By Scottie Bricker
Arizona Daily Wildcat
October 17, 1997

Wildcats need another upset

Charles C. Labenz Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona quarterback Ortege Jenkins dives ahead in UA's upset of Stanford over the weekend. The Wildcats host the 10th-ranked Washington Huskies tomorrow at Arizona Stadium. Game time is set for 12:30 p.m..

The story line of this week's game for the Arizona football team is one Rod Serling might show in "The Twilight Zone".

The Wildcats, who haven't beat a top-10 opponent in almost four years, have history on their side when they take the field in tomorrow's game against the Washington Huskies. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at Arizona Stadium and the game will be televised on ABC.

The last time the Wildcats defeated a top 10 team was in the 1994 Fiesta Bowl when they trounced Miami 29-0. The Hurricanes were ranked No. 10 at the time.

And so the Huskies come to town this weekend, at the top of the Pacific 10 Conference standings and ranked, you guessed it, No. 10 in the country.

Arizona head coach Dick Tomey said the task of beating the Huskies is one of the most difficult his team will face all year.

"Their (Washington's) defense has been tremendously impressive and they've kept people off the scoreboard," Tomey said. "They're allowing 13 points a game, which is very impressive in present-day football."

The Huskies are second in the conference in scoring defense and third in total defense, thanks to the size and quickness they possess on the defensive side of the ball.

"When you play Washington you're just always impressed with the physical nature of their team," Tomey said. "They've got big fast guys running around all over the place."

But Arizona is no slouch when it comes to defense either.

The Wildcats boast the conference's top defense, yielding only 284 yards per game which ranks them 15th nationally.

"(Arizona's) is a defense that is very capable of both shutting down the run and putting pressure on the quarterback," Lambright said. "We have tons and tons of respect for the secondary and what they do up front."

Lost in the shuffle of two solid defenses is the success of two of the most potent offenses in the conference.

Washington is fourth in the conference in scoring and total offense and brings three potential scoring threats in quarterback Brock Huard, running back Rashaan Shehee and wide receiver Jerome Pathon. All three players lead the conference in at least one offensive category.

Huard, still feeling the effects of an ankle injury he suffered against Nebraska, leads the conference in passing efficiency while throwing 11 touchdown passes against only one interception.

Huard made his debut as a starter in the Arizona game last year, torching the Wildcats for 311 yards and three touchdowns.

Shehee is the Pac-10 leader in rushing yardage, averaging 108.2 yards per game. UW is averaging a conference best 4.5 yards per carry as a team.

Pathon, who leads the conference in receiving and all-purpose yards per game, caught six balls for 73 yards and one touchdown in the Huskies 31-17 victory over Arizona last year at Husky Stadium.

For Arizona, the offense has recently emerged as a force to be reckoned with beyond just the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats, who have outscored their opponents 49-3 in the fourth quarter, have put together back-to-back solid efforts against San Diego State and Stanford, thanks primarily to the stellar play of redshirt freshman quarterback Ortege Jenkins.

Arizona vs. Washington

UA 3-3, 1-2 UW 4-1, 2-0

When: Tomorrow at 12:30 p.m.

Where: Arizona Stadium

TV/Radio: Televised by ABC (KOLD channel 9) and broadcast live on KNST Radio (AM 790)

What: The Huskies are the 10th-ranked team in the nation and have won the last two meetings, both by the score of 31-17 ... Arizona upset then-No.16 Stanford for its first conference win last week ... The Wildcats' last victory over Washington was in 1992 in Tucson. The Huskies came in as defending national champs and were ranked No. 1 but were upset 16-3.