By Anthony Gimino
FOXSportsArizona.com
TUCSON -- Arizona coach Mike Stoops came close to naming a starting quarterback for this week's game, although the usual caveats apply.
"If Nick is healthy enough to play and practice and do the things necessary, then he would start," Stoops said.
Nick Foles has been out the past two games because of a dislocated knee cap suffered Oct. 16 at Washington State. Stoops added that Foles was healthy enough last Saturday to play in a reserve role if needed.
Given that, it seems probable that Foles will be feeling good enough to start for the 13th-ranked Wildcats on Saturday in a key Pac-10 game at 10th-ranked Stanford.
Foles was warming up late in the UCLA game after Stoops said Scott "got banged up" in the fourth quarter.
"Matt said he was good enough to play. If he wasn't good enough, then we would have gone with Nick," Stoops said.
Stoops said he was pleased with the way Scott played for the second consecutive week, and the quarterback's athletic ability has added another dimension to the offense with planned runs and unplanned scrambles.
It is in Stoops' best interests to keep Stanford guessing a little bit as to how he'll deploy his quarterbacks in what could very well be a shootout along the lines of last year's matchup. Arizona won 43-38 in Tucson, with Foles passing for 415 yards and Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck throwing for 423 yards.
INJURY UPDATE
Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Justin Washington is expected to be play Saturday after missing the past two games because of a sprained knee. Redshirt freshman Sione Tuihalamaka has started in his place, picking up a sack against Washington and a late-game fumble recovery at UCLA.
Running back Nic Grigsby, who suffered an ankle sprain in the first half against UCLA and did not return, should also be good to go for the Stanford game, Stoops said. Grigsby splits carries with Keola Antolin, who has been hot lately, with 387 yards and six touchdowns on 66 carries in the past four games.
ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Linebacker Jake Fischer was selected Pac-10 Special Teams Player of the Week for his 29-yard run on a fake punt in the fourth quarter at UCLA.
Stoops and special-teams coach Jeff Hammerschmidt called for the fake when Arizona was facing fourth-and-3 from its own 27. There were about six minutes left and the Wildcats were clinging to a 26-21 lead.
"It was a big play for us to kind of get momentum back on our side," said offensive coordinator Seth Littrell.
"It's great. Now those guys have to worry about defending that kind of stuff. You never know when we're going to call it. We could be on our 30, fourth-and-5 ... you never know."
Arizona has won four weekly awards in the past three weeks -- cornerback Shaquille Richardson (Washington State), quarterback Matt Scott and linebacker Paul Vassallo for the Washington game and Fischer this week.
