Tom Knauer Arizona Sports Editor

In the professional world, it's called "attention to detail."

In the world of amateur college football, it's considered the difference between wins and losses, between angry fans and athletic departments swimming in well-earned cash.

The Pacific 10 Conference announced March 11 that instant replay will be used in its college football games on a trial basis in the fall.

The Pac-10 is the second major football conference to announce this in as many months, following the ACC's decision made Feb. 25.

All of the interested conferences - including the Big 12 and SEC - cite the success of the instant replay system installed in the Big 10 last season.

Under that system, which the Pac-10 will adopt, an official sat in the press box and reviewed plays as he saw fit. The average time spent for a review was 2 minutes, 39 seconds, according to a Feb. 10 article in the Omaha World-Herald, and 21 of 43 plays looked at throughout the season were overturned.

So despite all the hoopla, it seems the decision, while popular among conference commissioners, shouldn't have a whole lot of impact on the Arizona football team when it takes the field Sept. 3 for its season opener at Utah.

Tell that to head coach Mike Stoops.

Stoops' emotional first season in Tucson was at times marred - but often laughed at - as officials made one boneheaded call after another.

Some of the most endearing images of a 3-8 campaign came about at least once or twice a home game - Stoops throwing down his headset, anger bubbling red in his cheeks, threatening referees with certain doom if they didn't start swallowing their whistles and burying their penalty flags in the turf.

Having instant replay almost ensures that such brouhahas will become less common in 2005.

This is a small tragedy, as fans will want some entertainment amid inevitable lopsided and befuddling losses, but the decision's impact on the program's beyond this season makes the small conflicts worth it.

As Stoops extends his tenure here, it's hard to see the team regressing. His name alone will bring in the players he needs to turn the Wildcats into the Oklahoma Sooners Southwest.

In time, Arizona could join the ranks of Southern California, Oklahoma, Texas and the Florida schools as perennial Bowl Champion Series contenders, provided the system stays in place that long.

To that former end, installing instant replay is a positive first step.

One blown call means millions of dollars to programs on the bubble of making one of the five ultra-lucrative BCS bowls, which are given to teams with strong schedules and even stronger performances.

Even facing roughly the same list of opponents as last season, the Wildcats have the potential to make a big impression in the minds of pundits.

Road games against the Utes, Golden Bears and Trojans, all BCS squads last year, give Arizona more legitimacy in the national consciousness, even though it has yet to play a game.

Some big wins in addition to that - against Purdue Sept. 17, for example - will only boost the team's fortunes further.

So, how instant replay gets received in the Pac-10 this season will have a direct influence on Arizona's financial and athletic growth from here on out - something everyone involved with the program, from fans to renegade street vendors, should care about.

In the meantime, however, the team should concentrate on getting the job done on the field.

Arizona went 2-2 in games decided by 10 points or fewer last season, including last-minute losses to Wisconsin (9-7, Sept. 18) and Washington State (20-19, Sept. 25).

While a potentially blown call didn't factor into how either of those games ended, both seemed to dump disappointment and doubt on the Wildcats and helped lead to blowout losses against UCLA, California and Southern California.

Many an offensive drive stalled from frequent offsides penalties, and more than a few good defensive plays drowned in a sea of yellow.

Yet that wasn't the case. The Wildcats were the least penalized team by yards (42.9 per game) in the Pac-10.

The problem was, Arizona couldn't make do with what little it got. The team was last in the conference in converting third downs (29.9 percent) and allowed opposing quarterbacks the best passing efficiency (132.7) and third-highest completion percentage (58.0).

It doesn't take a high-powered camera to say how numbers like that arose. Blame for a lack of poise in pressure situations clearly falls more on the players and the coaching staff than the officials.

Nevertheless, 10 cheers to the Pac-10 for giving all its teams a better chance on the highest national stage. Let's hope the Wildcats can take this opportunity and do more than watch it float away.