TUCSON, Ariz. -- Dinner table conversation at the Denker residence in Southern California rarely ever included any mention of the USC Trojans.
"I grew up a UCLA fan," said Arizona quarterback B.J. Denker, when asked about the lore of USC. "I can’t stand USC. I hate USC. Ever since I was a kid, we were a UCLA family.
"But, it’s a hometown team, so it’s going to be good."
With nearly 30 players from southern California on the roster, Arizona should have some sort of strong fan base for Thursday night's nationally televised game (FOX Sports 1) against USC. Earlier in the week, many of those players were lobbying teammates for extra tickets. Denker said he'd have more than 100 family and friends at the L.A. Coliseum for the game.
UA cornerback Shaquille Richardson said "you can tell it's a big game because of the competition for tickets. You want to perform (well) for your family."
And then there's Denker's reasoning.
"We’re using that as motivation -- hey, we didn’t get recruited there, let’s beat our hometown team," Denker said.
It happened last year in Tucson in what some media types deemed a "program-turning moment" in Rich Rodriguez's first season. While it's too early to tell if Arizona's 39-36 victory was a program-changer, it was a highlight of Rodriguez's first season. "Anytime you can beat a ranked team with the tradition and talent they have … it was a great moment for us," Rodriguez said. "(But) the true defining moments are when you win a championship."
That could take awhile.
Arizona (3-1) is coming off a 31-13 loss at Washington nearly two weeks ago. It was a performance where the defense stood tall for three-quarters of the game and the offense was stale for nearly all of it.
The passing game has been the biggest question mark and will continue to be until Denker or whoever plays quarterback proves otherwise. Arizona ranks 118th in passing yardage (111.3 per game) and 72nd in total offense (402.8 yards a game).
UA receiver Terrance Miller said the team needs to help Denker get "more confident in throwing the ball, because he has all the tools. He just needs a little bit of a confidence boost. I think it's going to come from the receivers."
Cody Kessler's confidence might get a boost this week, too. At Monday's press gathering, Arizona defensive lineman Tevin Hood, when asked about the USC quarterback, said, "he's a shorter guy (who) holds the ball too long. Personally, I don’t think he can see over his (offensive) line."
Kessler is listed at 6-foot-1 and USC uses him in a variety of ways -- in shotgun and play-action and rollouts.
"I've been impressed with him," Rodriguez said. "He's a competitive guy. He's done a nice job."
USC, however, has been lackluster at best to this point at 3-2. The offense struggled early on, and in the Trojans' most recent outing, Arizona State torched what had been a solid defense for a 62-41 victory that was followed by the firing of head coach Lane Kiffin. In comes Ed Orgeron, USC's former defensive line coach turned interim head coach. Arizona isn't sure what to expect from Orgeron.
"It wouldn't be unusual if USC did (change things up)," Rodriguez said. "We have to be prepared in seeing a little bit of everything."
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