The UA football team hasn't played BYU in nearly 30 years.
And yet, even with a stranger across the field, the Wildcats encountered some familiar foes in Saturday's 16-13 win over the Cougars.
Arizona struggled to run the ball effectively, after finishing near the bottom nationally in rushing last season.
Junior Chris Henry, making his first start, finished with 63 yards on 13 carries. His longest run went for 57 yards. Backup Chris Jennings gained 7 yards on six carries. As a result, Arizona's passing offense sputtered, too.
"If you can't run the ball, it's hard to throw the ball," UA coach Mike Stoops said. "We'll have to play better against LSU, that's for sure."
Part of Arizona's running struggles had to do with the offensive line, which swapped out players during the first drive. Redshirt freshmen Blake Kerley and Daniel Borg were late additions to the starting lineup, putting Joe Longacre and Erick Levitre on the sidelines to start the game.
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Longacre returned midway through the game, but Levitre did not play.
Double-duty Folk
Stoops hinted earlier this week that junior punter Kyle McQuown was on a short leash. He was right — the Salpointe Catholic High School graduate was pulled after struggling with hang time in his first three kicks. He was replaced by senior place-kicker Nick Folk, who averaged 60 yards in his three punts.
Ross returns
Freshman defensive back Devin Ross was in uniform Saturday, a day after being cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse. Ross played on special teams. Teammate Michael Turner, another freshman defensive back, watched from the sidelines in street clothes.
No special treatment
BYU long-snapper Jayson Clark cost his team a sure field goal when he hiked the ball high and off holder Jason Beck's hands in the third quarter. Beck was tackled and BYU never got a chance to kick its 22-yard field goal, which would have tied the game at 13.
Two-and-a-half weeks ago, Clark didn't worry about football. He hadn't played in two years, quitting to support his wife, Julianne.
But when a junior college transfer failed to qualify, Clark's father called him and encouraged him to phone BYU recruiting coordinator Paul Tidwell. He did, and was given a scholarship.
Clark has three credits left before graduation; in December, he will enroll in dental school.
BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said he didn't feel any worse for Clark.
"Any player, no matter how they get here, is expected to perform at the highest level," he said.
Sacks show Holmes can make impact
Louis Holmes registered the first sacks of his UA career just before halftime. The Wildcats' junior college transfer blew past a Cougars' lineman and nailed BYU's John Beck for an 8-yard loss with 56 seconds left in the second quarter. Twenty seconds later, Holmes forced Beck to fumble the ball away at BYU's 43.
Extra points
● Mendenhall, fuming, on the referees: "I'm sure they did the best they could. I'm sure they did the best they could."
● BYU's Fui Vakapuna ran six times for 21 yards and caught a 21-yard pass in his first game since returning from a two-year mission.
● Saturday was a good afternoon for former Arizona receiver Mike Jefferson. The Phoenix native caught eight passes — including the game-winning score — in Montana State's 19-10 upset of Colorado.
● Former Wildcats Copeland Bryan (Titans) and Kili Lefotu (Redskins) were cut from their respective pro teams on Saturday, when NFL teams were required to make final roster cuts.
The cuts left just one UA rookie, Broncos tailback Mike Bell, on a NFL roster.
Former Wildcat Larry Croom was cut by the Chargers.
