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By Craig Degel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
October 14, 1996
LOS ANGELES - If it was Richard Dice's last play in an Arizona uniform, it was - in true Dice form - a big one.The senior co-captain of the Arizona football team went down with a sprained right knee after hauling in a touchdown Saturday in Arizona's 14-7 loss to Southern Cal.
He also had pulled in a 34-yard toss from Brady Batten to set up the touchdown.
The score gave the Wildcats a shot at getting back into the contest, but it was short-lived.
It was almost as if the loss of Dice took away any momentum the Wildcats could have gained from the touchdown.
"He's our spiritual leader on the field," UA head coach Dick Tomey said. "It's a part of the game that's unpredictable."
He was one of the last players to emerge from the UA locker room, probably wanting to avoid the inevitable questions.
When he did come out, the visably upset Dice stopped long enough to say, "I'm going to have surgery."
That was really all that needed to be said. If Richard Dice - considered by many to be the toughest receiver in the Pacific 10 Conference - says he needs surgery, it's a good bet he's in a lot of pain.
Last season, Dice went down with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and missed five games. He returned in the final game of the season and caught four balls for 68 yards and a touchdown. One of his receptions came when he was in triple coverage.
All that on a knee that underwent surgery in December.
He worked throughout the off-season and was starting to get back into form.
"He had to rehab an injury last year, came back and made a courageous contribution this year, and now he's injured again," Tomey said.
"That's the part of the game I really despise."
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