With five games in the books and six more looming on the schedule, the biggest question facing the Wildcat football team is this: Which team will show up for those last six games?
For all intents and purposes, we can consider the victory over Pacific for exactly what it was Ÿ a win by a big school over a one with an enrollment not much larger than some Arizona high schools.
Which brings us to the Wildcats' come-from-behind win against Georgia Tech. Down 19-7 late in the game, Arizona rallied to pull off a stunning 20-19 victory. Is the team that showed up to play the fourth quarter the one that needs to show up the rest of the season? No.
As wild as the Pacific 10 Conference is, no team can be down 12 points in the fourth quarter and truly expect to win. You may get lucky, but there are no guarantees.
To gain momentum, the UA needs to score and score early Ÿ put up some points and let the defense go to work.
What Arizona needs is for the team that played the second quarter against Cal to show up for the rest of the conference schedule. The game against the Bears was the story of a man named Brady Ÿ Batten, that is. Starting quarterback Dan White had been knocked out of the game in the first quarter and Arizona needed a boost.
The Wildcat offense that scored 20 points that quarter needs to step up and make a name for itself. In the second quarter, Arizona created two turnovers and Batten took the offense on three trips to the end zone.
Simply put, it's time to make a quarterback change. Give Batten a chance. The team has nothing to lose. If Batten does well, he could guide the team to a good bowl, maybe even one played on Jan. 1. If he plays marginally, reinsert Dan White and go from there.
Dan White is still a good quarterback, there is no doubt about that. But he does not possess the one attribute that Batten uses to a great advantage: mobility. When all his other options are gone, Batten can tuck the ball in and run for a first down. Sure, White may have a better deep arm than Batten, but aside from one 89-yard play to Richard Dice, the coaches have chosen not to use it.
To avoid dropping to 1-2 in the Pac-10, the Wildcats must do something they have done only once since they joined the Pac-10 17 years ago: beat UCLA in the Rose Bowl.
Yes, the defense has declined, but it is still good enough to win football games. Besides, Arizona has already faced the most explosive offense in the Pac-10. Southern Cal did things to the Wildcats that most teams only have been able to wish they could do.
For the last three years, the Desert Swarm defense has not bent. Now it tends to bend a bit, but what the defense needs to focus on is not breaking.
The game this weekend with UCLA could be the "Battle of the Backups." The Bruins' Ryan Fien has been inconsistent, which has left the door open for freshman Cade McNown. Thus far, he is largely un-McNown, but he has shown potential in an extensive role, as Fien has been knocked out of two games.
The team needs wins to build confidence. Batten has the confidence to lead Arizona. It's up to the coaching staff to give him his chance.
Craig Degel is a journalism sophomore and a Wildcat sports reporter.