A brief downpour shortly before kickoff appeared to be the only nuisance for University of Arizona fans entering the Zona Zoo student section before Saturday night's 29-27 loss to New Mexico.
Students and school officials said admittance into the 10,000-seat student section at Arizona Stadium went smoothly, a week after as many as 400 fans were turned away from the home opener against Northern Arizona because the section was full.
Unhappy students protested outside the stadium. Police arrived, and two students were arrested. A student was Tasered after allegedly assaulting an officer.
For Saturday's game, the UA made changes to improve the situation, increasing the number of Zona Zoo card-scanning machines to 20 from eight. Students in the Zona Zoo credited both better organization and the rain for keeping entrance into the section more orderly.
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"Things went smoothly," said James Francis, the UA's assistant athletic director for marketing and ticket sales. He credited the additional scanning machines, which will be used for all remaining home games, and an adjusted flow of fan traffic that caused students to head south into the stadium for the efficient admission.
UAPD officers were also present to help with security.
"Everything pretty much went flawless," Zona Zoo executive director David Roost said, noting the first 300 fans entered the section in five minutes. The student section was 80 percent filled, he said.
"There were no issues, no riot, no students upset. Everything is going well."
Rain began 35 minutes before kickoff, causing students to rush into the tunnel in the east side of the stadium. They began a brief "U of A" chant, and fans didn't appear to wait in line for long.
"Last week, there was a mob of people," said UA junior Kyle Chronis, who was at last week's game but left because his friends were turned away. "This week, there was no line and it was more organized."
Senior Jay Hoffman compared last week's game to attending a chaotic rock concert.
"I waited two shakes of a lamb's tail," he said. "… A lot of people didn't want to come for the rain-fest."
Seniors Ashley Upchurch and Susan Longley got in without having to wait, about 30 minutes before kickoff.
"The rain made a huge difference," said Longley who attended last week's game. "I bet a lot of girls didn't want to go."
Upchurch tried to attend last week's game but was turned away. "It's better, way better. It's better because they have more checkpoints," she said.
Extra points
● UA linebackers coach Tim Kish has been gone from the team since Monday because his father is sick.
● Senior cornerback Wilrey Fontenot came up with Arizona's first interception of the season when he picked off Donovan Porterie with 8:17 left in the first half. He returned the interception 7 yards, bringing the Wildcats to their own 46. The drive ended with Jason Bondzio's 32-yard missed field goal attempt. Porterie had gone six games, totaling 133 attempts, before Fontenot's pick.
● New Mexico coach Rocky Long called John Sullivan's career-long 44-yard field goal with 6:41 left "the difference in the game." "That's close to his range and he put it right down the middle," Long said. Sullivan is a former walk-on who had not kicked in a game since high school in 2002 prior to New Mexico's season opener.
