Wildcats' Carter Wood rolls with internet fame for vomiting incident

There will be some Arizona Wildcats who eventually will forget about the Pac-12 Conference Championship Game.

Whether it's five, 10 or 15 years down the road, a few players will find a way to erase UA's 51-13 loss to Oregon from their minds.

Not Carter Wood.

Arizona's junior center won't ever be able to forget about that game. The Internet won't allow it.

Let us explain.

In the second half of UA's blowout loss to the Ducks, Wood entered for starter Steven Gurrola, who was ejected from the game after punching an opponent in the stomach. The Scottsdale Chaparral High product hadn't seen much playing all season behind Gurrola and was adapting to the speed of the game.

After battling Oregon defensive linemen for a handful of plays, Wood started to settle into a groove, even if his stomach was unsettled.

Right as he got in position to snap the ball to quarterback Jerrard Randall, the TV cameras caught the UA's center quickly throwing up. Wood didn't break stride after vomiting, and snapped it right to Randall.

"Puke and rally," said a laughing Wood, quoting the movie "Varsity Blues." "When you're down there, you have to go through anything. Everyone says that, but to me, it was just a natural reaction. You have to keep going. You can't stop doing your job just because you're not feeling too good at that point."

Needless to say, the Internet fell in love with the odd scene. Fans watching the game turned the moment into a short video, which sites all over the place picked up.

How much has this spanned?

A quick Google search of "Carter Wood throwing up" creates about 2,110,000 results in 0.46 seconds, according to the site.

The headlines range from "Arizona Center Carter Wood Threw Up on the Ball" to "GROSS! Arizona Wildcats Center Snaps Football After Vomiting."

"Once I got on the bus after the game and turned my phone on, that thing was blowing up," Wood said. "People were saying 'You're on this, you're on that.' It was pretty funny. I just let it ride out."

And what about Randall? Someone had to hold that ball after Wood lost his lunch on it.

"We came off after and he was just like 'Man, there's some puke on the ball,'" Wood said. "I tried my best. Everyone says it's on the ball and the camera angle shows it like it is, but I was a little to the side. He said he caught it, looked down and saw it, and just tucked it and ran."

The video and the reaction it has garnered is funny. But for Wood, the upcoming Vizio Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31 against Boise State will be all business.

Since Gurrola's ejection occurred in the second half, the senior starter will likely miss the first half of the game against the Broncos. Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said the program is appealing the suspension, but it seems very unlikely it will be overturned.

If Gurrola is indeed out, Wood will start.

"Carter has made the most of his opportunities," Rodriguez said of the walk-on transfer from Colorado Mesa. "He's battled in there. He's not the biggest guy, but he's a good athlete and he knows our system pretty well. He's not 6-5, 295 pounds. So he has to be strong technically. He has to understand what we want to do, and I think he does that."

For the Phoenix product, it will be a thrill to start such a big game so close to his hometown. Wood won three state championships at Chaparral, including one his junior year, which was won at University of Phoenix Stadium, site of the Fiesta Bowl.

ARIZONANS ON ARIZONA WILDCATS ROSTER

The center said he expects to have a large number of friends and family at the game to support him and his little brother, Trevor, a freshman backup defensive end.

"It's the Fiesta Bowl — none of us have ever played in a game like that," Wood said. "I'm pretty excited to maybe get to start up there in Phoenix. It's going to be a blast."

When the second half comes, Wood will likely return to serving as Gurrola's backup. He'll make sure he soaks in the first half, but then he'll be there to help Gurrola anyway he can in the second.

"Me and him, all year, we've helped each other," Wood said. "We watch each other on film from practice. We coach each other. If one isn't in, we coach the other one. He's still going to play the second half, so I'm helping him and he's helping me a lot."