Related articles:

Wildcats Football '07

Other articles by Ryan Finley:

Firecracker Triathlon's oldest entrant is determined not to take the longest Running takes Oro Valley couple to all 7 continents Cats find big Texan 'from out of the blue' Becoming Army strong Wildcats' young QB learns early: 'Don't do dumb stuff' Former Wildcats lineman, 23, dies unexpectedly Ex-Cat 'ahead of the curve' on LSU staff Arizona Wildcats Football: Former lineman, 23, dies suddenly D-M captain flies high in orienteering Las Vegas speedster commits; UA wants Milus to reconsider

Health Care
Sierra Tucson
Eating Disorders Program Coordinator Health Care
CENTRAL ARIZONA COLLEGE
DIRECTOR OF HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION Administrative & Professional
Tucson Urban League
CEO/President Sales and Marketing
Everready Glass
Sales Reps Mechanical
Komatsu Equipment Co
Resident Field Mechanic Administrative & Professional
Jorgensen Brooks Group
Counselor

The UA football team would love nothing more than to ruin Oregon's Cinderella season by upsetting the second-ranked Ducks when they meet Thursday night.

But as the game nears, the Wildcats say they have something more important to play for: a bowl game.

Although the odds are high, Arizona can qualify for a bowl berth this season. The Wildcats (4-6 overall, 3-4 Pac-10) must defeat the Ducks on Thursday and pull off an upset of Arizona State on Dec. 1 to finish with a 6-6 record. Arizona possibly then could earn a berth to a lower-tier game.

"We want to go out and play well for ourselves," UA coach Mike Stoops said Monday. "Our team's playing well right now. We're playing at home. We played well against them last year. We've played well against them the last two years. We don't have anything to lose, is how we're looking at it."

Arizona's late-season success and recent good fortune against Oregon has the Wildcats thinking about an upset.

Arizona is 7-4 in November under Stoops, with wins coming over four Top25 teams. The Wildcats stunned Oregon 37-10 last season to become bowl eligible for the first time since 1998. The Ducks turned the ball over six times in the loss, a fact that still bothers UO coach Mike Bellotti.

"There's a lot of motivation in that regard because it was in our house, too," he said.

Arizona has added some much-needed beef to its 2008 recruiting class.

Dominique Austin, a three-star defensive end from La Puente (Calif.) Bishop Amat High School, verbally committed to the Wildcats late Monday.

Austin chose Arizona over San Diego State, San Jose State and Utah. The Rivals.com recruiting service lists Austin as the 22nd best weakside defensive end in the nation and the 67th best player in California.

UA assistant coach Darrell Wyatt originally recruited Austin, 17, as an offensive lineman. Austin bristled at the idea, and the two sides didn't talk for months.

Wyatt called Austin a few weeks ago with an offer to play defensive end instead. The 6-foot-4-inch, 240-pound senior said he was sold.

"I loved the campus and I loved the school, but I didn't want to play offensive line," he said. "I kept telling people, 'I wish they would have offered me as a defensive lineman.' "

Austin said the offer to play defense was "really exciting news."

The Wildcats could use the extra size. Of Arizona's 11 commitments, Austin is just the second defensive end; the other, Glendale Kellis High School's Kenny Barnes, is listed as a two-star recruit.

Austin, and the rest of Arizona's verbal commitments, can sign letters of intent on Feb. 6.

● UA president Robert Shelton encouraged UA students and staff in an e-mail to leave campus by 3 p.m. Thursday to accommodate the crowd for the rare week-night football game.

Permit-holders for the Cherry Avenue parking garage and all 22 campus-area parking lots must be vacated by 3 p.m. to make room for tailgaters. On-campus tailgating will start at 2 p.m., and alcohol consumption can begin at 3. The Fan Fiesta is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

The university encourages those affected by the schedule change to call athletics event management at 621-4694 or parking and transportation services at 626-7275 with questions.

● Former UA defensive end Michael Shelton is expected to appear in court today to face charges of assault with a weapon, burglary and two counts of robbery stemming from a break-in near the University of Montana, where he now attends school.

Missoula, Mont., police arrested Shelton and teammates Jeremy Pate and Greg Coleman after the Grizzlies returned from Saturday's 27-14 win at Idaho State. They are being held on a $200,000 bond in a Montana jail.

Shelton, 21, transferred to Montana in fall camp after two tumultuous seasons in Tucson. He missed all UA spring practices because of personal and disciplinary reasons.