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The Arizona Wildcats are off to their best start in eight years.

Shhhhh. Don't tell USC.

"I'm hoping we sneak up on them," UA coach Mike Stoops said with a chuckle on Monday.

The Wildcats (5-2, 3-1 Pac-10) may be able to keep a low profile heading into Saturday's showdown at Arizona Stadium.

Sixth-ranked USC is listed as a 15-point favorite, and for good reason. The Trojans (5-1, 3-1) are coming off a 69-0 dismantling of Washington State. They have outscored teams 114-0 in the last 10 quarters.

Stoops, speaking at his weekly news conference, painted his team as a heavy underdog.

"What do we have to lose? Nobody thinks we're going to win," Stoops said. "I don't know how many points of an underdog we are, but I'm sure it's a substantial amount. We're going to play free and see what happens. That's how you have to play it."

The Wildcats will need to be the aggressors against the Trojans to have a chance for an upset. The formula worked well in the second half against Cal, when the UA outscored the Golden Bears 28-3 and outgained them in yards 225-177.

"We punched back," Stoops said, "and that's the way it's supposed to be."

Nicolas Grigsby will start over Keola Antolin at tailback on Saturday, but Stoops is making no guarantees in terms of playing time.

"They'll both play," he said.

Antolin gained 149 yards on 21 carries and scored three touchdowns against Cal after being inserted into the lineup in the first quarter.

Grigsby still leads the Wildcats in carries (107), yards (627) and TDs (nine). Even with his poor showing, Grigsby is averaging 89.6 yards per game.

"Both guys are lightning in a bottle, man," USC coach Pete Carroll said Monday. "They're terrific open-field runners with great speed. … They've got a great 1-2 punch, however they want to do it."

Wide receivers Mike Thomas (foot) and Delashaun Dean (shoulder) and defensive tackle Kaniela Tuipulotu should all be ready to play Saturday.

"They'll be fine," Stoops said.

Thomas and Tuipulotu were both injured in the first half against Cal but continued to play. Dean appeared to injure his shoulder late in the game and left Arizona Stadium with his arm in a sling.

Center Blake Kerley remains on crutches 10 days after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery. Doctors replaced Kerley's left anterior cruciate ligament with one from a cadaver and repaired damage to his meniscus during a 2 1/2-hour procedure Oct. 10 at University Medical Center. Kerley experienced a lot of pain last week but said, "It's gotten a lot better."

Kerley is expected to be ready for training camp next August.

● The Wildcats took it easy in practice on Monday, wearing light "spider pads" and workout shorts. Stoops said he wanted to give his players a break following a tough workload against Cal. The teams ran a combined 147 plays, 18 more than Arizona and Stanford had in Week 6.

● The Wildcats received a verbal commitment Monday from one of their recruiting targets.

Chris Putton, a 6-foot-4-inch, 275-pound offensive tackle from Glendale Cactus High School, committed to assistant coach Tim Kish following Monday night's practice.

"It was right in my heart at the time," Putton said. "I was ready to commit."

The Rivals.com recruiting service lists Putton as a three-star recruit and the nation's 67th-best tackle. Putton chose Arizona over an offer from UNLV.