Arizona Wildcats storylines: On UA's rushing attack, special teams, and USC's separation

The Arizona Wildcats want to win every game, obviously. But they understand that a victory over USC on Saturday would mean a little bit more.

Although the Trojans are off to a slow start — for them — they’re still the defending Pac-12 champions and the most iconic program on the West Coast. Beating them would be a big deal.

“I think it’d be huge,” senior receiver Shawn Poindexter said. “We (had) a good statement win against Oregon State. That should speak volumes.

“Beating USC would really establish us, and maybe the city will believe in us a little bit more.”

Poindexter wasn’t trying to imply that Tucson has lost faith. He meant that a win over USC would turn the city’s enthusiasm up a notch — or, at the very least, recapture the buzz that was lost when Arizona started the Kevin Sumlin era 0-2.

“It would be a great boost, not just for the program but for our fans too,” sophomore linebacker Tony Fields II said. “I believe our fans will be here. They’ll be all in.”

The crowd at Arizona Stadium should be lively, and all it’ll take is one Khalil Tate romp into the end zone for the #Pac12AfterDark tweets to start flowing.

For the players, there’s a fine line between being engaged and being too fired up. Tate willed Arizona back into the game last year in Los Angeles but forced a pass late that was intercepted. Fields believes the more seasoned Wildcats will be better prepared for the atmosphere and intensity this time.

“Last year I feel like ’SC was a big game for me, one of the biggest games for me. Now I feel like I’ve been there, done that,” said Fields, who will make his 18th career start Saturday. “I was talking to one of the young guys the other day.

“Treat it like another game. You don’t want to get too jittery. That’s when stupid penalties and stupid mistakes happen.”

Although Arizona has had minimal success against USC, some in the know give the Wildcats a fighting chance. They opened as two-point underdogs, and the line stood at three as of this writing. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic picked Arizona over USC as his “Upset Special” this week.

What kind of message would it send if the Wildcats were to pull it off?

“That we’re not a team to be messed with this year,” offensive lineman Bryson Cain said. “I think with coach Sumlin … we can really make a difference in the Pac-12.”

Last week at Oregon State, Arizona rushed for more than 400 yards for the sixth time in the past three seasons.

For the first time, offensive lineman Bryson Cain wasn’t just a witness.

“This is the first time I was involved in it,” Cain said, “so it felt a little extra special.”

Cain, the Wildcats’ starting right guard, redshirted as a freshman in 2016. He was on track to be a top backup last season before breaking and tearing multiple ligaments in his ankle late in training camp.

So began a long, grueling rehabilitation process. By the time he returned to full-time duty in the spring, Cain had a new position coach and a new position.

Joe Gilbert basically had to start from scratch with Arizona’s offensive line. Among the moves he made was shifting Cain from tackle to guard.

“It was whatever was best for the team,” Cain said. “Whatever Coach Gilbert thinks is right for me is right.”

Gilbert’s tinkering continued into the season. After senior Layth Friekh became eligible for Game 3, Gilbert moved freshman Donovan Laie from left tackle to right tackle. Like Cain, Cody Creason moved from tackle to guard.

The changes have worked, at least so far. The offensive line has been Arizona’s most improved unit over the past two weeks. The Wildcats led the Pac-12 in total offense and rushing entering this weekend.

“I think it’s more communication than anything,” Cain said. “We’re getting a lot more comfortable with the offense. We’re getting to a point where we don’t have to make certain calls anymore. We can just look up and see the defense lined up a certain way. Everyone’s on the same page.”

Cain said the line is “playing as one unit rather than five different players having to move around and block people.” That statement calls to mind an analogy Kevin Sumlin used earlier this season: “Your line better work more like a nickel than five pennies.”

A healthy Cain has enhanced its value.

The USC-Arizona game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. — 10:30 on the East Coast.

Late start times are just one of the many reasons Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott has become a lightning rod for criticism. The Pac-12 Networks — which still don’t have a carriage deal with DirecTV — also rank near the top of that list.

Scott handles it all in stride. The commissioner, who’s been the face of the league for nearly a decade, visited with reporters last week before the Arizona-Oregon State game in Corvallis. He talked about what it’s like to be criticized and gave a frank assessment of the Pac-12 Networks. Here’s a portion of that conversation, which has been lightly edited for context and clarity:

You are in a position where you’re going to be criticized a lot. How do you deal with that?

A: “It goes with the territory. I’ve been a commissioner before this role in pro sports. If you’re not comfortable with that, you shouldn’t be in a role like this. The same is true for athletics directors, university presidents, coaches. I never complain about it. The way I look at it is, one of the reasons college sports is so successful is because of the popularity, the exposure and the passion people have for it. If people didn’t have such extreme passion, there wouldn’t be the criticism.

“I don’t like criticism of the league. I don’t like criticism of the schools. I don’t like personal criticism. But I don’t take it personally. I don’t think you can be in a role like this and not have some of it.”

How’s the health of the Pac-12 Networks?

A: “I think it’s very healthy. Stable. Significant exposure for the members. The production quality is very, very high. But it’s not growing at this stage. We’ve had this stalemate with DirecTV, and there’s cord-cutting going on. It’s hard for any network to be growing these days.

“But the original impetus for the network was about our mission, providing a platform for exposure. We’re creating a lot of value for the members, the programs and the student-athletes in a lot of different ways.”

You can buy HBO for a month for a set amount of money. Have you ever considered doing something like that with the Pac-12 Networks?

A: “In the earliest days, that was an option. But once we entered the business model we entered into, with distribution for the network with Comcast, DISH, Cox, Spectrum, we’re prohibited from selling the network individually like the HBO model.

“We agreed, as part of those original distribution deals, that we’d exclusively be distributed as part of a bundle … at least through 2024. Our ESPN and Fox agreements go through 2024. Likewise, all of our distributions go through 2024. It’s a complete, open slate after that.”

Is there any concern within the league about the Supreme Court decision that opens the possibility of legalized gambling on sports?

A: “Yes. We’re concerned and monitoring what’s going to happen. Mostly concerned about the integrity of the competition — influences and temptations around student-athletes, coaches. We’re at a minimum going to have to put significant effort and resources into education and monitoring. We’ve had some experience with that already, because there’s gambling in Las Vegas (site of the Pac-12 Tournament). We monitor that and work closely with authorities there.”

What about a universal injury report? Have you ever talked about that with your fellow commissioners?

A: “I have. This topic came up pretty early in my tenure within the conference as well. There was a strong belief by our schools that it should be a school-by-school decision. Some of the concerns on our campuses are that student-athletes are different from professional athletes. There’s information-protection laws and other campus regulations. There’s a real caution about disclosing medical information about students.”

Arizona holder Jake Glatting runs through the Wildcats’ fake field goal at Oregon State that resulted in a Khalil Tate TD pass three plays later pic.twitter.com/gXxNOHEOaQ

— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) September 25, 2018

When he found out Arizona was adding graduate transfer Dylan Klumph, Jake Glatting knew what the future held.

Klumph was an accomplished two-year starter at Cal. He was coming to Tucson as a scholarship player. Barring something unforeseen, Klumph would become the Wildcats’ punter. Glatting would have a reduced role.

“It was tough finding out Dylan was coming, finding out he was on scholarship after talks with coach (Rich) Rodriguez years ago about potentially getting on scholarship, and that never happening,” Glatting said. “It was hard taking that news. But Dylan’s a great dude. He’s got a great leg. I’ve got nothing against him.”

Entering his fifth and final year at the UA, Glatting just hoped he’d have a job. He retained his spot as the holder, one of those positions typically not noticed unless something goes wrong.

Or you’re the key figure in a trick play that works just right.

Glatting found himself in that position last Saturday against Oregon State. As Glatting and kicker Lucas Havrisik trotted onto the field for a 44-yard field-goal attempt in the third quarter, special-teams coordinator Jeremy Springer called for “Blue” — the code name for a fake.

Glatting knelt behind snapper Nick Reinhardt, per usual. But when Glatting received the ball, he bolted to his left, the pitch man on an option play.

Glatting read the defense and elected to keep the ball. He needed 7 yards for the first down. He gained 8.

“It’s been five years since I’ve done any running on the field with the ball in game-like situations,” said Glatting, who played quarterback at Thunderbird High School in Phoenix. “It’s been a long time since I got hit like that.”

Glatting’s teammates, in particular his fellow special-teamers, mobbed him when he returned to the sideline.

“When someone you don’t expect to make a play makes a play like that, everyone’s like, ‘Nice play, dude! You got the first down! Heck yeah!’ ” Glatting said.

For a nine-year stretch, Arizona played USC as tough as anyone.

From 2007-15, every game between the Wildcats and Trojans was decided by one score. Arizona won two of them — its only victories in the series in the past 16 matchups.

USC has gained separation the last two seasons, winning by 34 and 14 points.

Below are the results of the past 11 meetings. The games in even-numbered years were played in Tucson.

2007: USC 20, Arizona 13

2008: USC 17, Arizona 10

2009: Arizona 21, USC 17

2010: USC 24, Arizona 21

2011: USC 48, Arizona 41

2012: Arizona 39, USC 36

2013: USC 38, Arizona 31

2014: USC 28, Arizona 26

2015: USC 38, Arizona 30

2016: USC 48, Arizona 14

2017: USC 49, Arizona 35