Cats ready for Husky defense

One of the Huskies' most flaunted weapons is their five-receiver set, where they drop any notion of doing anything but passing the ball.

Earlier this year against Arizona State and last year against the Wildcats, the Huskies used this formation to put up some big numbers.

"I could say they did catch us off guard," UA senior cornerback Chris McAlister said. "We weren't prepared to face that."

UA head coach Dick Tomey said he has seen Washington use the five-receiver set more often this year.

"They certainly used it with great success against ASU," he said.

Washington came from behind and beat the Sun Devils 42-38, largely on the strength of quarterback Brock Huard, who was 27 of 47 for 318 yards and four touchdowns.

With the five-receiver set in their arsenal, the Huskies figure to be the most formidable challenge for the UA defensive backfield so far this season.

"I think it's a good and fun set," UA secondary coach Duane Akina said. "We need to do a good job matching up. We can't let them run through our defense untouched. They've done a great job with it, it's a great weapon and they got it with us last year."

Arizona fell to Washington 58-28 last year in Tucson as Huard threw three touchdowns while racking up 207 yards on 13 of 25 passing.

"I think Brock just makes the people around him better," UA sophomore quarterback Ortege Jenkins said. "He can make you into a superstar."

The one Wildcat who did manage to have a solid offensive game last year against the Huskies was senior running back Kelvin Eafon.

Eafon was subbing for the injured Trung Canidate and wound up having a career best 140 yards on 23 carries with three touchdowns.

"I'm just as confident as the team is," Eafon said about his mindset in going to face Washington again. "I don't like to think of last year's game."

After the 30 point loss last year, Eafon sat in the locker room and repeated the words "it wasn't enough" over and over.

This year Eafon has run for 175 yards on 54 carries with five touchdowns in Arizona's first four games, though he was disappointed with his effort against the Aztecs.

He only managed 19 net yards on 11 carries at SDSU, but he said it had as much to do with the big first half lead as it did with the offensive line's struggles.

"There were a number of reasons," he said. "Jumping out so far ahead early like that, it's hard to do anything to get yourself going in the second half."

Tomey called Eafon's performance against Washington last year a "bright spot" in an otherwise disappointing game.

"Certainly Kelvin's toughness stood out for me," Tomey said. "Because of him you didn't come off thinking you hadn't fought as hard as you could. We tried our best but they just outplayed us that day."

One thing that Tomey was disappointed with at San Diego State was the lack of consistent, solid play from the offensive and defensive lines.

"They (SDSU) outplayed us physically," he said. "It was just a disappointing game up front."

Tomey said that the team didn't make too many mistakes.

"We just need to play better," he said. "In some ways that's motivation for them for this week."

Senior defensive tackle Daniel Greer was relatively quiet on the subject.

"It was a tough, mental and physical ball game and that is all I have to say," he said.

Junior right guard Yusuf Scott said the two teams actually split time dominating one another.

"In the first half we beat them," he said. "Then we were a little bit lackadaisical in the second half."

Scott said he felt the team didn't show a lot of aggression coming into the second half with a 28-3 lead.

"True, we need to be more (aggressive) and go straight for the jugular," he said. "That's so in the fourth quarter I can be on the bench and relax."

Chris Jackson can be reached via e-mail at Chris.Jackson@wildcat.arizona.edu.