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Dear Mr. Football: Has anyone adequately explained Arizona's abysmal start (45-17 halftime deficit) last week at Oregon?

A: Junior left tackle Eben Britton was chatting with UA strength coach Corey Edmond one morning this week; they determined it might've been as simple as failing to understand an opponent's fire.

"In years past,'' said Britton, "UA football has been overlooked by many of the teams we played. No one ever seemed jacked up to play us. But at Oregon it was completely different. It was so intense. It was by far the toughest environment I've played in, and that includes the game at LSU two years ago.

"We got Oregon's best shot and now we seem to be getting everyone's best shot. I think we understand that now. We have to match that with our best shot, and in the first half at Oregon we didn't.''

Dear Mr. Football: Is Jacquizz Rodgers the best freshman football player in Pac-10 history?

A: Not only is he the best since freshmen were declared eligible in 1972, he's probably the best player in the league today. Who else would you want? He's better than all the running backs at USC and I'd take Quizz over USC safety Taylor Mays, who used to be the league's best player.

Only one true freshman position player, Stanford all-purpose back/receiver Darrin Nelson, made the all-conference first team (1977). Nelson gained 1,069 yards that year. Rodgers has gained 1,233.

USC guard Tony Boselli and Trojan quarterback Todd Marinovich were first-team All-Pac-10 players as redshirt freshmen. No other position-playing freshmen have made the all-league team.

Dear Mr. Football: What about Napoleon Kaufman?

A: In size and production, Washington's tailback (1991-94) is the Pac-10 franchise back most similar to Quizz. But Kaufman wasn't a full-time starter on the Huskies' national co-champs of 1991; he gained 667 yards.

USC's Heisman winners didn't come close to Rodgers' freshman numbers. Marcus Allen gained 171 yards as a Trojan freshman, Charles White had 858 and Reggie Bush ran for 521.

Dear Mr. Football: Did Arizona recruit Rodgers?

A: It did. The Wildcats, Louisiana Tech, SMU, Baylor, Houston and Boston College were the other schools to offer Rodgers a scholarship. He is but the third Parade All-American, ever, to sign with OSU. By comparison, Arizona has had 14 dating to 1988.

Dear Mr. Football: Are the Beavers always that sharp in recruiting?

A: On paper, the core of this Rose Bowl-contending team seemed destined to challenge Wazzu and Washington for last place. Incredibly, since 2004, Rivals.com has rated OSU's recruiting classes 47th, 43rd, 47th and 54th in the country. And never higher than No. 6 in the Pac-10.

The league's coach-of-the-year trophy should henceforth be called the Mike Riley Coach of the Year Award.

Dear Mr. Football: Did Quizz really score 136 touchdowns at his Houston-area high school? Is that possible?

A: Arizona's big-schools career touchdown leader is Mountain View and ex-UA tailback Kevin Schmidtke. He scored 85 touchdowns, which was an average of about three per game. Schmidtke needed 51 more to tie Rodgers.

Dear Mr. Football: How serious are the Beavers about winning football games?

A: The Beavers are funding a 40-piece band to travel to Tucson for some moral support. They fly through Phoenix this morning and are expected in Tucson by noon. The UA has never taken its band to a Pac-10 road game that wasn't in Los Angeles or Tempe.

The Beavers also travel first-class; they are lodging at Pusch Ridge, at the Hilton El Conquistador, rather than bunk at the typical in-town Marriott.

Dear Mr. Football: Does any coach in college football look better in a cap than OSU's Riley?

A: Riley looks as good in a cap as USC's Pete Carroll looks without one. It's a good look for Riley; he has that Jim Furyk thing (baldness) going on under the cap. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

College football is populated by successful, hair-challenged coaches, including Kansas' Mark Mangino, Maryland's Ralph Friedgen, Cal's Jeff Tedford, Wake Forest's Al Groh and Louisville's Steve Kragthorpe.

It would be a TV cameraman's delight to someday televise a game matching Riley and LSU's Les Miles, who is known as "The Hat'' because he just can't get one that fits right.

Oregon State has the Pac-10's best tradition of game-day hats. Former Beaver coach Tommy Prothro, who coached OSU to the 1957 and 1965 Rose Bowls, wore a fedora as handsomely as any coach ever. Runner-up: In his Desert Swarm days, Dick Tomey sometimes wore his baseball cap backward while on the sideline. Epic.

Dear Mr. Football: What is tonight's most likely final score?

A: The most frequent final scores in Arizona's Pac-10 years have been 27-24 and 28-14. Both have occurred five times. Logically and on paper, it should be OSU 27, Arizona 24. But that's too easy.

No team in a UA football game has scored exactly 39 points in the Pac-10 era. So I'll take Arizona winning 39-37 on a Jason Bondzio kick at the buzzer.

It would signify a new era of Wildcat football. Even better, it would permit the UA to breathe before it plays the Sun Devils in two weeks.