By
Ryan Finley
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Farmer becoming front-runner at tailback
In some cases, games are closer than the score may indicate.
However, the UA football team's 27-3 victory against Stanford Saturday was not one of those games.
The Wildcats (3-1 overall, 1-0 Pacific 10 Conference) answered the questions that had dogged the team all season with a rout of the Cardinal, last season's Pac-10 Champions and a team that had defeated then-No. 6 Texas two weeks ago.
* After three weeks of platooning sophomores Leo Mills and Larry Croom with freshman Clarence Farmer, has Arizona finally found a featured tailback?
Apparently so. Farmer, a freshman from Booker T. Washington High School in Houston, rushed for 116 yards on 18 carries in the victory against the Cardinal. For the second week in a row, the freshman outshone both Croom and Mills. In Saturday's game, Croom had just 55 yards on 14 carries, while Mills gained a paltry 15 yards on six carries and fumbled a pitch at Stanford's 29-yard line.
"We dropped a pitch and threw an interception when we were deep in their territory," UA head coach Dick Tomey said. "There's a bunch of things we need to do better."
According to UA head coach Dick Tomey, Farmer's play in the past two games has made him a contender to start next Saturday against Southern California at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.
"We'll decide this week," Tomey said. "He's certainly made quite a statement. He's averaging 6.4 yards (per carry). He's just done a terrific job."
* Has senior quarterback Ortege Jenkins returned to the form that made him one of the Pac-10's top quarterbacks in 1999?
If Saturday's game was any indication, Jenkins appears to be on his way back to respectability.
Against the Cardinal (2-2, 1-1), the senior from Long Beach, Calif. completed 12-of-22 passes for 198 yards. In the Wildcats' last two games, Jenkins is a combined 31-of-51 for 398 yards despite playing behind a banged-up offensive line. In Saturday's game, only one starter - center Bruce Wiggins - played his natural position.
"I think he's getting better," Tomey said of his quarterback. "(There is) a lot of stress on a quarterback when your offensive line is uncertain. He realized that we might spring a leak every once in awhile, but he's stayed positive."
Jenkins, whose knack for completing deep passes has made him a threat throughout his career, connected with senior Brad Brennan for a 36-yard touchdown in the first quarter, setting the pace for the Wildcat victory.
"He did a nice job of keeping his poise," Tomey said.
* Can UA's defense manage to compete with Southern California's high-powered offense next weekend?
In 2000, the Wildcats have allowed just 36 total points and just 2.1 yards per carry. After a disappointing 1999 season - one in which UA allowed 50 points to Stanford - the Wildcats seem to have a renewed sense of defensive pride.
"The defense has a passion for defending our goal line," Tomey said. "They've done quite a job because we haven't allowed a touchdown in three of the games."
Never was the intensity of UA's defense more evident than Saturday night, when Wildcat defensive tackle Idris Haroon recovered a fumble for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. As he entered the end zone, the 6-foot-2, 265-pound senior somersaulted in for the score and was penalized for drawing excessive attention to himself.
"We can't do that," Tomey said. "I know players get excited, but in a close game, you don't want to kick an extra point from the 18-yard line. That's youthful enthusiasm that we have to temper."
Tomey said that having an over-aggressive team is a good problem to have though.
"I'd rather have guys that are enthusiastic, that want to hit, that are aggressive, and that you're trying to pull back than guys who aren't enthusiastic, that don't want to hit, that you're trying to get to do it," he said.
Questions regarding whether or not the Wildcats can compete with the No. 18 Trojans (3-1, 0-1) will be answered next Saturday.
"We're playing hard and we're trying to play harder every week," Tomey said. "I assume (USC) is going to play the best game they've played all year. In order for us to compete, we're going to have to play the best game we've played all year.
"In this conference, you have to be ready to play every week. This week will be a midterm exam."
Whether or not the Wildcats will pass is not yet known.
