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Arizona coach Mike Stoops knew the opportunity his team had before it, and wasn't afraid to tell the media, his players, anyone who'd listen what it would mean to beat No. 9 Iowa.
The Hawkeyes have the type of tradition-rich program the Wildcats have aspired to become since Stoops arrived in Tucson six years ago and to beat them would put Arizona firmly in the national spotlight.
It wasn't always pretty and turned out to be harder than it probably should have been, but the Wildcats got their attention-grabbing win in the still-warm desert air late Saturday night.
''It's a character game in a lot of ways,'' Stoops said after the 34-27 victory. ''Those can be program-changing wins.''
Arizona (3-0) made it look easy at first, using a slew of big plays to lead by 20 at halftime.
Iowa (2-1) rallied behind its defense, tying the game in the fourth quarter, only to see its chance at the lead wobble away on a blocked extra point attempt after an interception return TD.
That set up the final, character-checking sequence.
Arizona came through behind star-in-the-making quarterback Nick Foles, driving 72 yards for the go-ahead score. Iowa's hopes ended with a thud on the Arizona Stadium turf with three straight sacks of quarterback Ricky Stanzi.
Sure, the Wildcats blew a big lead and had a hard-to-swallow 12 penalties for 103 yards, but they got their marquee win.
The polls reflected the significance of the victory: Arizona moved up 10 spots to No. 14, its best ranking since starting fourth in the 1999 preseason poll.
''It just shows how much we've grown as a team,'' said Foles, who threw for 303 yards and two TDs.
Arizona wasn't the only team looking for a look-at-us win.
Iowa was the already-established program, finishing in the top 10 four of the past eight years and becoming bowl eligible the last nine. The Hawkeyes, despite another top-10 ranking this season, still felt like they had something prove and winning on the road against a talented team would solidify their place in the national spotlight.
They almost got it.
Buried early by an avalanche of special teams mistakes, Iowa didn't fold, using a physical defensive and two touchdown passes by Stanzi to tie the game. There was just one too many mistakes on special teams and not enough left to stop Arizona on that late drive.
''Our sloppy play in the first half really hurt us,'' Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. ''I'm proud of our guys for battling back in the second half, but give Arizona credit; they deserved it.''
It should only be a minor setback for Iowa, though.
The Hawkeyes, who dropped nine spots to No. 18 in the polls, have the entire Big Ten season ahead, a conference title and a BCS bowl still on the table.
Sure, the loss in the desert stings, particularly after all those early miscues, but the Hawkeyes still managed to keep it close.
''We're firefighters; If something goes wrong, we try and put out the fire,'' said defensive end Broderick Binns, who returned an interception 20 yards for the tying score in the fourth quarter.
''Unfortunately, we couldn't finish today, but we've still got a chance to be Big Ten champions. We're not counting anything out.''
Neither is Arizona after its big win.
