Something Has Been Missing at Arizona--Tackling

Desert Swarm?

Try Desert Scorn.

Arizona’s defense, good enough in the early 1990s to earn its own nickname, is the biggest reason the Wildcats have plunged from No. 4 before the season to the verge of oblivion.

The loser Saturday in Tucson--Arizona or No. 22 USC--probably can wave the Rose Bowl goodbye.

For now, the numbers tell the tale.

Except that there aren’t any statistics for missed tackles, and anyone who saw the 41-7 loss to Penn State knows the Wildcats have missed plenty of them.

After giving up only 18 points a game during last year’s 12-1 season, Arizona is giving up 33 a game--99th among 114 Division I-A teams.

The Wildcats are 98th in rushing defense--giving up 196 yards a game and an astounding 5.1 yards a carry. (Do the math: That’s a first down every two carries.)

They are 99th in pass-efficiency defense, 85th in total defense.

Five games into the season, the Wildcats have only eight sacks and have intercepted one pass.

Only South Carolina and Rutgers have fewer interceptions--with none.

Blown out by Penn State and stunned by Stanford, 50-22, Arizona has beaten Texas Christian, Middle Tennessee State and survived against Washington State only with a Hail Mary touchdown on the last play that replays showed probably shouldn’t have been ruled a catch.

Since then, Arizona has had a week off to try to right itself, although it’s already too late to live up to expectations that Coach Dick Tomey says now weren’t realistic.

“Looking back, they probably weren’t,” he said. “We were rated No. 4 in the nation a year ago, but we had six guys off the team make the NFL, which is the most we’ve ever had. So probably our ranking was more based on where we finished than on this team.

“This team did not play well early in the season at Penn State. We played better against TCU but played horribly against Stanford. We turned the ball over, we got sacked, we did not play defense.

“We’ve played good defense around here for a long time, and we had a lot of guys returning, but we haven’t been able to put together a good defensive effort.”

At least Arizona has two good quarterbacks in Keith Smith and Ortege Jenkins, a standout runner in Trung Canidate and an emerging star receiver in Dennis Northcutt.

“The biggest thing that hurt us was not being able to replace guys from last year,” said Northcutt, who admits Penn State “was just a better team” than Arizona.

“It’s hard to fill the shoes of someone like Chris McAlister,” Northcutt said, referring to the Wildcats’ unanimous All-American cornerback.

Defensive tackle Daniel Greer, the Wildcats’ sack leader, was another loss.

“Those guys are gone now,” Northcutt said. “Somebody has to step up. Now the guys have some experience and are starting to wake up.

“As a team we can’t start pointing fingers. We have to continue playing as a team.”

Arizona has a defensive standout in Marcus Bell, an inside linebacker who led the Pac-10 in tackles last season--and a player Tomey calls the best linebacker he has coached at Arizona.

“Bell is playing very, very well,” USC Coach Paul Hackett said.

The rest of the Arizona defense is a mystery.

“You hear about missed tackles,” Hackett said. “I don’t know how a great defense starts missing tackles, but I don’t buy that.

“What happened to them? I’m not really sure. I didn’t see the Penn State tape, but Washington State made some big pass plays on them. Washington State is spread out all over the place. Stanford got hot, and their receiver made some big plays.”

Strategically, Arizona’s defense concerns Hackett because of its emphasis on trying to confuse the offense with unusual alignments and movement.

But tackling, after all, is the bottom line.

“We’ve worked like the dickens on fundamentals, and I think we’ll be better,” Tomey said after Arizona’s extra week of preparation because the Wildcats didn’t play last week. “I think we had a real productive week, and we’re looking forward to playing again and seeing if we’re improved.”