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The Arizona Wildcats continue their quest for a Pac-10 title and their first Rose Bowl berth when they face the California Golden Bears in Berkeley.

The Arizona Wildcats continue their quest for a Pac-10 title and their first Rose Bowl berth when they face the California Golden Bears in Berkeley.

The Wildcats, putting a league-best three-game winning streak on the line, pit their 18th-rated rushing offense against Cal's No. 27 rushing defense.

Two of the league's top playmaking running backs, the UA's Nic Grigsby and Cal's Jahvid Best, may not play due to injury.

Grigsby's been limited since the UA's game against Iowa. with a shoulder injury and did not play last week. Best suffered a concussion on a touchdown play against Oregon State and was taken off the field on a stretcher.

Last week, Arizona scored on each of its first seven possessions with bookend special teams plays of note setting the tone in a 48-7 Homecoming victory over visiting Washington State.

At opposite ends of that spree Travis Cobb took the opening kickoff 95 yards for a score and Bug Wright took the first punt of the third period back 86 yards for a score. Those plays bracketed drives for three touchdowns and two field goals to put UA up 41-0.

A 97-yard, 15-play, eight-minute drive to open the fourth quarter made it 48-0. Defensively Arizona held the Cougars to 185 total yards on a modest 42 total plays, limiting the Cougars to 18:41 in time of possession.

On Washington State's best drive, a 12-play, four-minute possession when trailing 31-0 in the second quarter, one of the UA's five sacks in the game, by Xavier Kelley, caused a fumble the Wildcats recovered to turn back a 1st-and-goal opportunity for the Cougars.

Ricky Elmore added two sacks, Brooks Reed came off his five-game injury hiatus to record another fumble-causing sack and D'Aundre Reed got the fifth sack.

The UA used both Nick Foles (12-for-19, 136 yards and a score) and Matt Scott (91 rushing yards) at quarterback, while running backs Nick Booth (18 rushes, 88 yards), Keola Antolin (12 rushes, 61 yards) and Taimi Tutogi (11 rushes, 50 yards) helped Arizona run for 295 yards.

On Oct. 25, the Wildcats joined the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time since the 2000 season. This week the Wildcats are 18th in the AP poll, 19th in the USA Today coaches poll and 17th in the Bowl Championship Series standings.

Arizona's 4-1 mark in the Pac-10 to date makes it 12 victories in the last 18 conference games, dating to the last four games of the 2007 season.

The NCAA rates the Wildcats' schedule as the 13th-toughest in the nation based on cumulative opposition. Through last Saturday's action, Arizona's previous opponents have a combined record of 39-26, while the UA's next four opponents have a combined record of 24-12.

The difficult schedule to date has put UA in a favorable situation with the computers, which are factored into the BCS standings. Should the Cats find ways to keep winning, that computer score is likely to remain strong throughout the season as a difficult set of games looms ahead throughout November and December.

Arizona has found a winning combination with a balanced offense and a resilient defense, and some special teams prowess.

In what shapes up to be a challenging Pac-10 title stretch, the Wildcats are first in sacks allowed, third in scoring, first in total offense, third in rushing, second in passing, second in total defense, second in rush defense, third in pass defense, third in sacks, first in punt returns and second in kickoff returns.

The Wildcats are one of just four teams to rank in the nation's Top 20 in both total offense and total defense. Arizona is gaining a conference-best 448.6 yards per game, and are second in the Pac-10 defense – giving up 298.6 yards per game. The other three teams to rank in the Top 20 of both categories are TCU (9-0), Boise State (9-0) and Florida (9-0).

Up Next
The Wildcats will return home to close out their 2009 home schedule in a Pac-10 showdown against the Oregon Ducks.