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It's easy to find the biggest talents in tonight's game. Look for the smallest players. Arizona's Mike Thomas and Keola Antolin and Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers all stand between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 8 inches tall.

Despite their size, there's no denying the impact they make.

Rodgers has been the Pac-10 Conference's biggest surprise as a true freshman. His 1,233 yards are the most in the conference. Should he maintain his lead over Stanford's Toby Gerhart, Rodgers will become the first freshman in conference history to win the rushing title.

Antolin has made an impact on the Wildcats despite receiving about one-third as many carries as Rodgers. The Wildcats' diminutive freshman tied a school record with four rushing touchdowns in last week's 55-45 loss to Oregon.

Coach Mike Stoops has not said whether Antolin or sophomore Nicolas Grigsby will start tonight, but both should see substantial playing time.

He said Rodgers and Antolin are "very talented players, and mature beyond their years."

"To be able to do this at this level … Jacquizz has carried the ball a bunch, and to have his kind of of stamina and strength is unique for a player this young," Stoops said. "He's a quick, elusive guy. I think he's a combination of Nic and Keola."

Thomas, meanwhile, has quietly become the Pac-10's best wide receiver. He leads the conference with 5.5 catches per game, and is second — behind Oregon State's Sammie Strougher — with 671 receiving yards.

● Date: Oct. 6, 2007

● What went down: Oregon State scored 24 first-quarter points and defeated the Arizona Wildcats 31-16 in Corvallis, Ore. Arizona received three Jason Bondzio field goals, but failed to score an offensive touchdown.

● How it read: The Star's Greg Hansen wrote:

If you thought Arizona played poorly against BYU and New Mexico, and looked inept in the first half at Cal — if you thought it was not possible to play any worse than Arizona played in September — you were wrong. New month. Same problems. Oregon State took a 31-3 lead over the Wildcats so quickly Saturday that you'd have thought the referees were awarding 15 points for touchdowns.

● Turning point: Oregon State's Joey LaRocque intercepted Willie Tuitama and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter. LaRocque's pick-six gave the Beavers a 21-3 lead.

● Stats that matter: Tuitama completed 18 of 38 passes for 222 yards but was intercepted three times. Anthony Johnson led the Wildcats with six catches for 80 yards; Terrell Reese had four grabs for 77 yards. Tailback Yvenson Bernard led the Beavers with 140 rushing yards on 32 carries. He had two touchdowns.

● It's history: Arizona fell to 2-4 with the loss, its first of three straight defeats. The Beavers improved to 3-3; they would finish 9-4. Oregon State capped its year with a 21-14 win over Maryland in the Emerald Bowl.

Tight end Rob Gronkowski earned some much-needed national attention with last week's 12-catch, 143-yard performance.

Gronkowski remains unappreciated for another, less-measurable skill: his blocking.

"People don't realize what a blocker he is, too," UA coach Mike Stoops said. "We're just starting to see glimpses of him being such a dominating player."

Gronkowski, a 6-foot-6-inch, 260-pound sophomore, considers blocking fun.

"It's part of football. You get a good block, and you feel good about it," he said. "Blocking is definitely important. That all opens the receiving game. That's why I put blocking first."

Offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes said he is "every bit as good a blocker as he is a wide receiver."

And that's saying something.

Gronkowski is posting the best single-season performance by a tight end in UA history, despite missing the first three games with mononucleosis. He set the single-season and career catches mark with his performance at Oregon.

Coaches expect Gronkowski to become the focal point of the Wildcats' offense in 2009; after that, he would be eligible to declare for the NFL Draft.

"The good thing about Robby is that he still has a lot of upside," Dykes said. "He's still learning how to run routes, set people up, and do things like that. He's getting better and better all the time."

The Arizona Wildcats have done a good job of re-establishing a recruiting pipeline in Hawaii.

But it's safe to say that, at least for now, the islands are Oregon State territory.

The Beavers have 15 players who hail from Hawaii, the most of any Pac-10 Conference team and second-most nationally, behind the University of Hawaii.

Two of them, safety Al Afalava and right tackle Tavita Thompson, start.

"Those guys do a nice job recruiting," said UA assistant Mike Tuiasosopo, who's in charge of recruiting Hawaii. "They do a nice job of evaluating personnel and developing those guys. They've gotten some really good ones."

Oregon State stresses recruiting Hawaii, in part because the Beavers' coaches have a rich history there.

Four OSU assistants — defensive coordinator Mark Banker, offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh, linebackers coach Greg Newhouse and defensive line coach Joe Seumalo — previously coached at the University of Hawaii. Seumalo played for the Warriors, and graduate assistant Inoke Breckterfield grew up in Honolulu.

By comparison, Arizona has just one coach — Tuiasosopo — with Polynesian ties.

Defensive tackle Kaniela Tuipulotu has been sidelined for the last five weeks with "turf toe," a hyperextension of the big toe's metatarsophalangeal joint.

It hasn't been fun.

"It feels like you've got a bunch of needles going into your bone," he said. "But I'm feeling better. After a nice long rest, I'm ready to go — and hungry. I'm feeling pretty good now."

Tuipulotu is expected to be back on the field — healthy toe and all — when Arizona takes on Oregon State tonight.

"We need him," defensive line coach Mike Tuiasosopo said.

Tuipulotu injured the big toe on the left foot in the first half of the Wildcats' win over California on Oct. 18. While pushing off at the line of scrimmage, Tuipulotu sprained the ligament and chipped a small bone.

He missed the next week's game against USC and stayed in Tucson when the Wildcats traveled to Washington State. Tuipulotu made the trip to Oregon last week but was a last-minute scratch.

"Turf toe" occurs when the toe is bent too far upwards, usually while pushing too hard off a hard surface. Recovery typically takes between four and six weeks.

Randy Cohen, the UA assistant athletic director in charge of medical services, said football players struggle with "turf toe" in part because of the nature of the sport.

All players need their feet, whether it's to run, cut or simply get off at the line of scrimmage.

"They all take a pounding, no matter what they do," Cohen said. "When an athlete tries to push off and drive, it's a very difficult thing to do. Can people jog and do all that kind of stuff? Yeah. They just can't lean on people, push and put all their body weight on it."

The Arizona Wildcats' coaching staff will try to find a TV as soon as tonight's game is over. Yep, the nationally televised game between No. 2 Texas Tech and No. 5 Oklahoma is that big.

"It'll be a great spectator game. I hope we get to see the last quarter or so," UA coach Mike Stoops said. "I think our game (starts) an hour earlier, so we'll be in around the same time."

About half the Wildcats' staff is connected to one of the two schools.

Mike and Mark Stoops' brother, Bob, has been Oklahoma's head coach since 1999. Mike Stoops was the Sooners' defensive coordinator from 1999 to 2003 before being hired as Arizona's head coach. He brought strength coach Corey Edmond with him from OU, and assistant strength coach Brian Odom, a former Sooners player, joined the staff in January 2007.

Arizona's Texas Tech contingent joined the UA all at once.

Sonny Dykes and Bill Bedenbaugh coached at Tech from 2000 to 2006, when they were named the Wildcats' offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. David Nichol, a former Red Raiders player and student assistant, joined them as a graduate assistant. Nichol was named the UA wide receivers coach last winter.

Keith Smith played quarterback for the UA from 1996 to 1999 before a stint in the Canadian Football League. Smith, 32, is now an assistant football coach at Newbury Park (Calif.) High School.

You know, I follow this team every week. If the game's not on TV, I'm following them on the Internet or on my phone. I have a BlackBerry, so I'm always up to speed on what's going on.

A lot of my best friends still live in Tucson, too, so they keep me up to speed. Actually, I was in Tucson last weekend. My friend, Andy Salgado — he works in the UA's academics office — got married. The wedding was on Friday, and the whole bridal party and everybody went back to Andy's house on Saturday strictly for the U of A-Oregon game. There was a big buffet, drinks, and everybody was hanging out. We almost pulled it off, man.

Who's my favorite player? I like Mike Thomas. He reminds me of (former UA wide receiver) Dennis Northcutt, so I like him. I like the little freshman tailback, Keola (Antolin).

It's fun to follow them, you know? I enjoy it. I follow the stats, who's playing and who's doing what. I follow them just like I was playing there, man.

— Keith Smith, former UA quarterback

Arizona has a reputation for throwing the ball, and Oregon State for running it.

But looks can be deceiving: The Wildcats and Beavers have posted nearly identical numbers on offense this season.

"It's balance," UA coach Mike Stoops said. "One sets up the other, and I think that's the same with them."

Here's how the two teams compare statistically:

Stat/Arizona/Oregon State

Rushing yards per game/172.4/172.0

Passing yards per game/240.5/244.6

Pass attempts/318/322

Completions/201/202

First downs/223/223

Red zone trips/49/49

Red zone touchdowns/38/30