AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS

Show them something, and then take it away.

There's nothing that amuses Antoine Cason more than lulling his opponents into a false sense of security. The senior Arizona cornerback has made a career out of lurking in the background just long enough to bait opposing quarterbacks into making what they think will be a good throw.

And before they can compute what happened, Cason is running the other way with the ball in his hands.

"I love when I get that challenge," Cason said. "Making plays when you get the opportunity, that's just football."

Teams don't often test Cason, who has 11 career interceptions. It's part of the respect that comes with being a first-team All Pac-10 selection as a junior.

That's not to say that Cason has run out of tricks. He hopes to perform his biggest one yet by leading his Wildcats to a landmark victory over USC on Saturday.

Even after losing to Stanford at home, USC enters the game as the heavy favorite. Cason relishes the opportunity to defy expectations, an experience he's faced often in life.

At Los Alamitos High School in California, Cason wasn't even considered the best defensive back on his team. Safety Randy Estes, a close friend of Cason's, had his pick of scholarship offers from the kings of college football.

As coaches came in droves to recruit Estes, all but a handful ignored Cason.

"I never felt bad that I wasn't that guy getting recognized, but it made me want to work that much harder," Cason said.

Determination met with fortune for Cason one fall afternoon when Mike Stoops, then Oklahoma's defensive coordinator, dropped by Los Alamitos to recruit Estes and see him practice.

After watching a stellar performance by one of the team's defensive backs, Stoops told Los Alamitos coach John Barnes how impressive Estes looked out on the field.

That's not Randy Estes, Barnes replied.

That's Antoine Cason.

While Cason committed to Arizona after Stoops took the coaching job there, Estes' star quickly burned out. Estes was arrested for possession of marijuana with intent to sell and failed to attain the SAT score required for a scholarship at Washington State.

After enrolling at a junior college, Estes' current whereabouts are unknown, even by Cason.

The story serves as a constant reminder to Cason of how far he could fall with one false step.

"I just wanted to be there for him," Cason said. "It was really hard for all of us to go through at the time."

Four years later, Cason has become one of the Pac-10's most feared defenders and has been seemingly impervious to all of the trappings of the accompanying fame.

Despite being touted as a first-round draft pick last April, he decided to return to school for his senior year.

Cason had some unfinished business after his first three years in Tucson.

"I always said to myself that you can't duplicate your college experience," Cason said. "I wanted to come back to have that winning season and bring consistency back to this program."

Cason and Stoops shared the vision of this season being the year when the Wildcats would complete Stoops' rebuilding project. Stoops emphasized defense from the day he began coaching in the Pac-10 - a conference traditionally known for its offense.

After coaching three defensive backs at Oklahoma who became first-round draft picks, Stoops realized what Cason could do for him as a lockdown corner.

"The greatest players you look at, very few are as great as they could be if they only had a little more character, and I think that's what makes Antoine very unique and very special," Stoops said at Pac-10 Media Day in July.

"He's truly one of the premier players in the conference."

But after limping to a 2-4 start this season, Stoops and Cason's dream of sending Arizona to a bowl for the first time in eight years seems distant. The defense has given up nearly 30 points per game - a disappointment for the 10 starters returning on the unit.

"We haven't gone out there with enough tenacity," Cason said. "We need to go out there and get after it more."

But the season can still be salvaged from Cason's perspective. A win against the Trojans would extend the Wildcats' hopes of attaining a winning record this season and give them a signature victory.

An upset over one of the many teams that overlooked him in high school would be a comforting senior send-off for Cason.

"It would mean a lot to win there, with it being close to home and USC being a great team," Cason said. "But it's still just one game, and you can't build it up too much."

Last year against the Trojans, Cason intercepted a pass and held Dwayne Jarrett to four catches for 36 yards. Despite facing an offense that's turned the ball over eight times in the past two games, Cason is approaching USC with caution.

"Their receivers might be inexperienced, but they're definitely talented," Cason said. "Those other teams worked to create those turnovers, so we can't expect USC to just give us the ball."

But all is not lost for Cason, even if the Wildcats falter on Saturday. He's still being touted as a first-round draft pick and is on the watch list for both the Thorpe and Lott Awards.

For now, though, Cason will keep the honors at a distance, because he knows how quickly what he's shown can be taken away.