By Arlie Rahn
Arizona Daily Wildcat
The best way to describe the Arizona football team's 41-9 rout of the Pacific Tigers on Saturday night was that it was, quite simply, over before it started.
Though UA was playing a team that, according to Pacific coach Chuck Shelton, "had four players that could play for Arizona," a crowd of 48,434 watched as the Wildcats erased the memories of an ugly 16-13 win over the Tigers two years ago in Tucson.
"This win meant a lot to the guys that were here in 1993," said UA wide receiver Richard Dice. "That was a horrible victory."
And while the win is probably not the best gauge of No. 17 Arizona's ability, the game did begin to answer three main questions many Wildcat fans have been asking since Camp Cochise.
The first: Who will help Arizona (1-0) maintain its strong rushing attack, one that averaged 161 yards a game last season?
Junior Gary Taylor appears to be the early answer to that question. Granted, he was running against the Pacific defense, but still, who can argue with these numbers: 11 carries, 96 yards, an 8.7-yard average and a long of 43.
But maybe even more impressive was Taylor's hands. He led the team with eight receptions for 86 yards, including one grab for 46.
"I think I've established myself as another deep threat," Taylor said. "Catching comes naturally to me. I think I learned to catch almost before I learned to walk."
Another positive for the Wildcats was their depth at the running back position. Sophomores Charles Myles and Kevin Schmidtke and freshman Scooter Sprotte came in and showed they could be quite valuable to the team. Sprotte's 55 yards and his touchdown in the fourth quarter showed UA coach Dick Tomey some positive things.
"I thought Scooter Sprotte did a heck of a job coming in at the end of the game," Tomey said. "He really showed some good flashes."
The second question: How will Arizona replace All-America kicker Steve McLaughlin, whom they relied on so heavily last year (his 95 points last season led the Pacific 10 Conference)?
Senior kicker Jon Prasuhn silenced any skeptics about his ability Saturday night when he booted a record-setting field goal from 57 yards, showing that his range includes basically anything on Arizona's side of the field. That kick tied previous top marks set by former Wildcats Max Zendejas and Lee Pistor. But Prasuhn's seemingly endless range is not what impressed Tomey.
"Everybody is all gaga about the 57-yard kick. I mean it was a great kick, but I am more excited about Jon's ability to make a high percentage of the kicks under 40 yards," Tomey said. "That's what will establish him as a great kicker."
The third question: How will an offensive line fare that returns only one player with Division-I experience?
The number 221 should answer that question. That number represents Arizona's total rushing yards Saturday night. This inexperienced line opened up countless holes for Taylor and Co., allowing them to continue the Wildcats' running tradition. The line also gave senior quarterback Dan White enough time to complete 15 of 24 passes for 254 yards.
"I'm proud of our offensive line. They came out and showed a lot of poise and did a hell of a job," Taylor said. "Nobody started last year or played except for Mani (Ott, senior center). They showed me that they can play."
One more quality this Wildcat team revealed was the ability to make the big play. This was evident with 14 seconds left in the first quarter when, on UA's own eleven, White threw into double coverage for Dice. After grabbing a perfect throw, Dice shook off two Pacific defenders and rumbled 50 yards for his first touchdown of the year.
"We've worked on that play all week, and we knew it was going to be there. It was just a matter of executing," Dice said. "I was double-teamed, but Dan threw me a beautiful ball. I don't remember exactly what happened after I caught it, I just ran towards the end zone."
"We took a gamble on first down and it paid off," Tomey said. "If you don't complete it, you're in a hole at second-and-10 on your own 11. But you take your chances."
And while Tomey still feels that Dice is the number-one guy, the fact that White threw to six different receivers might eventually hurt Dice's numbers.
"Richard is a great player, but he's probably not going to catch as many balls as he did last year," Tomey said. "I think he will make a lot of big plays, but we have more threats at receiver than we've had (in the past). I think we will spread the catches around a little more."
The defensive front also showed its perseverance as it held Pacific's running back Joe Abdullah to just 63 yards on 22 carries (2.9 yards a carry). The line also pressured quarterback Chad Fatheringham into completing just 43 percent of his passes while sacking him three times.
"Our defense has been hard to run on for four years, and we're going to be tough again this season," Tomey said.
But while the numbers were good, senior defensive end Tedy Bruschi still wasn't satisfied with the defense's effort.
"We were a little sloppy on tackles," Bruschi said. "We have to stop shouldering guys and wrap them up. But I think a lot of that is just because it's our first game. Once we play a little and get into a groove, I'm sure we'll do better."
While the offense racked up 475 yards, Tomey is not quite sold on this team offensively.
"We have to remember that we are going to play against some better defensive teams from now on," Tomey said. "I think last year we allowed ourselves to get lulled to sleep because our offensive front got padded early in the season. And when we got into the meat of our schedule, we weren't as good.
"I think we have to put this game behind us. We should look at the tape, but not dwell on it."