Arizona may not be as good a team as UCLA and Oregon State, Oregon's final two opponents, but they represent the biggest hurdle remaining for the Ducks.It's a Thursday night game with no other distractions, and if you've been following the polls all season you've noticed how important these national spotlight games have become. On Saturdays, coaches/voters are "working" and get little opportunity to watch more than one game.
Thursday is a different story.
Already this year, a program who had never been ranked in its history, Cincinnati nearly vaulted into the rankings after beating an average Oregon State team. Matt Ryan nearly won himself the Heisman with two big time throws that would have otherwise gone unnoticed to anyone outside of New England. South Florida lost to Rutgers and plummeted in the rankings. Kentucky lost to South Carolina dropping the Wildcats much too far down the rankings and eliminating Andre' Woodson from the Heisman.
Speaking of that, tonight's the night for Dennis Dixon. The two remaining games are on national television but will be split up regionally. This will likely be the final glimpse for many voters who won't go out of there way to watch the others with several other big games on TV.
That's a lot of pressure on a Ducks team playing on the road against a team playing with nothing to lose. Watch out for a close one tonight in Tucson.
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