Toby Gerhart is tied for fourth in the Pac-10 with six yards per carry. Arizona's Nicolas Grigsby also has 6.0 yards per rushing attempt.

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The last time the Arizona Wildcats faced a big, bruising tailback, New Mexico's Rodney Ferguson ran all over them.

Stanford's Toby Gerhart should have the UA's full attention. Gerhart, a 6-foot-1-inch, 235-pound junior, is just starting to establish himself after missing most of the 2007 season with a knee injury.

Gerhart has rushed 87 times for 525 yards and six touchdowns this season.

He's averaging six yards a carry, fourth-best in the Pac-10.

Gerhart is expected to be the focus of Stanford's offense on Saturday when the Cardinal hosts Arizona in a key conference game.

The Wildcats are looking to improve to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in Pac-10 play for the first time since 2000.

"He brings that physical presence to their offense," UA coach Mike Stoops said. "He's a power running back, He likes to run downhill and break tackles. So that's his strength. He understands who he is, and doesn't try to do anything but that."

Gerhart was one of the Cardinal's lone bright spots in last week's 28-21 loss at Notre Dame, carrying 13 times for 104 yards and a touchdown. He would have likely received more touches had Stanford been more competitive; the Cardinal trailed 28-7 at the end of the third quarter before rallying late to make it close.

"We would have liked to tack on an extra 10 to 15 runs to Toby," offensive coordinator David Shaw said, "but when we got down by three scores late in the game, we couldn't quite get the amount of carries for him or any of our other backs."

Gerhart's size and running style are enough to remind the Wildcats of Ferguson, New Mexico's 6-foot, 234-pound bruiser.

Ferguson torched Arizona's defense for 158 yards and two touchdowns in the Lobos' 36-28 upset in Week 3. The Wildcats often needed two or three defenders to bring him down.

"We screwed that up. We're a different team now," UA defensive end Ricky Elmore said. "I think (Saturday) will be redemption for us. It's another big back, so maybe we can get after him."

Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh took the conference by storm in his first season, upsetting top-ranked USC, California and Arizona.

But Harbaugh — and the Cardinal — won't be able to sneak up on anybody this year.

Stanford has become one of the Pac-10's upper-division teams with Harbaugh, the former NFL quarterback and small-college coach, at the helm.

"They're a very well-coached team every time they step on the field, and you can see that in the way they play," Stoops said. "They don't beat themselves — that's just the style they play. They're methodical in their approach, but they're always going to attempt to get explosive plays. They're going to be very particular in how they attack you."

Their style reflects on Harbaugh, who has stressed the basics since taking over for Walt Harris. The Cardinal went 4-8 in Harbaugh's first season and, at 3-3 this season, are on pace to make its first bowl game since 2001.

"We try not to get ahead of ourselves," Shaw said. "We have three wins with six to go, so we're concentrating on the next three games. … We need to focus on Arizona and what we need to do to be successful against the University of Arizona."

● Backup quarterback Matt Scott went through full-contact drills Wednesday for the first time this week. Scott, the Wildcats' speedy freshman, suffered a mild concussion in the fourth quarter last week.

● Rob Gronkowski was selected the John Mackey Tight End of the Week on Wednesday by the Nassau County (N.Y.) Sports Commission. He caught five passes for 109 yards and scored three TDs against Washington last week, the best single-game scoring performance by a tight end in UA history.