me my choice?" he joked after he was asked if he preferred facing one over the other. "I think O.J. can throw the ball through a brick wall. Keith Smith has great potential. He was born to be in a leadership role. The two of them present different problems for us."

Also presenting a problem for Washington is the Arizona running game, led by junior Trung Canidate and senior Kelvin Eafon.

Canidate leads Arizona with 234 yards this year while Eafon has 175 yards and five touchdowns. Last year Eafon, in place of the injured Canidate, ran for single game-best 140 yards and three touchdowns.

Compared to Arizona on the ground, Washington has struggled this season.

Tomey attributes that to the Huskies' opponents.

"They've played really good defense(s)," he said. "It's hard to run the ball against good teams."

UW will be without starting running back Maurice Shaw tomorrow, so it will be up to redshirt freshman Willie Hurst (60 yards on 25 carries) to handle the bulk of the Huskies' running plays.

"It's just their third night game (in history), so the fans will already be liquored up and crazy," UA right guard Yusuf Scott said. "That's my kind of situation, going into a place like that."

Chris Jackson can be reached via e-mail at Chris.Jackson@wildcat.arizona.edu.