You could make the argument that Arizona’s defensive effort against Oregon State on Saturday afternoon at Arizona Stadium was the Wildcats’ best under Rich Rodriguez.
Will Parks made the argument with one hit.
On a second-and-long with under 10 minutes left in the first half and the Arizona defense already stalking the Beavers’ every move, Parks leveled Oregon State’s leading receiver, Jordan Villamin.
It was a savage hit, vicious, illegal for all of about 30 seconds, or until the referees picked up the flag they threw after the play. It was almost like the back judge was compelled to throw the flag, as if it just had to be a penalty, the hit was so hard.
It was representative of the defensive effort throughout.
“There was talk about us getting a little of our edge back,” Rodriguez said. “We talk about hard edge all the time, and that’s our identity. The tone-setter was Will’s hit on the pass, and I think the officials did a good job on that.”
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Added safety-turned-
linebacker Paul Magloire: “It got us all hyped and ready to go. The fans were excited about it, and we feed off everyone’s energy.”
The very next play, Anthony Fotu did the wrecking.
He anticipated, leapt and swatted a Seth Collins swing pass gently into the air, corralled the ball as it fell and nearly brought it in for the score before Collins dragged him down at the Oregon State 1-yard line.
Arizona backup running back Orlando Bradford followed with a touchdown run on the next play.
“Fotu, he made a great play,” said Bradford, who rushed for three touchdowns. “The defense played excellent today. I thought they did a great job.”
The very next drive, Arizona knocked out Collins, who appeared to twist his knee awkwardly on a 2nd-and-10 from the OSU 24.
Backup quarterback Marcus McMaryion entered and promptly did little, the Wildcats were so stifling.
The seven points Arizona allowed was the lowest against a Pac-12 foe in the Rich Rodriguez era.
It took Oregon State more than a quarter to cross midfield, and that was only because they switched end zones.
The Beavers managed 38 yards on their first three drives, 249 yards for the game, just 98 through the air, including 56 on 8-of-24 passing by Collins.
The Beavers first drive to bear any fruit came on the team’s last attempt of the first quarter, when Collins capped off the drive — which bled into the second quarter — with a beautiful quarterback draw right up the gut, culminating in a dive into the end zone.
It was a highlight for Oregon State, perhaps its only one.
“Our defensive staff did a fab job of getting guys to rec quickly, the sets, what they were doing. Part of reason we were able to control momentum early is not just our offense, but making their offense have some three-and-outs,” Rodriguez said.
For a defense reeling from the loss of its clear-cut leader in Scooby Wright and several other defensive starters, the game may serve as an elixir of sorts.
The Wildcats enter the second half of the season with a bit of momentum — certainly the 111 points surrendered over the two losses to UCLA and Stanford now feel dead and buried — and with a three-game stretch of winnable games against Colorado, Washington State and Washington, Arizona knows it can set itself up for a critical final quarter of the season.
“Now we’re going to just keep the ball rolling,” Magloire said. “We did exactly what Coach Rod told us to do, which is go out and have fun. If you’re out there high-fiving … you win games like that.”
