TUCSON, Ariz. -- Speed thrills, but it also kills.
And for Arizona football, that's not necessarily a good thing. Arizona takes advantage of speed and tempo whenever presented the opportunity, but fifth-ranked Oregon moves at a speed few teams, if any, can match. Add in the elite athleticism and the Ducks, who visit Saturday, bring a deadly combination.
Wildcats coach Rich Rodriguez called the Ducks possibly "the fastest team in the country" and referred to Heisman candidate quarterback Marcus Mariota as "Oregon's X-factor."
"They are probably faster than us at every position," Rodriguez said. "It's one thing we have to do in development and recruitment. (But) we are faster than we were last year, and we will get faster next year. Two years, we will be faster."
That doesn't solve anything in the here and now, though, which means other answers will be needed Saturday at Arizona Stadium in a game that presents the Wildcats with a big opportunity.
"It's a huge game on a lot of levels," Rodriguez said. "We're trying to get some national respect."
The only way to get it is to win; playing close doesn't mean much anymore. The last time Arizona played a ranked Oregon team and won was 2007, when the Wildcats knocked off the Ducks 34-24 in Tucson.
"As a player everyone, wants to have respect," Rodriguez said. "'Hey, I belong and can play with anyone in the country.' If they don't think that way, they have the wrong mindset. This is a kind of game where you can prove it. You can say you can play with anybody in the country, but until you do it, it's all just talk."
Walking the walk, on what likely will be a wet field, must begin at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
"I'll be very disappointed if our guys don't compete," Rodriguez said.
When straight-up asked whether Arizona could beat Oregon, senior nose tackle Tevin Hood said the Wildcats could beat anyone they "step on the field with." Hood added that it comes down to ball control against the Ducks, as the defense would have to produce some takeaways and the offense would have to run the ball effectively and produce points.
Senior linebacker Jake Fischer was more direct, said Arizona (6-4, 3-4 Pac-12) can't have any missteps against Oregon (9-1, 6-1 Pac-12). Every possession, every stop is important.
Redshirt junior tackle Mickey Baucus said he thinks Arizona must have a "complete game."
And while Rodriguez said the team doesn’t have to play a "perfect game" (if that's even possible), he stated the obvious in that the fewer mistakes, the better.
While the game has little Pac-12 significance for the Wildcats, beyond the desire for a big-time win over an elite Ducks team, they're looking to improve their spot in the bowl pecking order; a 6-6 finish would not necessarily guarantee a bowl berth, depending on the number of teams nationally that finish 7-5 or better.
Oregon, on the other hand, needs to win out in order to stay in the driver's seat for the Pac-12 North title and potential Rose Bowl berth. The Ducks got a reprieve when Stanford lost to USC last week, knocking the Cardinal out of the top spot in the division.
And while Stanford's loss has given Oregon a second chance, Ducks coach Mark Helfrich knows he probably won't get another one.
"Every week in college football you can't get a do-over, you can't get a mulligan," he said. "It's a grind."
Adding something to the atmosphere in Tucson will be Senior Day festivities. This will be the last home game for the Wildcats seniors, as Arizona ends its regular season next week in Tempe against Arizona State.
"I make a big deal for Senior Day, and I'm probably a little over the top a bit," Rodriguez said. "But I want them to enjoy their last home game. It's a big deal."
That's why, Rodriguez said, emotion is important. Crucial, in fact.
"The emotion can sustain the whole game if their mindset is right," Rodriguez said. "You just don't want the emotion just to be there for the opening kickoff and then fade out. You want them to have that same passion for 60 minutes. Sometimes that's tough for guys."
