COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Stoops has Wildcats going in right direction

"We were in a little bit of disarray last year at this time and our kids pulled together and pulled that game out from being 15 down in the fourth quarter," Stoops said this week. "Sometimes you think you're down and out, and your kids are very resilient. That's what I found out with our team. Our team never quit on us. We didn't play as good as we would have liked, but we always felt like we were getting better and close to becoming a good football team. You never lose hope of who you are."

Then, without being asked, Stoops detoured his answer to include Washington coach Tyrone Willingham, who is feeling even more heat in his fourth season than Stoops had.

"I know Tyrone and his staff (and) we have tremendous respect for what we're going to get from them and understand we're going to have to play an excellent football game to win," he said. "... I understand their situation, but we're going to worry about our team and what we need to do and practice the things that are necessary to win this game. We can't worry about what is going on at Washington. We understand we're going to get a great effort from Washington, and that's what we'll prepare for."

Stoops added that Mondays and Tuesdays after losses are tough. But then players begin focusing on Saturday, the next game, the next chance for a breakthrough.

Willingham picked up on the theme, aiming this week for that first UW victory that could blossem into the kind of turnaround that Arizona is enjoying.

"What we have to do is figure out a way to get over the hump," Willingham said. "So that's my job to figure out something to just change, switch, do something to get us over the hump. It's the players' responsibility to make plays when they get the opportunity. ... So we've got to do both of those, and that's been consistent since the day I arrived here. We've got to find a way to get over the hump, and when we do that it's really pretty nice." The hump seems steeper this week as the Huskies will be without their No. 1 quarterback, tailback and receiver.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Ronnie Fouch will make his first college start today, replacing Jake Locker who will be out six to eight weeks after surgery on his broken right thumb. Tailback David Freeman (ankle) is out for an undetermined period, as is receiver D'Andre Goodwin (ribs).

If there is a bright side, it might be that the Huskies seem to play well at Arizona Stadium — going home winners after their last two visits.

In 2006, Washington took a 21-3 lead in the second quarter and won, 21-10.

In 2004, the Huskies rode Isaiah Stanback's 69-yard touchdown bomb on the last play of the first half to a 38-14 win over the stunned Wildcats.

That game also marked Willingham's first Pac-10 win as coach of the Huskies.

"It's never easy when you go on the road because there are so many things that you can't account for," Willingham said. "... I don't know if there is something special about their place, or if there is some memory that some of our guys pass on to each other. But usually teams have a tendency where there are certain places where they just seem to feel comfortable and they just seem to play well."

EXTRA POINTS

Temperature at kickoff is expected to remain in the upper 80s, and there is a chance of rain. ... Locker is on this trip as part of the Huskies' 64-man travel squad.

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