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Arizona's first tough test, one of its biggest in recent years, came early in the season against then-No. 9 Iowa. The Wildcats passed that one, only to lose two weeks later to Oregon State.
A series of wins - some easy, some not - followed, leaving Arizona in position to make its first ever trip to the Rose Bowl.
But the 13th-ranked Wildcats can't afford to look that far ahead. Not with a tough stretch of games still ahead, starting with the most daunting of the bunch Saturday at No. 10 Stanford.
''We wouldn't be playing on national TV at 5 o'clock if it wasn't an important game,'' Arizona coach Mike Stoops said. ''You don't have to say much.''
In case facing one of the nation's best teams wasn't enough, Arizona will be up against a team eyeing payback.
A year ago, Arizona and Stanford faced must-win games; lose and their Rose Bowl hopes were all but over.
The Wildcats seemed to still be reeling from ''The Shoe'' game - the go-ahead score was an interception off a shoe deflection - against Washington the week before and fell behind 28-13 in the second quarter on a 99-degree day.
Arizona scored late in the half to keep it close, then traded big plays with the Cardinal as if it were an intramural game.
Arizona's Nick Foles threw for 415 yards and three touchdowns, and Juron Criner caught 12 passes for 152 yards. Stanford tailback Toby Gerhart ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns, while Andrew Luck threw for 423 yards and three scores.
By the time it was over, the teams combined for 81 points and 1,137 yards.
The Wildcats came out on top, 43-38, getting a 57-yard touchdown run from Nic Grigsby with 2:57 left, then two defensive stands that left Stoops barely able to speak.
Yeah, the Cardinal remember that game. They can't let it go, really.
''The whole game against Arizona last year eats at us,'' defensive lineman Sione Fua said. ''They had 40-something points. That's not acceptable.''
There could be another shootout the way these teams have been playing.
Arizona (7-1, 4-1 Pac-10) has been without Foles the past two weeks, but hasn't seemed to miss him thanks to backup Matt Scott.
The one-time starter in Tucson has led the Wildcats to over 1,000 combined yards in a pair of wins, hitting 70 percent of his passes. Last week against UCLA, Arizona had 583 yards, the eighth-best total in school history, on a season-high 88 plays in a 29-21 win.
Foles is expected back this week, but clearly it doesn't matter which quarterback plays.
Stanford (7-1, 4-1) has scored at least 30 points in eight straight games and has punted only 16 times all season, tied with Nevada for the fewest among FBS teams. Luck has become a Heisman Trophy front-runner, throwing for 1,920 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Last week, Luck got the better of it in a who's-the-better-prospect duel with Washington's Jake Locker, helping the Cardinal rack up 470 yards in a 41-0 win.
Yep, the Cardinal have Arizona's attention.
''They are really, really good, both with the personnel and schematically,'' Wildcats co-defensive coordinator Greg Brown said. ''They are going to challenge you ...''
The problem for Arizona is that it doesn't get any easier after Saturday. The Wildcats face USC next week, have a trip to top-ranked Oregon on Nov. 26 and close out the season against rival Arizona State, always a tough game.
Still, none of the final three games will matter much - at least in the make-it-to-the-Rose-Bowl picture - if Arizona can't get past Stanford.
''You just do what you have to do to win this week,'' Stoops said.
The Wildcats can't afford to approach it any other way.
