Arizona @ Hawaii discussion thread

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Thu Aug 01, 2019 11:52 am

Fuck it. It's close enough. Let's kick this pig.

Arizona @ Hawaii
Aug 24 (Sat) 7:30 PM MST
Honolulu, HI
TV: CBS Sports Network

VS Hawaii:
All time: 5-0
Home: 2-0
Away: 3-0
First meeting: 12/21/1951 @ Hawaii W 32 - 21
Last meeting: 9/17/2016 vs Hawaii W 47 - 28

Game notes: https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/ ... awai_i.pdf" target="_blank

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Thu Aug 01, 2019 11:54 am

https://www.azdesertswarm.com/football/ ... ate-week-0" target="_blank
https://mwwire.com/2019/06/25/hawaii-fo ... -wildcats/" target="_blank

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Thu Aug 01, 2019 12:49 pm

Time to switch to whatever sling pack I need to get this and wife loses her bravo.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Thu Aug 01, 2019 12:55 pm

CalStateTempe wrote:Time to switch to whatever sling pack I need to get this and wife loses her bravo.

TV: CBS Sports Network

Not on my Sling package. I have the one with the ESPN and PAC-12 channels, or will have once the season starts.

I think it's the $20 Orange with the $5 sports package.

EDIT:

Looks like they raised the prices.

https://www.sling.com/channels/pac-12" target="_blank

Sling Orange is $25 instead of $20, and the sports package is now $10.

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Thu Aug 01, 2019 2:02 pm

Yeah I have the package with bravo and I guess I get the sports add on and call it a day.

I do like the eye candy on below deck Mediterranean

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Thu Aug 01, 2019 2:03 pm

Just like granddad liked watching telenovellas with grandma...

tgrumpy2 · Post by **tgrumpy2** » Thu Aug 01, 2019 2:31 pm

Merkin wrote:
CalStateTempe wrote:Time to switch to whatever sling pack I need to get this and wife loses her bravo.
TV: CBS Sports Network

Not on my Sling package. I have the one with the ESPN and PAC-12 channels, or will have once the season starts.

I think it's the $20 Orange with the $5 sports package.

EDIT:

Looks like they raised the prices.

https://www.sling.com/channels/pac-12" target="_blank

Sling Orange is $25 instead of $20, and the sports package is now $10.

If you have a VPN I would recommend you try KSHosting. 5 dollars a month and every sports channel is there but you do need a VPN. I would recommend IPVanish.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Thu Aug 01, 2019 2:36 pm

tgrumpy2 wrote: If you have a VPN I would recommend you try KSHosting. 5 dollars a month and every sports channel is there but you do need a VPN. I would recommend IPVanish.

Thanks for the tip. Saving this for later, since I have a Nvidia Shield.

https://troypoint.com/kodi-solutions-iptv/" target="_blank

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Thu Aug 01, 2019 3:15 pm

Looks like YouTube TV has the CBS Sports Network.

TucsonClip · Post by **TucsonClip** » Thu Aug 01, 2019 6:09 pm

Merkin wrote:
tgrumpy2 wrote: If you have a VPN I would recommend you try KSHosting. 5 dollars a month and every sports channel is there but you do need a VPN. I would recommend IPVanish.

Thanks for the tip. Saving this for later, since I have a Nvidia Shield.

https://troypoint.com/kodi-solutions-iptv/" target="_blank

Ill do you all one better. Ive been using this for a year now for all live TV. Basically anything you could ever want to watch, plus some other cool extras. I use this in combination with Kodi for TV shows/movies.

https://firestickstevescablecutters.com/

tgrumpy2 · Post by **tgrumpy2** » Fri Aug 02, 2019 4:53 pm

Merkin wrote:
tgrumpy2 wrote: If you have a VPN I would recommend you try KSHosting. 5 dollars a month and every sports channel is there but you do need a VPN. I would recommend IPVanish.

Thanks for the tip. Saving this for later, since I have a Nvidia Shield.

https://troypoint.com/kodi-solutions-iptv/" target="_blank

Some of the VPNs won't work with KSHosting. I originally tried CyberGhost and KSHosting wouldn't work with it.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Thu Aug 15, 2019 4:53 pm

Current line is Arizona -11 with the O/U at 70.5.

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Fri Aug 16, 2019 1:21 pm

azgreg wrote:Current line is Arizona -11 with the O/U at 70.5.

This feels like a game we lose. I'm sure part of that is that I feel like the life of an Arizona football fan is waiting for the disappointment to start, but away game, Hawaii, season opener...

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Fri Aug 16, 2019 1:28 pm

Wow lose this and you might get 38k for the home opener. Seems the feeling is one of very low expectations and very low excitement with Sumlin. Kind of surprising as I thought he would be a good fit for Tucson

scumdevils86 · Post by **scumdevils86** » Fri Aug 16, 2019 1:32 pm

Yea if we lose to Hawaii you might as well write off attendance for the entire year. Stadium will be half empty for NAU.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Fri Aug 16, 2019 1:57 pm

Take the Cats and the over.

PHXCATS · Post by **PHXCATS** » Fri Aug 16, 2019 2:08 pm

azgreg wrote:Take the Cats and the over.

Smart bet

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Fri Aug 16, 2019 2:48 pm

azcat49 wrote:Wow lose this and you might get 38k for the home opener. Seems the feeling is one of very low expectations and very low excitement with Sumlin. Kind of surprising as I thought he would be a good fit for Tucson

Yeah, I went from very excited to “please don’t embarrass us against Hawaii” in one short year.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Fri Aug 16, 2019 3:25 pm

Chicat wrote:
azcat49 wrote:Wow lose this and you might get 38k for the home opener. Seems the feeling is one of very low expectations and very low excitement with Sumlin. Kind of surprising as I thought he would be a good fit for Tucson
Yeah, I went from very excited to “please don’t embarrass us against Hawaii” in one short year.

No kidding. Maybe the basketball drama has sucked the spirit out of the fans or maybe they can now only give it to the wrongly persecuted Basketball program.

Just never seen such apathy for an upcoming season. It’s almost like, what if they had a football season and no one cared”

scumdevils86 · Post by **scumdevils86** » Fri Aug 16, 2019 3:28 pm

This is absolutely the least amount of interest and excitement I've seen in the 17 years I've watched Arizona football and the 15 years I've been on message boards. Part of it is due to declining interest in sports from the population overall I'm sure. But we have a game in 8 days and it's just "meh okay".

PHXCATS · Post by **PHXCATS** » Fri Aug 16, 2019 3:32 pm

bad fan base. is that it is.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Fri Aug 16, 2019 3:38 pm

Apathy was when UA had the most exciting player in college ball for the month of October, the UA was ranked and was facing a ranked WSU team at home, and couldn't even sell out.

RichRod had already lost Tucson by then.

Hopefully the ASU debacle last season didn't sour the city on Sumlin. Unfortunate too that he never took the blame for the loss.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Fri Aug 16, 2019 3:58 pm

I think your last paragraph is spot on Merk. If Sumlin doesn’t care why should we. I have told that to the AD a dozen times as they have asked why I have not renewed my allotment of season tickets for football

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Fri Aug 16, 2019 3:59 pm

Merkin wrote:Apathy was when UA had the most exciting player in college ball for the month of October, the UA was ranked and was facing a ranked WSU team at home, and couldn't even sell out.

RichRod had already lost Tucson by then.

Hopefully the ASU debacle last season didn't sour the city on Sumlin. Unfortunate too that he never took the blame for the loss.

I don't know, Sumlin killed a lot of it by laying fat turds vs BYU and Houston.

The Arizona fanbase is quick to get to a "here we go again" mindset given how many times in the past we've failed. Starting the year with massive disappointments back to back with an alleged Heisman candidate...last year flamed out on the launching pad.

PieceOfMeat · Post by **PieceOfMeat** » Fri Aug 16, 2019 4:14 pm

azcat49 wrote: Just never seen such apathy for an upcoming season. It’s almost like, what if they had a football season and no one cared”

I think it's a combination of things.

The end of the RR era + coming into last season with a heisman candidate who then never played like a heisman candidate (due to injuries sure, but still) + a new coach who made some questionable decisions/calls (leading to losses against teams we "shouldn't" lose to) while also managing to cough up the game vs. the rival that could have (in a way) saved the season.

I think the general fan base doesn't know what there is to get excited about. The coach didn't offer up much to get behind last season (as Merk points out with not even taking some blame for the assu debacle). Our star QB was anything but and we don't know if he'll ever be so again. Our D is....well just plain bad....as it has been for some time now. So no excitement about the coach after a first year that was horrid, no excitement about our Offense and no excitement for our defense.

Win some games, have Tate look like even 80% of the player he once was (and stay healthy) and the fans will come around. Team just has work to do.

PieceOfMeat · Post by **PieceOfMeat** » Fri Aug 16, 2019 4:18 pm

Spaceman Spiff wrote:
azgreg wrote:Current line is Arizona -11 with the O/U at 70.5.
This feels like a game we lose. I'm sure part of that is that I feel like the life of an Arizona football fan is waiting for the disappointment to start, but away game, Hawaii, season opener...

I don't think many AZ fans would be shocked if we lost this game.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Fri Aug 16, 2019 4:54 pm

Build it and they will come. If the product in the field merits it, we'll sell out or nearly sell out every game. But if it doesn't and we disappoint like always...we won't have good attendance. Simple as that

PHXCATS · Post by **PHXCATS** » Fri Aug 16, 2019 5:42 pm

ASUHATER! wrote:Build it and they will come. If the product in the field merits it, we'll sell out or nearly sell out every game. But if it doesn't and we disappoint like always...we won't have good attendance. Simple as that

Aka our fan base sucks and is extremely fair weather

UAEebs86 · Post by **UAEebs86** » Fri Aug 16, 2019 5:43 pm

We heard you the first time Machina.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sat Aug 17, 2019 11:12 am

PHXCATS wrote:
ASUHATER! wrote:Build it and they will come. If the product in the field merits it, we'll sell out or nearly sell out every game. But if it doesn't and we disappoint like always...we won't have good attendance. Simple as that
Aka our fan base sucks and is extremely fair weather

I think this is so inaccurate. Our fans keep showing up through year after year of mediocrity. A couple of shared conference championships with a couple of Fiesta Bowls as our crowning achievement. I used to think real fans would or should support the cats unconditionally but not anymore. It’s time for the program to reward the faithful fans with a magical season. Just don’t see that happening any time soon

PieceOfMeat · Post by **PieceOfMeat** » Sat Aug 17, 2019 11:43 am

azcat49 wrote:
PHXCATS wrote:
ASUHATER! wrote:Build it and they will come. If the product in the field merits it, we'll sell out or nearly sell out every game. But if it doesn't and we disappoint like always...we won't have good attendance. Simple as that
Aka our fan base sucks and is extremely fair weather

I think this is so inaccurate. Our fans keep showing up through year after year of mediocrity. A couple of shared conference championships with a couple of Fiesta Bowls as our crowning achievement. I used to think real fans would or should support the cats unconditionally but not anymore. It’s time for the program to reward the faithful fans with a magical season. Just don’t see that happening any time soon

Well stated.

catgrad97 · Post by **catgrad97** » Sat Aug 17, 2019 4:47 pm

azcat49 wrote:
PHXCATS wrote:
ASUHATER! wrote:Build it and they will come. If the product in the field merits it, we'll sell out or nearly sell out every game. But if it doesn't and we disappoint like always...we won't have good attendance. Simple as that
Aka our fan base sucks and is extremely fair weather

I think this is so inaccurate. Our fans keep showing up through year after year of mediocrity. A couple of shared conference championships with a couple of Fiesta Bowls as our crowning achievement. I used to think real fans would or should support the cats unconditionally but not anymore. It’s time for the program to reward the faithful fans with a magical season. Just don’t see that happening any time soon

Thank you J.

I kept coming back to this program through scandal after disappointment after debacle, season after 3- to 4-win season, since Fat Tony first screwed us over.

But the smart people have not only left the program, they're largely as unexcited about supporting its current incarnation as we are.

And then you line up that brain fart of a BYU opener, the Houston embarrassment (still, the worst I've EVER seen an Arizona football team play), give a few weeks of hope only to kill it with that WTF? ASU collapse--only to turn around and, on top of that, re-hire an awful defensive coordinator that had only questionably improved the unit to mediocre--and what reason was there to cheer for a staff clearly just in Tucson to collect a paycheck?

I visited KU over the summer and checked out its football facilities. It may be the only program in the nation that cares less about football than Arizona--and even then, they have more financial support because they are in a conference that cares about TV revenues.

But no, I have a family that fully is acquainted with the subpar fan experience an Arizona home football game has brought them, and that was at Parents' Weekend four years ago under RR. So I'm not going to take four hours away from them to root for stupid to do what it never has done before and fix itself. Need a change in leadership before that's going to happen.

KillerKlown · Post by **KillerKlown** » Sat Aug 17, 2019 7:22 pm

The season comes up on you fast when you don't really pay attention to the offseason. First time I've been really meh during an off season. I still care but not as much as before last season. These asu collapses are killing it for me the most. I think they can be good this season but I'm not getting my hopes up again until I witness better and CONSISTENT play calling from the coaches. How many points did WSU have at half time? 50? Not even the worst of the worst give that much up at half time. No fuckin way I'm sitting through that again in my lifetime.

Edit: 55

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Sat Aug 17, 2019 7:34 pm

How about back to the game. Here some previews.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Sat Aug 17, 2019 7:40 pm

KillerKlown · Post by **KillerKlown** » Sat Aug 17, 2019 7:55 pm

Arizona by 20.
37-17

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sat Aug 17, 2019 8:01 pm

Line was at -10.5 at NYNY yesterday

Carcassdragger · Post by **Carcassdragger** » Sun Aug 18, 2019 7:25 am

Hawaii has 17 returning starters. Long night for us. Hawaii by a touchdown.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Sun Aug 18, 2019 8:37 am

Carcassdragger wrote:Hawaii has 17 returning starters. Long night for us. Hawaii by a touchdown.

How many of those returners starters do you think would start for Arizona?

Carcassdragger · Post by **Carcassdragger** » Sun Aug 18, 2019 2:55 pm

azgreg wrote:
Carcassdragger wrote:Hawaii has 17 returning starters. Long night for us. Hawaii by a touchdown.
How many of those returners starters do you think would start for Arizona?

I would think most of em since they beat us soundly last year.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Sun Aug 18, 2019 3:14 pm

Carcassdragger wrote:
azgreg wrote:
Carcassdragger wrote:Hawaii has 17 returning starters. Long night for us. Hawaii by a touchdown.
How many of those returners starters do you think would start for Arizona?
I would think most of em since they beat us soundly last year.

UAEebs86 · Post by **UAEebs86** » Sun Aug 18, 2019 3:18 pm

Carcassdragger wrote:
azgreg wrote:
Carcassdragger wrote:Hawaii has 17 returning starters. Long night for us. Hawaii by a touchdown.
How many of those returners starters do you think would start for Arizona?
I would think most of em since they beat us soundly last year.

Carcassdragger · Post by **Carcassdragger** » Sun Aug 18, 2019 4:47 pm

Oops. Duh. Sorry about that.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Sun Aug 18, 2019 7:09 pm

Carcassdragger wrote:
azgreg wrote:
Carcassdragger wrote:Hawaii has 17 returning starters. Long night for us. Hawaii by a touchdown.
How many of those returners starters do you think would start for Arizona?
I would think most of em since they beat us soundly last year.

Wanna try that again?

Carcassdragger · Post by **Carcassdragger** » Sun Aug 18, 2019 7:43 pm

azgreg wrote:
Carcassdragger wrote:
azgreg wrote:
Carcassdragger wrote:Hawaii has 17 returning starters. Long night for us. Hawaii by a touchdown.
How many of those returners starters do you think would start for Arizona?
I would think most of em since they beat us soundly last year.
Wanna try that again?

Yeah I think so. Certainly they have some athletes and they are opening up at home.

The team from Arizona that played Houston last year would be hard pressed to beat anybody.

Again, Hawaii by 7. Hope I'm very wrong.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sun Aug 18, 2019 8:35 pm

I thought no Greg is saying we didn’t play Hawaii last year

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:07 am

azcat49 wrote:
PHXCATS wrote:
ASUHATER! wrote:Build it and they will come. If the product in the field merits it, we'll sell out or nearly sell out every game. But if it doesn't and we disappoint like always...we won't have good attendance. Simple as that
Aka our fan base sucks and is extremely fair weather
I think this is so inaccurate. Our fans keep showing up through year after year of mediocrity. A couple of shared conference championships with a couple of Fiesta Bowls as our crowning achievement. I used to think real fans would or should support the cats unconditionally but not anymore. It’s time for the program to reward the faithful fans with a magical season. Just don’t see that happening any time soon

We continue generating 3-8 wins a year with no appreciable reason to believe a foundation for more is being built. When a coaching vacancy opens, we hire someone who was fired at their last stop.

This has been Arizona football for a long time. We produce middle of the road results and get middle of the road attendance. Until fans have a reason to expect more, it will persist.

I'd like to think Sumlin breaks the cycle, but...early signs seem so much like the past.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Mon Aug 19, 2019 11:46 am

Wildcats Open 2019 with Road Contest at Hawai'i

https://arizonawildcats.com/news/2019/8 ... wai-i.aspx" target="_blank

TUCSON, Ariz. — The Arizona Wildcats venture off the mainland to open the 2019 football season this Saturday, Aug. 24 at Hawai'i.

This will be the first time that Arizona opened the season on the road since beating Toledo 41-2 in 2010. All-time the Cats have posted a record of 83-27-5 in the first game of the season.

A complete game preview can be found below.

SOME GAME THEMES: Year two of the Kevin Sumlin era begins off the mainland in Honolulu against Hawai'i in a late-afternoon tilt against the Rainbow Warriors...Arizona last visited Hawai'i to open the 1998 season...The Wildcats won 27-6 in front of 38,745 fans, before eventually going 12-1 on the season under late coach Dick Tomey...Chris McAlister returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to start the game and season off right...The Wildcats wouldn't mind a case of déjà vu 21 years later against a talented Hawai'i team....Sumlin's squad is eager to get back on the field after a 5-7 campaign a year ago and have put in the hours in the weight room, on the conditioning fields and practice fields to prepare for the season-opener...This year's matchup features two teams that were inside the top 50 in the nation last year in total offense...The Wildcats averaged 457.7 yards of total offense to lead the Pac-12 and finish 24th in the country...The Rainbow Warriors averaged 419.9 yards of total offense, good enough for 48th best in the nation...While the Wildcats excelled on the ground, leading the Pac-12 in rushing offense a year ago, Hawai'i did most of its damage through the air...The Rainbow Warriors were most dangerous through the air, averaging 310.3 passing yards per game, which led the conference and finished ninth in the nation...On the ground, Hawai'i averaged just 109.6 yards per game, which ranked 10th in the conference and 121st in the country...Not only does this matchup feature two dynamic offenses from a year ago, but it also features two high-level quarterbacks going head-to-head...Hawai'i signal-caller Cole McDonald finished eighth in the country last year with 3,875 passing yards and was sixth in the nation in passing touchdowns with 36...McDonald was named the team's Offensive MVP and was named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 3...For Arizona, Khalil Tate has shown he can be a force on the ground, as evidenced by his 1,411 rushing yards in 2017, and through the air, as shown by his 2,530 passing yards last season and 26 touchdowns...Both quarterbacks are on the preseason Davey O'Brien Award Watch List and should be in for big years leading their teams...The Wildcats will head to Honolulu on Wednesday after a workout in Tucson to continue their preparation for the Rainbow Warriors...Arizona was hoping to visit Pearl Harbor while in Honolulu, but won't be able to because the USS Arizona Memorial is temporarily closed as repairs are being made to the memorial's loading dock...The USS Tucson is also currently out on deployment as well.

TOMEY'S TEAMS: Earlier this year, legendary coach Dick Tomey passed away at the age of 80. Tomey accumulated a record of 183-145-7 in his time as a head coach and spent much of his career as the head man at Hawai'i and Arizona. Tomey served as the coach of the Rainbow Warriors from 1977-1986. Tomey posted seven winning seasons at Hawai'i and a top 20 national ranking in 1981. He went 63-46-3 in his time at Hawai'i. Following the 1986 season, Tomey moved on to Arizona, where he served as the head coach for 14 seasons and put together a 95-64-4 record, while leading the Wildcats to five bowl victories and a 10-win season in 1993 and a 12-win season in 1998. Tomey will be honored before the game Saturday, with several of his family members in attendance. The Wildcats will also wear a "DT" sticker on their helmets to honor the coach. Arizona will have more tributes for Tomey during its home opener against NAU on Sept. 7 and its Homecoming matchup with Oregon State on Nov. 2. Last month, Arizona announced it will name its practice fields the "Dick Tomey Practice Fields." The formal dedication is scheduled for Homecoming weekend.

Charting the Cats (Career):
Running back J.J. Taylor has 2,542 career rushing yards, which ranks 10th all-time at Arizona. Taylor needs just 30 yards to pass David Adams for ninth all-time. Taylor's 439 career carries are the fewest of any player in the top 10.
Quarterback Khalil Tate has passed for 4,364 yards in his career, which ranks 12th-most in program history. He'll need another 700 yards to break into the Top 10.
Tate has rushed for 1,872 yards. Another 128 yards would make him the 17th player in program history to run for 2,000 yards.
Tate has racked up 6,236 yards of total offense in his career, which currently ranks No. 7 in school history. With only 72 more total offense yards, Tate could move up to No. 6.
Tate has passed for 43 touchdowns in his career, which ranks tied for sixth in UA history. With two more touchdowns, Tate would match Bruce Hill for No. 5. Another six touchdowns and Tate would catch Anu Solomon, who currently sits No. 3 with 49 career touchdown tosses.
Cornerback Jace Whittaker, who utilized his redshirt season last year, is tied for ninth in career passes broken up with 28. He's currently tied with Trevin Wade and Randy Robbins and is one away from reaching Brandon Sanders' mark of 29.
Linebacker Colin Schooler enters the 2019 season with 35 tackles-for-loss in just two seasons. With 5.5 more, he'll reach the Arizona top 10 and tie Chris Singleton.
FOR OPENERS: Arizona is 83-27-5 all-time in the first game of the season, winning nine of the last 11…In those 11 contests, the Wildcats have outscored opponents by a cumulative 431-150, or an average of 39.2 to 13.6 points per game…UA lost last year's opener versus BYU at Arizona Stadium, falling 28-23...The Wildcats also fell to BYU to open the 2016 season...Prior to that, the Cats had won eight straight openers…The Cats and Rainbow Warriors have met twice previously in a season-opening game...Arizona hosted Hawai'i to open the 1952 season and won 57-7…In 1998, the Wildcats headed to Honolulu to open the season and topped Hawai'i 27-6, before eventually going 12-1 on the season and beating No. 9 Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl...For geography buffs, Coach Kevin Sumlin will open his fifth consecutive season against a school located west of the Mississippi River...While at Texas A&M, Sumlin opened the 2015 season against Arizona State, before opening the 2016 and 2017 seasons against UCLA...Sumlin and the Cats of course hosted BYU last year.

ROAD OPENERS: In a season where tributes to Dick Tomey will be deservedly plentiful, perhaps nothing is more appropriate than opening the season on the road...Under Tomey's leadership, Arizona opened on the road in seven of his 14 seasons...The Cats opened the season on the road four straight seasons from 1997-2000 under Tomey...In the 18 seasons since Tomey has been the head coach, the Wildcats have opened the season on the road just four times, going 2-2 in those games...The Wildcats last opened on the road in 2010 at Toledo, winning 41-2...Dating back to the beginning of the Tomey era, the Wildcats have gone on to compile a 44-27 record in seasons in which they won the season-opening game on the road...For comparison, when Arizona has lost its season-opening game on the road, the Wildcats have gone on to go 25-33 in those seasons...In other words, a win on the road to the start of the season has normally propelled Arizona to a successful season.

IN A RUSH: Arizona led the Pac-12 in rushing last season for the third straight year. The Wildcats averaged 202.4 rushing yards per game last year, marking the fourth straight season the program has averaged 200 or more yards per game. Arizona is one of just eight programs nationally and one of three Power 5 teams to average at least 200 yards rushing per game over the past four seasons. Georgia Tech, Army, Air Force, Navy, Georgia Southern, Oklahoma and Appalachian State have also accomplished the feat. Arizona's ability to rush the ball often ties to the success of the team. Over the past five seasons when Arizona has rushed for 200 or more yards, the Wildcats are 24-10. In games where Arizona hasn't reached the 150-yard mark as a team, it is 4-14. Arizona is 26-8 in that span when it has a 100-yard rusher. Arizona has dominated the Pac-12 rushing scene the past three years and is the only program to top 9,000 yards in that span with 9,270. In fact, only Oregon has topped the 8,000-yard mark.

PAVING THE WAY: That Arizona has led the Pac-12 in rushing each of the past three seasons is certainly a testament to the offensive line. This year's group returns three full-time starters from a year ago in sophomore left tackle Donovan Laie, redshirt junior center Josh McCauley and redshirt senior right guard Cody Creason. Robert Congel, a transfer from Texas A&M who sat out last season, is the expected starter at left guard, while redshirt sophomore Edgar Burrola and junior college transfer Paiton Fears are still battling for the right tackle spot. On top of opening up running lanes for Arizona's outstanding rushing production, the offensive line has also been the best in the conference at protecting the quarterback over the past three seasons. Consider that during the same span where Arizona has rushed for 9,270 rushing yards, Wildcat quarterbacks have been sacked just 67 times. That number leads the conference and USC is the only other school in the Pac-12 in the 60's at 69.

NOT JUST SACKS: Not only has Arizona's front done a stellar job in protecting the quarterback, they've kept the defense out of the backfield in general. Last season, Arizona allowed just 50 tackles-for-loss, which ranked fourth in the country. The Wildcats allowed three or fewer TFLs in six of their 12 games last season. Conversely, Arizona's defense had 76 TFLs for a +26 difference.

TATE IS GREAT: As he prepares for his senior season at Arizona, Khalil Tate has already established himself as one of the most dynamic players in program history. Tate has thrown for 4,364 passing yards in his career and 43 touchdowns to 20 interceptions. He has also rushed for 1,872 yards and 15 touchdowns. He has averaged 6.8 yards per rushing attempt in his career and has accumulated 6,236 yards of total offense in his three-year Wildcat career. Last season, Tate started all 11 games he suited up for and posted career highs in passing yards (2,530) and passing touchdowns (26). His pass efficiency rating of 149.77 ranked second in the Pac-12 and was the fifth-best mark in Arizona single-season history. Tate is one of two returning Power 5 quarterbacks with at least 1,500 career rushing yards and 4,000 career passing yards, joining Oklahoma's Jalen Hurts, who did all of his previous damage at Alabama.

TATE WAS GREATER, LATER: Tate was especially strong late in the season for Arizona in 2018. The quarterback missed the Oct. 20 game against UCLA game to rest a foot injury. When he returned, Tate completed 75 of 124 passes (completion percentage of 60) for 1,115 yards and 15 touchdowns to just four interceptions. He averaged 278.8 yards per game. In his first seven games, Tate completed 53 percent of his passes and averaged 202.1 yards per game through the air. He also tossed 11 touchdowns in that seven-game span. It's also worth noting that two of Tate's final four games came against top 20 teams in Oregon and Washington State.

NFL CATS: The Arizona Wildcats are once again well represented in NFL training camps this preseason. There are currently 12 former Wildcats in the NFL, including three from last year's roster in P.J. Johnson, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles and Shawn Poindexter. The Wildcats of course lost one of their most prestigious alums in the NFL this offseason when Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement. The longest tenured NFL Wildcat is defensive lineman Earl Mitchell, who is preparing for his 10th professional season. Mitchell signed with the Seattle Seahawks this offseason, marking the fourth different team of his career. Brooks Reed, who is entering his ninth season, and Nick Foles, beginning his eighth NFL season, also both switched teams this offseason. Reed moved from the Atlanta Falcons to the Arizona Cardinals, while Foles, a former Super Bowl MVP, moved from Philadelphia to Jacksonville.

TAYLOR MADE: Redshirt junior running back J.J. Taylor finished the 2018 season with 1,434 rushing yards, the fourth-most in a single season in Arizona school history and the seventh-most in the nation last year. He became the 14th player in school history to accumulate 1,000+ rushing yards in a single season when he went for 212 yards in an upset over No. 19 ranked Oregon on Oct. 27. His performance last year also put him over the 2,000-yard mark for his career – Taylor has tallied 2,542 rushing yards in a Wildcats uniform, the 10th most in school history. The next player on the list – sitting at No. 9 with 2,571 yards, just 29 more than Taylor – is David Adams, who played for Arizona from 1984-86. Taylor eclipsed the 100-yard mark five times in 2018, four of which came in the Wildcats final five games of the season. He has piled up 100 yards in a game eight times during his collegiate career. His first career 100-yard game came in 2016 against Hawai'I, when he rushed for 168 yards and one touchdown.

SCHOOL(ER)'S IN SESSION: Junior linebacker Colin Schooler has put together an incredible Arizona career through his first two seasons, racking up 214 total tackles, 35.0 tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks. He finished the 2018 season, his sophomore campaign, with 119 total tackles, good for fifth-most in the Pac-12. Additionally, Schooler's 21.5 tackles for loss during last year's season were second-most in the conference, just 0.5 behind Utah's Chase Hansen. Schooler led the Wildcats in tackles seven times last year, and finished second on the team twice. Over his two-year career in Tucson, Schooler is averaging 8.56 tackles per game and 1.40 tackles for loss per game. Schooler opened last season with a career-high 16-tackle game against BYU and notched double-digit tackles on six occasions. He enters the 2019 season on the cusp of breaking onto a pair of Arizona career leaderboards – He is 36 tackles shy of becoming just the 24th player in Wildcat history to log 250+ tackles, and is 5.5 tackles for loss shy of the Arizona career top-10 (records dating back to 1967).

AT A LOSS FOR YARDS: Schooler's 21.5 tackles for loss in 2018 were the second-most in the Pac-12 and the fourth-most in a single season in school history. He averaged 1.79 tackles for loss over 12 games last season, and upped his career total to 35.0. Schooler's 21.5 tackles for loss in 2018 were the most recorded by a Wildcat player in 24 of the last 25 years, with Scooby Wright's 29.0 TFL in 2014 being the lone exception.

HAVING A FIELD DAY: Sitting right behind Schooler is another junior linebacker, Tony Fields II, who has logged 193 career total tackles, 12.0 tackles for loss, and 7.0 sacks in two seasons with the Cats. After leading Arizona with 104 total tackles in 2017, he finished second on the squad in 2018 with 89. Last season, Fields and Schooler combined to total 208 tackles, the fourth-most by any Pac-12 duo of leading tacklers in 2018. They were 18 tackles clear of the No. 5 duo.

EXPERIENCED SECONDARY: Between redshirt senior Jace Whittaker, redshirt junior Lorenzo Burns, and junior Scottie Young Jr., the Wildcats feature 82 combined games of experience in the secondary. Whittaker, a cornerback, has four seasons of disrupting opponent's passing games under his belt and to that end he has broken into the Arizona career top-10 in pass breakups; he currently sits in a tie for No. 9 all-time with 28. Whittaker logged four PBU as a freshman, 12 as a sophomore, and a career-high 16 as a junior in 13 games. He was limited to one game due to injury last season. During the 2017 season – Whittaker's last complete campaign – he logged at least one pass breakup in seven games, including three games with three PBU. His single-game career-high came on Oct. 10, 2016 at Utah, when he notched five pass breakups. For a complete chart of the Arizona top-10 in PBU, see the sidebar on page nine. Burns, another cornerback, has 23 career pass breakups to his name and hauled in five interceptions during the 2017 season. He has also picked up 121 total career tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and 2.0 sacks during his three seasons in Tucson. Burns' five interceptions during the 2017 campaign were the most logged by a Wildcat since Trevin Wade also hauled in five in 2009. Four of Burns' five sacks in 2017 came during a six-game stretch from Oct. 21 at California to Nov. 25 at Arizona State. Young, a safety, took over the mantle from Burns in 2018, grabbing three interceptions to lead the team and rank sixth in the Pac-12. Young saw extended action as a true freshman in 2017, logging time in 10 games and tallying 53 tackles, one interception, and two pass breakups.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Mon Aug 19, 2019 11:49 am

Game notes released: https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/ ... awai_i.pdf" target="_blank

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Mon Aug 19, 2019 11:53 am

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