Sat, Nov 21, 2009
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Arizona Wildcats report card: Arizona 48, Washington State 711/07/2009 07:51 PM
Ryan Finley I’ll be honest: I’ve never seen an Arizona win as weird as this one. It’s strange territory for a team that’s not used to six-touchdown wins against conference foes. On with the grades! ARIZONA’S REPORT CARD FINAL SCORE: ARIZONA 48, WASHINGTON STATE 7 QUARTERBACK: B. Nick Foles wasn’t asked to do much against the hapless Cougars’ defense, especially once Travis Cobb staked him to a 7-0 lead with a kickoff return to start the game. Foles threw for 136 yards and a touchdown. Backup Matt Scott played the most snaps since he lost his starting job, and was impressive. The sophomore rushed 10 times for a team-high 91 yards, and completed 3 of 5 passes for 41 yards. RUNNING BACKS: B. The Wildcats’ backs ran for 197 yards with Nick Booth (18 carries, 84 yards) leading the way. Keola Antolin rushed 12 times for 61 yards and a score, and converted H-Back Taimi Tutogi added 11 carries for 50 yards and a TD. A good day by the Wildcats’ less-heralded backs. WIDE RECEIVERS: B. The Wildcats’ receivers didn’t do much, in part because the game was in hand after the first quarter. Delashaun Dean looked great, catching four passes for 53 yards. Terrell Turner caught the UA’s only passing touchdown, and finshed with 3 grabs for 48 yards. OFFENSIVE LINE: A. The Wildcats’ “big uglies” were beautiful again Saturday, clearing the way for a rushing binge while keeping WSU away from the Cats’ quarterbacks. Arizona didn’t allow a sack, keeping its nation’s-best total alive. FRONT 7: A. Arizona sacked Wazzu five times, forcing one turnover. Ricky Elmore (2 sacks, 1 forced fumble) continues to show why he’s one of the team’s most underrated players. Linebackers Xavier Kelley (5 tackles) and Vuna Tuihalamaka (4 tackles) were solid, again. SECONDARY: A. Arizona allowed just 126 passing yards through the air, numbers that would have been even better had Jared Karstetter not caught a 65-yard touchdown pass for the Cougs’ only score. SPECIAL TEAMS: A+. The Wildcats got two touchdowns from its return teams, a 95-yard score from Cobb on the game’s opening kickoff and a 86-yard punt return from Bug Wright in the third quarter. Special teams coach Jeff Hammerschmidt got a game ball, and for good reason. : TV on the radio: Homecoming versus Washington State |
I don’t want to look to far ahead, but with only four games left to go the Cats do have a good opportunity to make it to their first Rose Bowl. Granted, they have one of the most difficult schedules across the country, but I for one believe in Mike Stoops and his boys. I have been bleeding red and blue for 40 years (remember the “Desert Swarm”) and hope that this is just the beginning of a period of domination in the PAC-10.
With all of that said, I do have one question. If – and when – Arizona goes to the Rose Bowl, should the blue in the “A” finally be completed? I would be interested in hearing what the student body and readers have to say.
Thanks for letting me voice my thoughts and I hope to hear what you think. A displaced Wildcat fan,
Rich
Damascus, OR
— rksaw 11/07/2009 10:45 PM #
Most importantly, Arizona got out of this game without any injuries. Now the tough part of the schedule begins. Focus now on beating a banged-up Cal squad that will probably be without running Jahvid Best.
— Button Salmon 11/07/2009 11:02 PM #
Everyone note the Stanford rushing record that Gerhart broke? Volpe’s 220 yards. Jon Volpe was an Amphi standout. Gerharts powerful runs reminds me of Jon’s style (he was squatting over 600 pounds in high school)
— dj 11/08/2009 10:34 AM #
Now it gets really fun…I think the Pac10 champ will have two losses. Oregon State could definitely win out their schedule. Half the conference is still alive!
— dj 11/08/2009 10:37 AM #
How about an F to the fans in Tucson. We have a top 20 team and we can’t sell out a homecoming game? Nebraska gets 60,000 for a freaking spring scrimmage. Why build the north end zone if we can’t get people to sit in it? The crowd was good and loud, but it is disappointing that we still cannot fill up a stadium with the #18 ranked team in the nation.
— Russ 11/08/2009 01:25 PM #
Russ is absolutely correct. Regardless of the Cal outcome, Ariz. Stadium needs to be sold out against the Ducks. I expect the Zona Zoo to be rocking, and I hope the town of Tucson does its part.
— RJJ 11/08/2009 01:38 PM #
You can’t call 50,000 a bad crowd, but I’m guessing it had a lot to do with the opponent, as well as the start time. I drive down from Phoenix for 3-4 games per year. I can’t make them all because I’ve got a young family, so I’ve got to schedule out the games I’ll attend. Washington State didn’t make the cut, for obvious reasons. If we beat Cal, I’d fully expect a full house for the Oregon game.
— Bret 11/08/2009 03:34 PM #
I agree about the crowd comment but who in the heck schedules a 1:30 game in Tucson. I understand it is November but nobody wants to sit out in the sun when it is nearly 90 degrees. Schedule our games for 4 at the earliest!!!
— Wildcat Bill 11/08/2009 04:08 PM #
To answer the first quetion, no you don’t ever change the design of the A that logo represents Tucson itself, and building a new stadium know wouldn’t hurt cause the way everything is right know their gonna spend the money on something rediculous guarantee that. But “If you build it they will come!”
— Junior 11/08/2009 04:10 PM #
UA got a solid in-state commitment this weekend – http://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Jourdon-Grandon-97972
— Darren 11/08/2009 05:54 PM #
Since it was 41 -0 at the half, I can see why fans left at the half. I stayed until the end because I love watching the new backs play. Taimi is a beast!!! I was fully expecting to see Daniel Jenkins make his debut and was surprised he did not play. Regardless of what happens next week, we need to fill the house vs Oregon. It’s our last chance to see the CATS play at home and we need to make some NOISE!!!!Yes, I have my tix and am not waiting to see if it sells out. It will.
— Xs and Os 11/08/2009 10:46 PM #
FYI…
“Arizona State tailback Ryan Bass was suspended indefinitely today by coach Dennis Erickson for violating team rules. The sophomore, unhappy with his limited carries, did not play in a 14-9 loss Saturday to Southern California when true freshman Cameron Marshall got his first start.” – AZ Republic
Karma…
— RJJ 11/09/2009 12:26 PM #
I’m glad Scott got some PT. Scott could make some of the issues we have had in the Redzone go away(Wash game). Can you imagine if we utilized him in the Wildcat offense a couple of times a game when we start to stall in the redzone. He has the arm strength to scare the living out of defenses. If he could only learn to put some touch on his throws.
Foles is just a beast. An amazing QB, it would be tough to sit him for a play but if we stall on 2nd and short, Scott might be an option. I just feel Scott may help us once in a while by running the ball.
Also, after seeing Taimi Tutogi this week, we may have found a short yardage beast and he may be the redzone savior. I just think that against the upcoming defenses (ORE, ASU, and USC) we may need to use all the resources available to keep our high scoring offense going. We’re going to need TDs against those teams, not FG by the inconsistent Zendejas.
— John 11/09/2009 02:59 PM #