Different season, similar outcome

Anyone who chose to watch the Arizona and Oregon State tape delay yesterday might have been a little confused.

At first glace, it might have appeared that you were watching the Beavers' and Wildcats' 2001 game at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Ore., in which the Wildcats fell 38-3. The Wildcats were dominated from start to finish, and senior quarterback Jason Johnson even said that last season's loss to the Beavers was the low point of the year.

Why would Fox Sports Arizona show a poorly played game that is more than a year old?

Well, they didn't.

Same teams. Same stadium. Same city. Same score. Different year.

The Wildcats (3-6, 0-5) dropped their fifth-straight Pacific 10 Conference game Saturday when they fell to Oregon State 38-3.

"It was a combination of things," head coach John Mackovic said. "We got overpowered and we had missed assignments."

This was the second time in two years that Arizona has started out its Pac-10 season 0-5, and the Wildcats have lost 16 of their last 18 Pac-10 games.

Oregon State outgained the Wildcats in total yards 457-93, including a 315-50 halftime difference. Arizona's 93 total yards for the game was the fewest of any Wildcat team in Pac-10 play.

Signs that things are going badly

Arizona has scored only one touchdown in its last 12 quarters of play.

The Wildcats were forced to punt 12 times in the loss and averaged only 35.8 yards a punt.

UA only crossed mid-field twice all game and managed only 3 points on a Bobby Gill 43-yard field goal.

In the Wildcats' last three meetings with the Beavers, they have been outscored by a total of 109-15.

The last time Arizona won was on Sept. 28 in a close 14-9 win over North Texas.

Johnson has lost 261 yards on sacks and rushing attempts this season.

Without counting the 309 rushing yards that junior running back Clarence Farmer gained before he got hurt in the fourth game of the year, the rest of the team has only 171 total rushing yards in the last five.

UA has rushed for minus-41 yards in its last two games combined.

The Wildcats are last in the Pac-10 in sacks and sacks allowed. Arizona has only 18 sacks for 90 yards lost, while allowing 38 sacks for -322.

Senior receiver Bobby Wade was held to his lowest catch and yards receiving totals since the North Texas game. Wade had four catches for only 34 yards after being triple-covered most of the game.

The Wildcats are officially out of bowl contention with six losses on the season. This will be the fourth year in a row that they have not played in a bowl game, the longest UA streak since 1980-84.

Arizona must win two out of its last three games to have a chance of avoiding finishing last in the Pac-10 for the first time since joining the conference in 1978.