UA football’s newest challenge: managing expectations

This is uncharted territory for the Arizona Wildcats under Mike Stoops. Not only is this team ranked in three major polls (No. 18 BCS, No. 19 USA Today, No. 21 AP), but the Wildcats (5-2, 3-1 Pac-10) control their own destiny. Win five straight games, and the Cats head to the Rose Bowl.

However, a five-game winning streak is rare for any team, especially one playing in the surprisingly stout Pac-10 conference, a league rated No. 1 by Jeff Sagarin’s computer rankings.

In addition, the toughest foe a team in Arizona’s position might be keeping a proper perspective, especially with the lowly Washington Huskies (1-7, 0-5) coming to Tucson for UA’s homecoming game (Saturday, 1:30 p.m.).

“You can’t get ahead of yourself,” Stoops said. “If you just take care of the game in front of you, the season will take care of itself.”

The Cats are currently favored by 31 points over the Cougars — a squad giving up more than 37 points per game. Washington State ranks No. 119 out of 120 FBS teams in total defense (511 yards per game) and No. 114 in total offense (280 yards per game).

Freshman quarterback Jeff Tuel has shown some promise this season (particularly against Cal on Oct. 24), but this Washington State team has struggled to get anything going on either side of the ball.

Despite the Cougars’ problems, Stoops cautions his team from looking past anyone. Weird things happen in football.

“We might’ve played our most complete game against Washington, and we lost that one,” Stoops said. “Washington State is more than capable of coming in here and winning.”

Injury report

Tailbacks Nic Grigsby (shoulder) and Greg Nwoko (shoulder) are both “very questionable” for action on Saturday, with Stoops saying that “Greg might be more available than Nic.”

In the event that neither back can go this week, Keola Antolin (77 yards in UA’s 27-13 win over UCLA on Oct. 24) and Nick Booth will be given the bulk of the carries.

Also, don’t be surprised if offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes continues using his wide receivers in a variety of reverses and end-arounds. Delashaun Dean, Juron Criner and Terrell Turner each had success rushing the ball against UCLA.

On the defensive side, edge rusher Brooks Reed is expected to return to action after suffering an ankle injury on Sept. 19 against Iowa.

“It’s really important for us to get Brooks back,” Stoops said. “He brings an added dimension to our pass rush.”

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