2015 Season Thread

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 7:49 am

How about a thread for the upcoming 2015 season?

Vegas Insider futures odds: http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-foo ... s/futures/

Ohio State 11/5
Alabama 7/1
TCU 15/2
Auburn 13/1
Baylor 15/1
USC 15/1
Notre Dame 20/1
Oregon 22/1
Clemson 25/1
LSU 25/1

Stanford 33/1
UCLA 33/1
Field (Any Other Team) 65/1
Arizona State 100/1
Arizona 200/1
Utah 300/1
California 500/1
Oregon State 500/1
Washington 500/1

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 2:21 pm

What a great pic.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 11:53 am

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 11:53 am

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 11:54 am

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 11:56 am

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 11:56 am

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 12:04 pm

azgreg wrote:

That yells me baker and Solomon each better be ready for 10 runs a game.

OSUCat · Post by **OSUCat** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 12:50 pm

Well, that's interesting. Is he not in shape enough to handle it?

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 12:54 pm

OSUCat wrote:Well, that's interesting. Is he not in shape enough to handle it?

I think they want to limit the pounding he takes, especially with his concussion issues.

RazorsEdgeAZ · Post by **RazorsEdgeAZ** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 1:02 pm

Fully expect Solomon to rush more. Not tons more, but add to the threat factor, Unless RR completely abandons what he had his QB's do in his spread over his career. Last season AZ went through a rushing drought through the season. Solomon had one of the lowest net rushing yards last season for any career RR QB.

TuiTouchdown · Post by **TuiTouchdown** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 1:11 pm

ASUHATER! wrote:
azgreg wrote:
That yells me baker and Solomon each better be ready for 10 runs a game.

Yeah I'm expecting a lot out of Baker this year.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 1:38 pm

Maybe this?

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 1:40 pm

More info from Berk. He said this is all from talking to Coach Rod on Friday. Coach will be speaking to the media again tomorrow.

azpenguin · Post by **azpenguin** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 4:37 pm

ASUHATER! wrote:
azgreg wrote:
That yells me baker and Solomon each better be ready for 10 runs a game.

Or maybe that they're going to go with some more two back formations this year like they did with Samajie Grant on occasion. There's some guys that RR wants to get the ball to pretty badly and I could see Tyrell Johnson playing a De'Anthony Thomas type role with the speed he has. Also keep in mind that the offense isn't as run heavy as it was in 2013, so there's going to be less carries to go around.

azthrillhouse · Post by **azthrillhouse** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 8:57 pm

I notice RR isn't talking much about Randall. I hope we spring some special stuff for him against UCLA, that would be apropos given the Myles Jack fiasco 2 years ago.

The rest of these comments re: limiting Nick's carries, deploying Haden/TJ/etc all speak to the fact that we are heavily incorporating the lack of a bye into our planning, which is good.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Tue Aug 04, 2015 6:53 am

An Oregon paper, The Register-Guard, with a look at the Cats from a Duck perspective. Lots of good media day quotes from Coach Rod, Richards and Parks including what it is like to play in Eugene:

“I like playing at Autzen Stadium,” Parks said. “That’s like a bowl of cereal, it’s a bunch of milk being poured on you. Loud milk. Just imagine milk screaming. It sounds weird, but I’m a weird person. Imagine milk screaming at you. That’s what it is.”

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Tue Aug 04, 2015 10:29 am

Athlon Sports has been doing a series where coaches talk anonymously about different subjects. Today we get anonymous P12 coaches takes on the P12 teams. As good of a written summary as I have seen on each team. Here is the Arizona analysis:

“If anyone in the country got more out of his roster last year than Rich Rodriguez, I don’t know who it is.”

“You can say they got some breaks, and they did, but to come in with a (redshirt) freshman quarterback (Anu Solomon) and a freshman tailback (Nick Wilson) and win the best division in college football outside of the SEC West is pretty tough to do.”

“It seemed like Rich was playing mind games with the kid (Solomon) all season, and then he ripped him after the bowl game and said he had to win the job again. I laughed at that one. The guy threw for 4,000 yards as a freshman and is probably going to have a great year.”

“Their receivers and running backs are just fast across the board. Austin Hill was their third option in the passing game last year, and he’d probably be a front-line guy just about anywhere in the league. Cayleb Jones did nothing at Texas and instantly becomes a 1,000-yard guy in that system.”

“The tough thing about playing their defense is you can’t really scheme for Scooby Wright. Your guys know where he’s coming from and what he’s trying to do, but his motor is just off the charts, and he’s going to get five or six opportunities to make a game-changing play just off effort. He’s a special dude.”

“They need to find another guy besides Scooby who can pressure the quarterback.”

“People are going to try to throw over the top on them until their DBs prove they can cover. Boise State exposed them a little bit in the bowl game.”

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Tue Aug 04, 2015 10:35 am

“It seemed like Rich was playing mind games with the kid (Solomon) all season, and then he ripped him after the bowl game and said he had to win the job again. I laughed at that one. The guy threw for 4,000 yards as a freshman and is probably going to have a great year.”

I'm guessing Coach Madonna Mic/Wristbands gave us this gem.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Tue Aug 04, 2015 10:40 am

Chicat wrote:I'm guessing Coach Madonna Mic/Wristbands gave us this gem.

Throw out the "/" and Coach Madonna MicWristbands may literally be the greatest nickname I have ever heard.

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Tue Aug 04, 2015 10:46 am

ANGCatFan wrote:
Chicat wrote:I'm guessing Coach Madonna Mic/Wristbands gave us this gem.
Throw out the "/" and Coach Madonna MicWristbands may literally be the greatest nickname I have ever heard.

Let it be so.

Coach Madonna MicWristbands of the Rust and Piss Sun Gerbils.

BMalo · Post by **BMalo** » Tue Aug 04, 2015 11:16 am

RR ripping Solomon in the presser after the Fiesta Bowl was a coach keeping his RS Freshman QB who made bone headed mistakes honest. I have no problem with what RR said about Anu after that game. If that were todd graham who said that, he can't be much holier than thou after pulling his senior qb for berco in the middle of the game when Kelly wasn't performing well.

FightWildcatsFight · Post by **FightWildcatsFight** » Tue Aug 04, 2015 12:53 pm

“They need to find another guy besides Scooby who can pressure the quarterback.”

My guess is Madonna McWristbands is this one. Almost every team has a short and sweet (and negative) quote about the defense, and I suspect all of these come from the same culprit.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Tue Aug 04, 2015 1:37 pm

azgreg wrote:

Ka'Deem only ran 40 plays or more once in his junior year, against Oregon. However he did carry 39 times v. Utah. Never ran more than 29 times as a sophomore.

http://www.cfbstats.com/2013/player/29/ ... melog.html

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Tue Aug 04, 2015 4:47 pm

Here is a very complete Arizona preview from The Best College Football News Network. Nothing new in the article, but he does a good job for covering everything.

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Tue Aug 04, 2015 5:47 pm

David Shaw has long been the source of many a negative quote

whatisee · Post by **whatisee** » Tue Aug 04, 2015 8:37 pm

azthrillhouse wrote:I notice RR isn't talking much about Randall. I hope we spring some special stuff for him against UCLA, that would be apropos given the Myles Jack fiasco 2 years ago..

He's a threat every time he touches the ball. They need to find a way for him to see the field. Might be one of our best natural runners regardless of how deep the receiving corps are

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Wed Aug 05, 2015 12:47 pm

Bleacher Report rates the depth chartof all the top 25 teams. Here's Arizona's evaluation:

22. Arizona Wildcats

Offense

Rich Rodriguez's explosive offense should be in good hands this season with the return of starting quarterback Anu Solomon, running back Nick Wilson and receiver duo Cayleb Jones and Samajie Grant. None of these starters are seniors yet and should continue to grow along with the depth behind them.

The Achilles' heel on offense, though, is the fact the Wildcats return only two starters on their offensive line. Arizona has a mixture of transfers and experienced backups who will step into these spots this fall, but they haven't played together as a cohesive line yet.

Defense

The front seven of Arizona's defense should be strong again as all-world linebacker Scooby Wright III returns for his junior season in Tucson. Arizona will only replace two starters there, and several of the candidates at those positions have starting experience.

The Wildcats will, however, break in three new starters in a secondary that ranked No. 121 nationally in pass defense a season ago. Sophomore cornerback Cam Denson was a highly touted recruit for Arizona, and he will be counted on to help turn this unit around in 2015.

Special Teams

Drew Riggleman ranked fourth nationally in average yards per punt last season and will once again be a valued weapon for the Wildcats. Casey Skowron is back at kicker, along with lightning-fast return specialists Tyrell Johnson and DaVonte' Neal.

Grade: B

Arizona has plenty of proven talent across its depth chart, but the lack of established starters on the offensive line and in the secondary could be troublesome this fall. These new starters will have to step up quickly in order for Arizona to defend its Pac-12 South crown.

Carcassdragger · Post by **Carcassdragger** » Wed Aug 05, 2015 1:12 pm

ANGCatFan wrote:Bleacher Report rates the depth chartof all the top 25 teams. Here's Arizona's evaluation:

22. Arizona Wildcats

Offense

Rich Rodriguez's explosive offense should be in good hands this season with the return of starting quarterback Anu Solomon, running back Nick Wilson and receiver duo Cayleb Jones and Samajie Grant. None of these starters are seniors yet and should continue to grow along with the depth behind them.

The Achilles' heel on offense, though, is the fact the Wildcats return only two starters on their offensive line. Arizona has a mixture of transfers and experienced backups who will step into these spots this fall, but they haven't played together as a cohesive line yet.

Defense

The front seven of Arizona's defense should be strong again as all-world linebacker Scooby Wright III returns for his junior season in Tucson. Arizona will only replace two starters there, and several of the candidates at those positions have starting experience.

The Wildcats will, however, break in three new starters in a secondary that ranked No. 121 nationally in pass defense a season ago. Sophomore cornerback Cam Denson was a highly touted recruit for Arizona, and he will be counted on to help turn this unit around in 2015.

Special Teams

Drew Riggleman ranked fourth nationally in average yards per punt last season and will once again be a valued weapon for the Wildcats. Casey Skowron is back at kicker, along with lightning-fast return specialists Tyrell Johnson and DaVonte' Neal.

Grade: B

Arizona has plenty of proven talent across its depth chart, but the lack of established starters on the offensive line and in the secondary could be troublesome this fall. These new starters will have to step up quickly in order for Arizona to defend its Pac-12 South crown.

Good stuff Ang, thanks for posting.

This write-up pretty much crystallizes why I think we're a bit under-rated this year. Maybe it's just my red, white and blue glasses filtering the bad stuff but it seems like some of these writers are only looking at who we're replacing but not who the replacements are. While I realize we are replacing most of last year's starters on our O line, I think this group will be just as good with the experience level that these guys have.

Regarding our DB's, I think this year's group has a very good chance to be better than last year. With Cam's expected development and another year's experience, plus the fact that I think Neal has a chance to have matured and be a very, very good corner this year (hell this is his 4th year of college), and with Park's ceiling this year, this unit could be very good.

Our depth and our schedule still concerns me though.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Thu Aug 06, 2015 9:16 am

Javier Morales breaks down the offensive line at the start of camp.

“When most folks judge a team for the upcoming season they look at the QB, RB and WR’s that are returning,” Steele writes in his blog. “A few may take the time to look at star defensive players that are back (those with a lot of sacks or interceptions). However, very few look at the offensive line and yet the team that controls the line of scrimmage wins the game more often than not.”

. . .

Arizona is ranked 90th nationally with only 52 career starts from its returning offensive line. Gone are the 130 career starts by Mickey Baucus, Steven Gurrola and Fabbians Ebbele.

The most experienced are seniors Cayman Bundage (left guard), Carter Wood (center) and Lene Maiava (right guard). Bundage has the bulk of the starts with 27. Wood’s only career start was in the Fiesta Bowl against Boise State. Maiava has started only six times in his career. Redshirt sophomore right guard Jacob Alsadek started 11 times last season.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Fri Aug 07, 2015 7:30 am

Campus Insiders with an Arizona preview. Solid overview of the team. Only thing new is the embedded video. 2 guys behind a desk play true or false on Arizona. Will Anu Solomon have more that 32 TDs? Will Scooby match his sack and TFL numbers from last year? And, finally, will Nick Wilson rush form more than 1500 yards?

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 2:23 pm

Gabe Encinas at AZDS with some possible over/under's for the year. All the numbers below are from Encinas and the comments are mine.

Quarterbacks

Over/Under: 4,000 Anu Solomon passing yards - Last year Anu threw for 3,793 yards and in 2012 Scott threw for 3,620. The last Arizona QB to throw for 4,000+ yards was Nick Foles (4,334) in 2011. That year we threw 577 times and rushed 331 times. Last year Arizona threw 564 times and rushed 575 times thanks to Coach Rod's pace of play. Year of experience, better completion percentage and 4,000 yards for Anu is a good bet.

Over/Under: 30 Anu Solomon passing touchdowns - I think this may be the easiest call on the list. Anu had 28 passing TDs last year and needs to add 3. I'll take the over on this.

Over/Under: 11 Anu Solomon interceptions - He threw 9 interceptions last year. Not sure why this number is so high. Does he expect a lot more high risk throws this year. I'm going under.

Over/Under: 6 rushing touchdowns - Anu had 2 rushing TDs last year. The big wildcard here is Randall. He had 15 rushing attempts last year and gained 110 yards and 1 TD. Even in just mop up time he could easily provide 4 rushing TDs. I like the over because of Randall.

Running Backs

Over/Under: 1,400 Nick Wilson rushing yards - Even splitting time early in the year with Jones-Grigsby, Wilson had 1,375 yards last year. I would have set the number at 1,500 and would still take the over.

Over/Under: 18 Nick Wilson rushing touchdowns - He had 16 TDs last year. Bigger, stronger, and more experienced, I'll take the over.

Over/Under: 500 Jared Baker rushing yards - Last year Jones-Grigsby had 567 yards on 121 attempts. I think Baker will get a similar opportunity, so I'll take the over.

Over/Under: 1 Orlando Bradford rushing attempt - Will Bradford play this year or redshirt? Good question. The reports I have seen make it sound like he came ready to play and he is bigger than all the competition except for Zach Green. I think Bradford may play, but who knows?

Receivers

Over/Under: 2 receivers with 1,000+ yards - Last year Cayleb Jones, while injured, had 1,019 yards and Samajie Grant had 718 yards and Austin Hill had 635 yards. Easy to see both Jones and Grant as 1,000 yard receivers, but I think we will spread the ball around too much for that to happen. I certainly don't think we will hit 3.

Over/Under: 8 receivers with receptions - 13 different players caught passes last year. We have a strong starting 8 group of receivers with Shun Brown making a move to be added to the group. This is a lock for the over.

Over/Under: 8 Samajie Grant touchdowns - He had 6 last year and will take advantage of the attention on Jones. I like the over, but likely a push.

Over/Under: 800 Samajie Grant receiving yards - Over.

Over/Under: 1,200 Cayleb Jones receiving yards - He is healthy, bigger, and has his QB back. Over.

Over/Under: 12 Cayleb Jones receiving touchdowns - He had 9 last year, so will need to add 4 for the over. Push.

Tight Ends - Hard to bet on a position we have never used. I'll take the over on both of these, but no history to use for a starting point. In 3 years we have thrown one pass to a true tight end and he dropped the ball.

Over/Under: 45 receptions -

Over/Under: 6 receiving touchdowns

Defense

Over/Under: 15 Scooby Wright III sacks - He had 14 last year and I believe the coach does not want to use him as much as a rush end as he has stated. If the D-line and Turituri can pick up the slack than Scooby won't rush as much. I'll take the under. The better question is will the the team be over or under last years total of 38 sacks. If we fall behind last year's pace than Scooby will end up back on the defensive line on 3rd and long.

Over/Under: 150 Scooby Wright III total tackles - He had 163 last year. Teams will be watching out for him from day 1, but I still like the over.

Over/Under: 15 interceptions - We had 13 interceptions last year. Taking the under.

Over/Under: 15 forced fumbles - We forced 18 last year. I think we are getting the hang of it. I'll take the over.

Over/Under: 1 defensive player with 100+ tackles - We've had 2 with at least 100 the last 2 years. Pretty much a lock on the over.

Special Teams - If I touched any of these it would be to take the under

Over/Under: 1 fake field goal attempt

Over/Under: 1 blocked field goal

Over/Under: 2 kick returns for touchdowns

Over/Under: 2 punt returns for touchdowns

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 10:33 am

Here's an extensive WSU story from SB Nation. Read it if you are bored or a Coug fan. Here is the Arizona portion:

WEEK 6: SATURDAY, OCT. 24

Venue: Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Ariz.
Opponent: Arizona Wildcats

Wazzu visits the desert in the middle of the winnable portion of Arizona's season, which must be one of the most favorable months ever scheduled. After opening conference play against UCLA and visiting Stanford, Arizona fills out the rest of October with the weaker teams in the PAC-12 (OSU, at CU, WSU, at UW) before tripping to the Coliseum and battling the men of Troy. On the flip side, WSU is beginning its toughest stretch of the year.

Anu Solomon surprised just about everybody last season and Arizona returns what is widely regarded as the best receiving corps in the conference. The Wildcats will be good. WSU doesn't necessarily need Zona to sleep on them like they did two years ago ... but it really wouldn't hurt to be the slip-up during a month on cruise control.

Finally, all the Cougar center staff made their predictions for the year:

Despite the fact WSU is coming off a 3-9 season, the CougCenter staff as a whole is expecting a much better 2015. More than half of the staff predicted a bowl game and eight and even nine wins were somehow predicted. The 17 of us are convinced WSU will win at least two non-conference games as both PSU and Wyoming were unanimous victories. There is even some hope for every game the rest of the season, except against Arizona. Not one soul picked the Cougars to beat the Wildcats.

Here is a look at how we see the 2015 season unfolding:

Bruins01 · Post by **Bruins01** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 11:54 am

The south is going to be a freaking battle this season.

The Pac-12 has somehow cobbled together the most impressive collection of coaches of any conference in the country, in my opinion.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 12:36 pm

Agreed Bruins. Very good coaching lineup. Anyone else surprise at those Wazzu guys going unanimous on the cats and being the only PAC school tp do that to the cougs

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 1:51 pm

Here is the espn blog's season preview of Arizona. Nothing new, just tells you how the writers who cover the conference see the team.

I take umbrage with their best case scenario of 10-2. I would call 10-2 an optimistic prediction, but still short of the best case scenario for a team that went 10-2 last year and returns most of their key skill players, the defensive POY, and the COY. Is it that hard to imagine Arizona beating ucla with a Freshman QB in his first conference road game? How about Stanford with a young defense and erratic offense? Get past those 2 and Arizona will be favored to go 9-0 and head to USC for a battle against the pre-season favorite. Again in a best case scenario Arizona could pull off the upset and then they would be favored in the final 2 games.

For the first time since 1998 Arizona has the players and coaching to have a chance at going undefeated in the conference. I would accept 11-1 as a best case just because the P12 south has never been better, but a best case scenario where we match last year's record when the team is better on paper doesn't make sense to me.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 2:08 pm

Here's a best case scenario I can understand from Bleacher Report. Nice to know it is not just the kool aid serving fans that see a path to the P12 championship and beyond.

UALoco · Post by **UALoco** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 4:54 pm

I tend to think that 10-2 is the best case scenario and that is what I am predicting. I figure we drop 1 game between UCLA and Stanford and 1 game between USC and ASU. Put a gun to my head and I think we lose to Stanford and USC. We struggle against big physical teams and injuries will probably play a role. We have some depth but we are not where we need to be, especially on the lines and in the RB & QB positions. Having no bye is going to be a killer and the USC/Utah/ASU stretch at the end is brutal. I also think we haven't seen the level of consistency needed to have a 0 or 1 loss season. It just ain't happening...and if it does it will be a nice suprise! I've been reading a lot of rosey "previews" but I think we'll still see some challenges. But hey, 2 losses is enough to win the P12 south again!!

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 5:39 pm

Loco, I just don't think Furd will have the type of defense it has had in the past. Not sold on Hogan winning a shootout either. I think UCLA will morph into a power running football team given Rosen at QB and being a freshman. They have the line and Perkins at RB make that possible.

I am now of the thinking that this defense will be the best we have seen at AZ in the RR/Casteel era. I think our DLine and LB corp will be much better than anyone thinks. Our back 5 will be much more athletic with a ton more speed. I think the fact they have won every practice to date says alot given our skill players and the comments coming from Jones and Grant to me is very telling.

I thought last year was exciting but this might be a very, very special year. Getting UCLA in Rosens first roadie is huge and I just think Furd's defense will be a bit off compared to the last several years which gives us a great chance on the farm

dc4azcats · Post by **dc4azcats** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 8:44 pm

azcat49 wrote:Loco, I just don't think Furd will have the type of defense it has had in the past. Not sold on Hogan winning a shootout either. I thunk UCLA will morph into a power runni ng football team given Rosen at QB and being a freshman. They have the line and Perkins at R B make that possible.

I am now of the thinking that this defense will eb the best we have seen at AZ in the RR/Casteel era. I think our DLine and LB corp will be much better than anyone thinks. Our back 5 will be much more athletic with a ton more speed. Ithink the fact they have won every practice to date says alot given our skill players and the comments coming from Jones and Grant to me is very telling.

I thought last year was exciting but this might be a very very special year. Gettign UCLA in Rosens first roadie is huge and I just think Furd's defense will eb a bit off compared to the last several years which gives us a great chance on the farm

All of this. Especially agree on the Stanford take as they have a very young secondary and most of that D has never faced Arizona, certainly nobody in the secondary has. Hard to duplicate what Arizona does via a scout team.

UALoco · Post by **UALoco** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 8:51 pm

azcat - I hope you are right. I'm just afraid that Stanford will be a little bit of a let down after a big emotional home win against UCLA (BTW, I'm actually going to the game in Palo Also so I might be reverse jinxing). I also think we might be a little banged up after that battle, especially since UCLA will be running a lot. Even if we do beat Stanford, I'm afraid that we'll drop one game that we shouldn't, maybe go to sleep on someone we are heavily favored against. I'll stand by the main point, that 10-2 is the best case scenario. 10-2 is a great season. We were VERY lucky to go 10-2 last year. I could be wrong, I hope I'm wrong and we go 12 straight or only have 1 loss.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Tue Aug 11, 2015 8:14 am

Javier Morales at AST looks at the 5 most important games.

azpenguin · Post by **azpenguin** » Tue Aug 11, 2015 10:55 am

My main concern about the secondary is just based on the experience level; the Pac-12 is not a good place to make mistakes back there because the QBs are so damn good. However, I'm feeling better about things with what I'm hearing about the speed and athleticism from both the coaches and the receivers. I think Denson and McCall will be solid corners and McCall grew a lot as the season progressed last year. Denson has insane make-up speed. I think Neal could be pretty damn good back there. We'll see as the season goes along and I don't know that they get really tested until Wazzu, so they've got time to grow (and they're going up against a hell of a receiving corps every day in practice.) Hoping that azcat49 and DC's optimism is a good omen and also that these guys stay healthy.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Tue Aug 11, 2015 11:19 am

Jeff Casteel has Arizona's defense heading in the right direction

http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id ... api_public

With the exception of linebacker Scooby Wright, not much has been said about Arizona's defense during the Rich Rodriguez era. Now granted, Wright gets a lot of well-deserved attention for his production in 2014, which netted him almost every major defensive award. But it's his defensive coordinator, Jeff Casteel, who has quietly done one of the better defensive rebuilding jobs in the Pac-12.

In Year 1 of the Rodriguez era, the Wildcats gave up an average of 35.3 points per game, were yielding more than 200 yards on the ground each week, had just 16 sacks and were in the red on turnover margin.

Snap to 2014 and those numbers look pretty different. The Cats shaved more than a touchdown off the 2012 average (28.2), gave up 36 fewer yards on the ground (169.8), more than doubled the sacks (38) and enjoyed a plus-8 turnover margin.

That's all while going 26-14 in three seasons, which includes three straight bowl appearances and last year's Pac-12 South title. And it comes at a time when Pac-12 scoring as a whole is on the rise.

Before you get too excited, that scoring defense was still No. 8 in the league. But from where it was a couple of seasons ago, it shows a sharp improvement. And the Wildcats are three-tenths of a point from being in the league's the top half.

"I think the No. 1 thing is the kids are settling in and the big thing is each year we're getting a little bigger and stronger and faster," Casteel said. "The kids have really done a good job in the weight room. We were fairly young the first couple of years. Hopefully we're able to start developing a little more depth and can play some more guys."

That's the key, according to Rodriguez, who said his team was starting five former walk-ons on defense by the end of the 2012 season and when they came in, only 23 scholarships were allocated to defensive players.

"That first year we were really holding on," Rodriguez said. "Hopefully now we'll be able to play more guys. And the game has changed to the point where you have to play 20 guys anyway."

Obviously, Wright has a lot to do with some of those numbers. His 163 stops last year led the country, as did his tackles for loss per game. He was also top five nationally in sacks per game.

Though key veterans are back, headlined by Wright and safety Will Parks, the Wildcats need to find a way to offset the loss of five starters on defense, including some hits to the secondary. Redshirt sophomore Jarvis McCall Jr. has solid experience, but has been slowed early in camp by injury.

However, Casteel is a little more comfortable since more guys have been through the system. So if there is a significant injury (McCall will be ready by Week 1, don't worry), there's at least a little more depth and experience. Something they hadn't experienced the first couple of years.

"It's like anything. The more you do it, the better you get at it," Casteel said. "The thing is, we've got a good corps of kids here. A lot of them were playing as true freshmen and we're now just getting to the point where there are some older guys and we don't have to rely on a first-year player. It doesn't make a difference what you're running when you're relying on first-year players. It's tough for them to come in and have the type of success from a mental standpoint and a physical standpoint."

Arizona's 3-3-5 scheme is unique to the conference … at least it used to be. The idea of a traditional 43 or 34 front no longer apply in a conference heavy on spread and multiplicity. The idea of seeing five defensive backs at one time might have been unique. Now so many teams in the league base out of a nickel defense, or spend nearly half of the game in it, that the novelty has worn off.

Still, it's a system Casteel believes in and has shown to be productive against some of the more potent offenses in the league.

"The spread offenses are prevalent throughout the league and the country so I don't know that there's too many different ways to try to match up to it," he said. "Teams in our league, some teams that mix it up like Stanford, those can be tough. Right now with the tempo offenses and people trying to get as many snaps off and all that, it helps us that we see it every day in practice. Our biggest adjustment is adjusting to teams that have a couple of tight ends or a couple of backs in there."

Arizona's defense is far from being considered elite nationally, or probably elite within the conference. As long as Rich Rodriguez is running the show, Arizona will always be looked at as an offense-first team. But as the averages decline and the sacks and turnover ratio goes up, it's hard not to appreciate the strides that have been made the last couple of seasons.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Tue Aug 11, 2015 1:17 pm

dpottzz with a look at the defensive line at AZDS.

This article raises the very important question, when someone intentionally doesn't capitalize their name should it be capitalized at the start of a sentence? Outside of that it is a good reminder we have more depth, size and experience on the D-line.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Tue Aug 11, 2015 8:17 pm

Gabe Encinas at AZDS looks at which Freshman may breakout.

dc4azcats · Post by **dc4azcats** » Tue Aug 11, 2015 8:39 pm

UALoco wrote:azcat - I hope you are right. I'm just afraid that Stanford will be a little bit of a let down after a big emotional home win against UCLA (BTW, I'm actually going to the game in Palo Also so I might be reverse jinxing). I also think we might be a little banged up after that battle, especially since UCLA will be running a lot. Even if we do beat Stanford, I'm afraid that we'll drop one game that we shouldn't, maybe go to sleep on someone we are heavily favored against. I'll stand by the main point, that 10-2 is the best case scenario. 10-2 is a great season. We were VERY lucky to go 10-2 last year. I could be wrong, I hope I'm wrong and we go 12 straight or only have 1 loss.

Stanford returns 3 starters on D. It was supposed to be 4 but safety Zach Hoffpauir decided to go play pro baseball instead. He might be the biggest loss as he was a senior and could've helped out the young and inexperienced secondary.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 11:05 am

Greg Hansen helps the Deseret News do their Arizona preview. It's a FWIW article because I believe Hansen is a terrible football analyst. Great historian, good writer, but crap at football prognostication.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 11:54 am

ANGCatFan wrote:Greg Hansen helps the Deseret News do their Arizona preview. It's a FWIW article because I believe Hansen is a terrible football analyst. Great historian, good writer, but crap at football prognostication.

Agreed. The title of that article is very misleading.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 12:19 pm

Here is the Deadspin Arizona preview. Again, no new information, but at least this one is a fun read.

Tired of watching ESPN give reach-arounds to the same Southern football powers every year, but don’t want to cheer on the old California powers? Want a campy team to follow that can win you some bets and will actually play in and win some big games? Arizona has you covered.

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