Is USC a must win?

[Chicat]

Saw Alieberman say this in the rankings thread. I've got a few thoughts:

Yes
A loss at home against a team with losses to BC and ASU a week after going on the road, winning big, and being ranked in the top 10 might be a total game changer for this season. Win and this could be a really special season. Lose and it could be the start of an ugly streak. This is the keystone game for this year's team and true champions win these kinds of games.

No
5-1 at this point is really all anyone was dreaming of prior to this season starting and a loss to a talented, if short-handed, USC squad is something many of us saw coming. Good coaches get teams to shake off losses and go back to doing what was successful before, and RichRod is a good coach. The next four games are all winnable and the Cats could find themselves going to Provo at 9-1 and in the hunt for the playoff. Who saw that coming?

Absolutely
We win EVERY time we hit the field. End of fucking story. Beat SC!

[azcat49]

Huge game. Lose and we will hear, typical Arizona and in truth,we will have to own it.

Win and excitement in Tucson will be palpable. If oregon can beat UCLA, we would have a 2 game lead on the LA schools.

RR has been here before so that is good and our QB knows only one thing, winning championships

[Merkin]

[PieceOfMeat]

No
5-1 at this point is really all anyone was dreaming of prior to this season starting and a loss to a talented, if short-handed, USC squad is something many of us saw coming. Good coaches get teams to shake off losses and go back to doing what was successful before, and RichRod is a good coach. The next four games are all winnable and the Cats could find themselves going to Provo at 9-1 and in the hunt for the playoff. Who saw that coming?

To this I say: dreams (aka expectations/hopes) get adjusted as the season goes along. 5-1 before the season did seem great, and it is great now, but now we want better than 5-1, we want 6-0. We not only want 6-0, we need 6-0. We need to prove that we can beat a really good team, and then the next week beat another good team. We need to start thinking more than just "bowl eligible hurray". We need to reach the fucking Rose Bowl!

MUST WIN!

[SCCat]

The game is a massive opportunity.

Whether it's a must win probably depends on the scope of the view you're taking. Is it a must win to make the season a successful one through six games? No. 5-1 through six would've been considered by all a great start at the beginning of the season. Is it a must win as far as validating the win over Oregon and sort of conclusively proving 1) that Oregon wasn't a fluke/just a bad match up for Oregon and 2) that we are legit contenders for the PAC South crown? Generally you probably need to beat the fringe top 25 team at home in your next game to shore up those two ideas.

[TuiTouchdown]

Must win? No. Not in the scheme of things, where we were thinking 9-3 was the optimists' ceiling at the beginning of the season.

But now that we're in the top-15, it does feel like it. If we want to show that Oregon wasn't a fluke, that it wasn't a "gift from the Pac12 refs", and that we're deserving of a top ranking, then yes it is a game we must win.

It feels a bit like we're playing with house money right now. The season is still within reach of being something unprecedented in Arizona football, but the Pac12 is so deep that it's still anyone's conference. I hope that the coaches and kids are taking it one week at a time.

[Merkin]

We need to reach the fucking Rose Bowl!

Won't be this season as the Rose Bowl is not the PAC champion playing the Big 10 champion.

Only way Cats play in the Rose Bowl is if they are a final 4 team.

[Chicat]

That's not great.

[Alieberman]

It is definitely a must win if we are to have a magical season

I would have never guessed we would be in the position of being 6-0 and if we lose and are 5-1 that is still better then I would have thought prior to the season

But my team expectations have changed and a win next week makes us a legitimate threat

I want us to be relevant and only a win next week puts us there

[Chicat]

Must win? No. Not in the scheme of things, where we were thinking 9-3 was the optimists' ceiling at the beginning of the season.

But now that we're in the top-15, it does feel like it. If we want to show that Oregon wasn't a fluke, that it wasn't a "gift from the Pac12 refs", and that we're deserving of a top ranking, then yes it is a game we must win.

It feels a bit like we're playing with house money right now. The season is still within reach of being something unprecedented in Arizona football, but the Pac12 is so deep that it's still anyone's conference. I hope that the coaches and kids are taking it one week at a time.

I guess the question is, what are this team's goals? At the beginning of the season were the coaches talking Final Four? Or contend in the PAC South? And have those goals been adjusted in any way?

If we want anything more than a low to mid tier bowl opportunity, then yes this is a must win, as are all games to varying degrees. But we cannot afford a slip up at home if we want in on the PAC championship game.

[Irish27]

Every game is a must game.

[azpenguin]

Must win? I would say no. It doesn't make or break the season. But it's an opportunity that you don't get often.

[PieceOfMeat]

We need to reach the fucking Rose Bowl!

Won't be this season as the Rose Bowl is not the PAC champion playing the Big 10 champion.

Only way Cats play in the Rose Bowl is if they are a final 4 team.

exactly

[catgrad97]

Keep the confidence high but be ready for anything.

Just ask Coach Miller: "We're comfortable with our #1 ranking." And they played like it most of the time.

No more complacency or insecurity about being here: Play at the level you aspire to.

Beat who you should beat, and Arizona should beat USC. Not a "must-win," a "SHOULD-win."

[Chicat]

I kind of hope RichRod tears the team a new one if this week doesn't feature the best practices of the season so far. They aren't there yet. Still need to keep improving. Honor the process.

[NYCat]

Too many hypotheticals but keep on winning to stay at the top of the division. Separate from the pack.

The most important thing is that there are a lot of tough games coming up on the road (Utah, Wazzu, UCLA), Arizona NEEDS TO WIN AT HOME.

Let's take a look at the remaining schedules: all teams ranked in the south except USC & Colorado - USC has been and could be ranked again.

Arizona:

USC: lost on a hail Mary, lost to Boston college, beat Stanford. Allowed 500+ passing yards to ASU only 31 rushing yards also. Allowed over 400 yards rushing to Boston college. @ home

Washington St: they should've beaten Oregon as well but got screwed on a no call, really good team - hard to stop their heavy passing game. Beaten by Rutgers who beat world beaters Michigan. At Pullman .. Not easy

UCLA: lost to Utah, struggled vs Virginia, Memphis - horrible offensive line. Game is at the Rose.

Colorado: the only bad team in the South - they have been competitive however - almost beat Or. St, lost to Cal in 3OT. Put a lot of yards vs ASU. @ Home

Washington: Peterson's team doesn't look very good, they did play tough vs Stanford though mainly due to Stanford inability to score and pull away. Almost lost to E. Washington. @ home

Utah: beat the powerful Hoke led team Michigan, beat UCLA, who knows. @ Utah.

Arizona St. Fuck em @ Home

UCLA
Oregon:
California:
Colorado:
Arizona:
Washington:
USC:
Stanford:

USC:
Arizona:
Colorado:
Utah:
Washington State:
California:
UCLA:

ASU:
Stanford:
Washington:
Utah:
Notre Same:
Oregon St:
Washington St
Arizona

Utah
Oregon St
USC
ASU
Oregon
Stanford
Arizona
Colorado

[azcat49]

Tailgating is going to be off the hook. Huge buzz and not from the beer. Lots of c recruits in all sports. Big family weekend. This has all the makings og a classic game

[Gladiator Cat]

This is a defining moment in the big scheme of the programs modern era and Rich Rod. This USC game is beyond huge because we very seldom are in this position. There are no more excuses if you want to be taken seriously.

Seriously, I'm not trying to sound corney or over the top. Every other ********** PAC 12 team would kill to be in our position right now.

We need to step through the door, take the next step forward and take what is ours!

Don't let the dream slip away with USC.

[azpenguin]

Washington St: they should've beaten Oregon as well but got screwed on a no call, really good team - hard to stop their heavy passing game. Beaten by Rutgers who beat world beaters Michigan. At Pullman .. Not easy

Agree that this one won't be easy. But the Rutgers game was a classic "coug'd it" loss where they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. They got owned by Nevada. Their defense has been worse than I expected. They do present matchup issues for Arizona with their offense, though.

UCLA - very tough. But they really should have lost to Arizona last year, it was the Cats inability to take the game that UCLa was giving away. If they get beat by Oregon, their playoff hopes are done and they're hanging by a thread in the Pac-12 South, which should lead to a less enthusiastic crowd.

Colorado - Lifau can ring up some yards but I think the Cats got this.

Washington - not as good as expected so far but still dangerous. QB play is suspect and if they have problems throwing the ball the Cats will boat race them.

Utah- tough, tough defense and a good return game. I think Arizona's deeper, though.

Arizona St. - rivalry game, throw everything out the window. I still remember how crushed RR was in his postgame interview in Tempe last year, and he's going to have these guys ready this time. It's a question of if the defense can get a stop or two.

[scumdevils86]

Tailgating is going to be off the hook. Huge buzz and not from the beer. Lots of c recruits in all sports. Big family weekend. This has all the makings og a classic game

Or the makings of a typical cluster fuck Arizona let down game

[UALoco]

We need to reach the fucking Rose Bowl!

Won't be this season as the Rose Bowl is not the PAC champion playing the Big 10 champion.

Only way Cats play in the Rose Bowl is if they are a final 4 team.

I want these Roses, the sweetest ones ever!

[TuiTouchdown]

Must win? No. Not in the scheme of things, where we were thinking 9-3 was the optimists' ceiling at the beginning of the season.

But now that we're in the top-15, it does feel like it. If we want to show that Oregon wasn't a fluke, that it wasn't a "gift from the Pac12 refs", and that we're deserving of a top ranking, then yes it is a game we must win.

It feels a bit like we're playing with house money right now. The season is still within reach of being something unprecedented in Arizona football, but the Pac12 is so deep that it's still anyone's conference. I hope that the coaches and kids are taking it one week at a time.

I guess the question is, what are this team's goals? At the beginning of the season were the coaches talking Final Four? Or contend in the PAC South? And have those goals been adjusted in any way?

If we want anything more than a low to mid tier bowl opportunity, then yes this is a must win, as are all games to varying degrees. But we cannot afford a slip up at home if we want in on the PAC championship game.

I think it'd be fair to say winning the Pac12 South has probably been the season-long goal and now has become quite the real possibility. And we are in the driver's seat to do so.

[azcat49]

Tailgating is going to be off the hook. Huge buzz and not from the beer. Lots of c recruits in all sports. Big family weekend. This has all the makings og a classic game

Or the makings of a typical cluster fuck Arizona let down game

No one would argue with what most fans of AZ football have come to expect but Ithink this is different for one reason, RR. The man can coach so we will be ready.

The crowd after waiting all day and liquoring up will be equally as ready. We believe

[CalStateTempe]

Yes, Must win.

[Dosia]

Yes this is a critical game

[cats101]

Can't beat Oregon on the road and come home and lay an egg against a very beatable USC team.

[Berkut]

Season wise:

Not a must win, but a hugely important game for the conference race, if only because the rest of the schedule is brutal. This might be the second easiest game we have left on our schedule.

Program wise:

Not a must win, but again, hugely important. If we lose this game, we look like - maybe we ARE - that same Arizona team that gets the big upset here and there, but cannot sustain because truth be told, we don't have the depth/talent/coaching/whatever to be a serious contender.

Of course, this is now all about finding out if Arizona is a improving team in year three, or is Arizona a vastly improved team in year three? Is Arizona moving down the path of improvement at a nice pace, or did Arizona just take a hop, skip, and a jump down that path?

5-1 this time next week, and it sure looks a bit more like the former. 6-0, a lot more like the latter.

Arizona has exceeded expectations, but this conference is still brutally difficult, and every single win is going to be oh so very precious...

[TucsonClip]

Biggest game of Rich Rod's brief career here in Tucson. Win and we control our destiny in the South.

[KaibabKat]

It is if we are to be bowl eligible a week from today.

[Zona_Soccer10]

One thing I've learned is never count this kids out. No matter what, they've found a way.

[azthrillhouse]

Not a must win. Best case scenario going into the season was to sneak into the South championship. Losing to USC wouldn't eliminate that possibility by any means, though it could come back to bite us. Big picture, we're still on or ahead of schedule for long-term success.

However.

The stadium is going to be truly packed for the first time since the Iowa game. We will have eyeballs both local and national on the game, curious to see if we're for real. It's an opportunity to get beyond our middling tradition that Berkut referred to.

It wouldn't be the end of the world if we lose. But it would be a whiff on a big opportunity to build momentum in the program.

[RichardCranium]

We need to reach the fucking Rose Bowl!

Won't be this season as the Rose Bowl is not the PAC champion playing the Big 10 champion.

Only way Cats play in the Rose Bowl is if they are a final 4 team.

Yeah? And your point is what?

[Puerco]

Berkut nailed it. I think we split the LA games and take care of business against all the other inferior competition left on the schedule, and we'll be fine.

Season wise:

Not a must win, but a hugely important game for the conference race, if only because the rest of the schedule is brutal. This might be the second easiest game we have left on our schedule.

Program wise:

Not a must win, but again, hugely important. If we lose this game, we look like - maybe we ARE - that same Arizona team that gets the big upset here and there, but cannot sustain because truth be told, we don't have the depth/talent/coaching/whatever to be a serious contender.

Of course, this is now all about finding out if Arizona is a improving team in year three, or is Arizona a vastly improved team in year three? Is Arizona moving down the path of improvement at a nice pace, or did Arizona just take a hop, skip, and a jump down that path?

5-1 this time next week, and it sure looks a bit more like the former. 6-0, a lot more like the latter.

Arizona has exceeded expectations, but this conference is still brutally difficult, and every single win is going to be oh so very precious...