Don't jump off the Tyndall Garage. Don't tear up your Zona Zoo pass. Don't choke down a handle of Safeway-brand vodka because the Arizona football team lost again.
Truth be told, there were a lot of things that went wrong in the Wildcats' 27-24 loss to Utah over the weekend, but don't give up on the 2005 Wildcats.
They missed tackles, missed assignments and missed a golden opportunity to end the nation's second-longest winning streak.
With all of that being said, the 2005 season is still just a game old and there were some bright spots in defeat.
Arizona fell behind 27-10 on an interception returned for a touchdown in the third quarter, making the upset bid look more hopeless than not.
The Wildcats could have packed it in and returned to Tucson still 0-1. That's what the teams in the John Mackovic era probably would have done, but not these Wildcats.
They battled back, scored two unanswered touchdowns and got into Utes territory with a chance to tie or take the lead.
On fourth and five with 3:16 remaining from the Utah 42, Arizona decided to punt, hoping they could pin the Utes deep in their own territory and hold them to a three-and-out.
Instead, the Wildcats ended up allowing two long runs and never threatened again, getting the ball back on their own 9 with less than 30 seconds to go.
Minus the interception, redshirt sophomore Richard Kovalcheck was productive, despite being curiously yanked in favor of junior Adam Austin during the second quarter. Kovalcheck connected on 21-of-37 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns.
He might also have found another receiver to compliment junior Syndric Steptoe in freshman Michael Thomas, who hauled in seven passes for 92 yards and a score.
On defense, sophomore Dane Krogstad filled in for redshirt freshman Ronnie Palmer after only two weeks of practice at middle linebacker. Krogstad had been on the outside in his previous two seasons with Arizona, but responded with a game-high 15 tackles, including two for a loss.
Arizona had some areas that were better and exposed others that weren't.
They've got three weeks to get better before opening Pacific 10 Conference play, and head coach Mike Stoops has said they will.
This year has been reduced to a 10-game schedule. Before you start popping Prozac, remember last season, when beating ASU made a 3-8 season bearable.
The Wildcats will be underdogs in most of their games and should win a couple contests they shouldn't.
So don't go climbing to the top of Tyndall Garage just yet. Bottom line, they played poorly and still managed to cover the spread.
There is still hope. Northern Arizona comes to town this weekend, so give that Zona Zoo pass at least one use.
And if Arizona loses to the Lumberjacks, that handle's on me.
Charles Renning is a secondary education senior. He can be reached at sports@wildcat.arizona.edu.
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