Brennan's second trip home more fun

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat Junior wide receiver Brad Brennan (13) looks for a way around Oregon's roving linebacker Michael Fletcher (1) at Arizona Stadium Oct. 31. Brennan caught three passes for 52 yards and a touchdown against California in Berkeley on Saturday night.

That came against Stanford on Sept. 12, not too far from Brennan's hometown of Mountain View, where he attended St. Francis High School.

Brennan's second trip, which came this weekend when No. 8 Arizona visited California in Berkeley, was a bit more productive and a lot less painful.

"You like to come back and prove them wrong, all the people who didn't sign me out of high school and said I couldn't play Division I football," the former walk-on said.

Brennan had three catches for 52 yards in the game, including a touchdown early in the third quarter which gave the Wildcats a 20-10 lead, a lead they would never relinquish.

"We just know we can play on this field," UA junior quarterback Keith Smith said after the 27-23 win. "I just feel good playing here. I know a lot of the other guys like Brad, do, too, especially since he's from around here."

Brennan was fairly humble about his contribution after the game.

"I guess it was pretty big," he said of the 16-yard TD pass from Smith. "It gave us a little cushion that I think we needed then."

With Cal's defense keying on Arizona's running game, Smith and sophomore quarterback Ortege Jenkins combined for 238 passing yards and two touchdown passes, the other going to senior Jeremy McDaniel early in the first quarter.

"They played really well today," Brennan said of the Bears. "We knew they were going to be tough and they played that way."

Brennan said the Bears played a lot of man-to-man coverage, though it was more on McDaniel and junior Dennis Northcutt than on Brennan or any other UA receiver.

"If I was the coach of that team I wouldn't be focusing my defense on me," Brennan said. "Maybe they did not expect much from a little white kid."

Brennan's other key play was a 29-yard reception from Smith for a key first down that helped UA chew up the clock in the fourth quarter.

His only other reception was for seven yards on a drive that ended late in the third quarter on Mark McDonald's missed field goal from 43 yards.

Brennan said that in the end, though he did contribute, he wasn't the key to Arizona's victory.

"Everyone else did the dirty work out there," he said. "I just caught a couple of passes."

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