Bear Down Wildcats

azgreg wrote:

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

ASUHATER! wrote:

azgreg wrote:

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

ASUHATER! wrote:

azgreg wrote:

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

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

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

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.

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

azgreg wrote:

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..

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.

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.

“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.

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.

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:

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

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.

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.

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.

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.