While ESPN’s “”College GameDay”” will be an integral part of the Arizona football team’s contest against Oregon on Saturday night, something else might be even more noticeable.
The Wildcats are calling on all UA supporters to “”red out”” Arizona Stadium for the 6 p.m. Pacific 10 Conference tilt against the No. 11 Ducks.
“”Please wear red,”” said senior safety Cam Nelson. “”Hats, shoes, underwear — whatever you’ve got that’s red — wristbands — we need it. Wave caps, you can dye your hair red, whatever. … We want to try to get a lot of help from the crowd.””
With the stadium expected to be at full capacity, the sight of more than 55,000 Wildcat fans all sporting the same color could be an intimidating atmosphere for Oregon to enter.
UA head coach Mike Stoops didn’t seem overly enthusiastic about the “”red out”” but said, “”It sounds good to me. … I think playing Oregon and playing for a Pac-10 championship, I imagine that would get (UA fans) more enthused than the red.””
The team will likely be donning all-red uniforms on Saturday to put a red cap on the potential red-letter day for the Wildcats. But will the team go all out and strap up with red helmets for the clash against the Ducks?
“”I’ve heard rumors, but I’m not going to promise anything. I’m just going to wait and see when we walk into the locker room on Saturday,”” Nelson said with a grin. “”I try to sneak into the equipment room every day after practice to see if there’s any large shipments coming in or helmets or anything.””
So far, mum is still the word on the red helmets, but the “”red out”” is expected to be in full force on Saturday. The contest is also the last home game of the season for Arizona and the added excitement the “”red out”” could provide is giving some players extra motivation for the game against Pac-10-leading Oregon.
“”The atmosphere is going to be crazy. We hope that it’s a red sea out there. We want everybody in that red,”” said junior running back Nic Grigsby. “”We’re going to come out there shedding blood for our team this weekend.””
