By Anthony Gimino
FOXSportsArizona.com
TUCSON -- The Arizona football team doesn't want a repeat of last year's bowl game, and that starts with a different kind of preparation.
The Wildcats were embarrassed 33-0 by Nebraska in last season's Holiday Bowl, a result of the Cornhuskers' superior talent and what coach Mike Stoops said after that game was an unfocused Arizona team.
"I don't know if we were just content getting here, but we certainly didn't show up in any way, and for that I apologize to our fans," he said following the loss. "I have to do a better job of preparing our team."
Now is his chance.
Arizona is in preparation to play Oklahoma State in the Dec. 29 Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, and Stoops is taking a more hard-line approach this time around.
"He told us it's not going to be like last year. It was a little too much leeway," said senior offensive tackle Phillip Garcia.
"It's going to be a business trip, and we're going there to win the game. That's what we're going to do. The curfews are going to be more strict and (the coaches) will be stricter about what we are able to do. I'm happy about that."
Arizona spent a few days last week in practice, getting in reps for younger players and working on its own issues. Thursday marked the first of six consecutive days of practice as the team begins to narrow its game plan against the 10-2 Cowboys, who lead the nation in total offense at 537.6 yards per game.
The Wildcats also are trying to shake off a four-game losing streak.
"We're practicing six days straight, and you don't hear a lot of complaining," said senior safety Anthony Wilcox. "Everybody is kind of hyped."
WELCOME BACK, JOE
Stoops moved quickly to hire a replacement for defensive tackles coach Mike Tuiasosopo, who left after the regular season to take a similar position at Colorado. Tuiasosopo is good friends with new Buffaloes head coach Jon Embree.
Stoops is bringing in former Arizona All-Pac-10 defensive tackle Joe Salave'a, who will begin his duties Monday and coach in the bowl game. Salave'a played for the Wildcats from 1994-97 and spent nine seasons in the NFL.
Salave'a, 35, spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons coaching the San Jose State defensive line for Dick Tomey, his former head coach at Arizona. He was out of coaching this season but did spend a month in training camp with the Seattle Seahawks as part of the NFL's Bill Walsh Minority Coaching Fellowship.
Salave'a, who was born in Samoa, is expected to be the cornerstone of Arizona's long-standing efforts to recruit Polynesian players. He founded the Joe Salave'a Foundation, which has held free football clinics in American Samoa and Hawaii since 2001.
"Joe built a legacy here and in the NFL that will have an immediate impact on our players and in recruiting," Stoops said in a press release.
Stoops still has to replace co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Greg Brown, who also left for Colorado, where he will be in his third stint with the Buffaloes. Stoops has, in his words, "come out of retirement" to help coach defensive backs, but much of that duty has fallen to graduate assistant Ryan Walters.
WELCOME BACK, NICK
Junior quarterback Nick Foles never said publicly that he was considering leaving for the NFL, but it was still a relief to many Arizona fans to hear him say he plans on being a Wildcat next season.
"I want to enjoy this while I can," he said after Thursday's practice. "I think a lot of time people overlook where they're at. I'm fortunate to be here and be in a situation where I'm playing football at a great university."
Arizona junior receiver Juron Criner, who was one of four unanimous selections to the All-Pac-10 team, said after the Arizona State game on Dec. 2 that he had not thought about his future beyond this season. Criner hasn't had any further public statements on his plans for next season.
SO LONG, COLIN
Senior center Colin Baxter, who has started a school-record 48 consecutive games, elected to have surgery to repair torn meniscus in his right knee, which means he will miss the Alamo Bowl.
Baxter played through the injury in the final four games of the regular season. Having the surgery in early December allows him to be ready for offseason workouts for pro scouts.
Sophomore Kyle Quinn will make his first career start in the Alamo Bowl.
"You can't replace experience, but Kyle is a good player," Garcia said. "He's big, strong, fast, physical. He's going to be a really good player in the future.
"Just getting over the first start and the jitters he gets from that -- I remember what that was like -- that's going to be tough. But as you get along in a game, you get into your comfort zone and it's just playing football. That's all it is."
MISCELLANEOUS
-- Arizona signed two mid-year junior college transfers: center Addison Bachman from Citrus College in Glendora, Calif., and tight end Drew Robinson from Snow College in Ephraim, Utah. The Wildcats, who lose their all-senior starting offensive line, are still pursuing other junior college prospects for that position.
-- Senior running back Nic Grigsby said he has a couple of invites for postseason all-star games, but he is holding out on accepting while hoping to hear from the Senior Bowl.
-- Receiver/punt returner Bug Wright, who was suspended late in the regular season for a violation of team rules, is back practicing with the team and appears to be on track to play in the Alamo Bowl.
