A Win Over UCLA Is Just What Arizona Needs for 100th Anniversary Celebration

UCLA Coach Terry Donahue glanced at the empty stands as his team went through the paces of a final practice on the University of Arizona field late Friday afternoon and shook his head. “It’s not the biggest stadium, but this place will rock Saturday night,” he said.

Extra bleachers have been added at the open end of the horseshoe for the crowd that is expected to exceed 56,000.

It’s Homecoming at Arizona. It’s the 100th anniversary of the school. And the University of Arizona is playing for a berth in the Rose Bowl for the first time.

When Donahue arrived for practice Friday afternoon, three television reporters were waiting with camera crews.

The UCLA-Arizona football game tonight is being promoted as a very big event here.

Because of probations, this is the first time since 1982 that Arizona is eligible to win the Pac-10 title and go on to postseason play.

Arizona has just one loss in the conference standings, the same as UCLA, USC, Washington and Arizona State. If Arizona could beat UCLA, the only other major obstacle to face is the final game of the season against Arizona State.

“I know that people here want to think of this as the game for the Rose Bowl,” Donahue said. “But the people down in Tempe want that (Washington at Arizona State today) to be the Rose Bowl decider. I’d like to remind you that USC is also still in the conference race.

“It has been our experience that the conference race goes down to the last games. . . . I will say that the winner of this game will take a giant step forward and the loser will take a step backward.”

But there is no tempering the talk of Rose Bowl in this town this week.

“It’s been a long drought,” Arizona Coach Larry Smith said earlier this week. “There is no pressure on me or on the players. It’s a good atmosphere. The community is quite excited about the upcoming game. We’ve played the conference leader before when all we had to win was the win itself. This game can get us another step closer to our ultimate goal.”

UCLA is favored by 4 to 5 points. But Donahue points out that coaches generally agree that the home field is worth about 6 1/2 points.

“Arizona is a very, very difficult team to beat at home,” Donahue said. “And they play very well in the big games. That’s a trademark of Larry’s teams.”

Arizona always ranks high in defense, in every category. And Arizona has an outstanding kicking game.

Donahue added: “A key ingredient is team speed. They match up very well with UCLA. They have the same kind of athletes and the same foot speed we have.”

This game could very well come down to turnovers and field goals.

“I think it’s going to be a humdinger,” Donahue said.

Bruin Notes UCLA is 6-1-1 overall, 4-1 and tied for the lead in the Pac-10. Arizona is 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the conference . . . Incredibly, Arizona has lost to Stanford and has beaten SMU. . . . Tailback James Primus, who suffered a bruised shoulder against Cal, did not make the trip. Donahue said that Gaston Green, who missed four games earlier with a knee injury, is now 100%. He said that he was undecided on whether Green or Eric Ball would start at tailback. . . . Offensive tackle Russ Warnick, who is recovering from torn ligaments in his big toe, made the trip.

Arizona quarterback Alfred Jenkins led the Pac-10 in passing last season with 2,202 yards. Donahue called him a premier athlete. His passing was off against Oregon State last week, when he completed 10 of 24 passes. . . . Arizona’s offense did not score a touchdown in its 27-6 victory. They scored on a blocked punt, a fumble recovery and a return with an intercepted fumble. . . . Free safety Allan Durden, who leads Arizona in interceptions, is the brother of Mike Durden, who played for UCLA.