On the line

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat Junior offensive guard Yusuf Scott (72) prepares to set a block on a play-action pass against Arizona State. Scott and the offensive line helped Arizona rush for 2,561 yards and surrender only 21 quarterback sacks.

And now all pressure and hype has come to a close, temporarily.

The unstoppable offensive line takes a break for the next two weeks. And the irony of the break, is that freshman Steven Grace, sophomore Bruce Wiggins, juniors Manuia Savea and Yusuf Scott, and senior Edwin Mulitalo are waiting for a victory from the very same team that left them in the dust 52-28 on Oct. 3 - No. 3 UCLA. If the Bruins beat Miami this weekend in Florida, they will likely advance to the national championship in the Fiesta Bowl, leaving Arizona to take the open slot in the Rose Bowl.

"Our anticipation is high," junior right guard Scott said. "We played so hard and worked so hard, and we just want to be rewarded for that.

"So, now we wait. And we wait for the Rose Bowl committee to make the right decision," he said.

Scott traveled to the UA after completing high school at LaPorte High in Texas. There he earned three letters in football and was selected to the first team All-Conference team all three years. He was also a first team all-greater Houston selection.

"My first choice was USC," he said. "But I didn't get my SATs in on time for that, so I used up my last visit for a trip here. I picked the UA on reputation alone."

The Wildcats have gained an even better reputation this year, ending their season with the best record in school history, at 11-1 overall and 7-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference.

A game in Pasadena will be a great way for the team to cap off the season and begin the new year.

"It'd be great for the school, for the institution and for the athletic department," Scott said of a Rose Bowl bid. "And it'd be great for my mom to see my smiling face on ABC."

It would also be an exciting finish for left tackle Mulitalo, who began his career at UA last year after transferring from Ricks College in Rexburg, Iowa. At Ricks, he was No. 23 among the top junior college prospects, and earned first team all-region and second-team junior college All-American honors.

Mulitalo originally graduated from Jefferson High in Daly City, Calif. He is now studying special education and rehabilitation.

Left guard Grace stepped up and put his honor earned last years as the most ready-to-play redshirt freshman. He was a three-year starter, and an all-state offensive lineman honoree in his senior year at Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Anchoring the middle of the line is sophomore center Wiggins. Wiggins began his career as a Wildcat in 1996 after graduating from Robert E. Lee High in Houston, Texas. He did not allow a single sack in his career at Robert E. Lee.

Flanking him to the far right is Savea as the right tackle. Savea played last year at San Francisco City College, blocking for current Oregon State quarterback Terrance Bryant, and he helped lead the team to the California junior college state championship game.

All five of the linemen have established a good relationship with the team's running backs, assistant coach Jeff Woodruff said.

"The chemistry of the team is so huge," he said. "Coach (Dick) Tomey has done a great job with that. The friendships are important but so is the respect. 'Backs respect and give credit to the o-line because they don't get their name in the paper so much."

Junior running back Trung Canidate has gone so far as to promise to buy dinner for Scott after every game in which he gains over 100 yards. When asked after Canidate's 288-yard night against ASU about dinner, Scott laughed and said, "His paycheck isn't big enough this time."

The developing chemistry of the team is something head coach Dick Tomey has said has been a key factor in the 11-1 season.

"The line has really grown," Woodruff said, agreeing. "Those guys have to play together so well. It takes a while for them to grow and they weren't gelling in the beginning."

While the line has certainly "gelled" since then, Scott said this weekend the focus will be on watching the Bruins play Miami.

"Let the past be the past," Scott said of the Bruins' victory over UA earlier this year. "As for myself, I'll be the biggest fan UCLA has ever had. It's baby blue all day because I want to be a part of the first (UA) team to go to the Rose Bowl."

Kate Longworth can be reached via e-mail at Kate.Longworth@wildcat.arizona.edu.