"Tell them … tell the team to bear down"

By Anthony Gimino

What does the 24-16 loss to Cal mean? Well, it means ESPN likely won’t bring GameDay to Tucson for next week’s game against Oregon.

The loss eliminates Arizona’s margin of error in the Pac-10 race, but it doesn’t change this: The Wildcats still control their destiny in the Pac-10 race.

If they win their final three games — Oregon, at ASU, at USC — they will win the league and go to the Rose Bowl to play Ohio State.

* * *

No last-minute miracle after Cal’s busted extra point attempt. Arizona gets to its 47, but the fun stops there. A long pass to Delashaun Dean is incomplete inside the 5. Nick Foles is sacked for a loss of 10. A short pass to Nic Grigsby gains 6 … and then Foles is sacked again.

* * *

This isn’t in the same realm as the Washington game, but like that one, I have never seen a play like this late in a game.

Nick Foles’ pass was batted back to him on third-and-3 from the Cal 25. What’s the worst that can happen? UA attempts a 42-yard field goal?

Instead, Foles throws the ball again, which is illegal because you can’t have two forward passes on the same play.

Worse, it’s a spot foul and loss of down, so UA is backed up 14 yards on the play and has to go for it on fourth-and-17. Foles throws incomplete.

Cal’s Shane Vereen then busts off a long TD run for a 24-16 lead, but Cal misses the extra point … so it’s not over yet.
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Harbaugh’s NFL ties gives Stanford a recruiting advantage

Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh is 2-0 against the UA. The Cardinal has won five of the last six against Arizona and six of the last eight games in the series.

By Javier Morales

One of the Pac-10 reporters I was fortunate to meet during my days as beat reporter for the UA hoops team was the Oregonian’s Ken Goe, who has years of experience covering the conference.

Reading opinions of knowledgeable folks outside of Tucson and Arizona — especially on the West coast — is always a good barometer of what the perception is concerning Arizona athletics. I bring this to your attention because Goe posted his weekly “Two-minute drill: An irreverent look at the week in Pac-10 football” on Thursday and in it included noteworthy items about Arizona.

The most important is Goe agrees that the referees and the replay officials in the booth blew it last Saturday at Husky Stadium. That’s refreshing because for a while there I felt polarized. This is what Goe writes:

Why do we have instant replay in college football, anyway?
1. Duh. More chances to pitch ads for beer and erectile dysfunction.
2. Only possible explanation for bringing the UW-Arizona game to a complete stop and still missing the call.
3. Had these guys been on the case, Dewey beats Truman.
4. What could be more exciting than seeing 22 players stand around while a guy in a white hat talks to the replay booth.
5. Let’s see, the ball is brown, the field is green and Delashaun Dean‘s shoes are white — how hard could it be?
6. Replay officials don’t work with black-and-white monitors. Or, do they.
7. The Huskies got hosed the week before, so what goes around comes around.
8. What made this Arizona’s turn?
9. Uh, have you seen Arizona coach Mike Stoops in full tantrum mode?
10. Dude makes Freddy Krueger look like a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.

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