Bear Down Wildcats

So starting in the 3rd overtime it’s just one play per team to see who wins?

Chicat wrote: ↑Fri Mar 12, 2021 2:52 pm So starting in the 3rd overtime it’s just one play per team to see who wins?

Their version of the hockey/soccer shootout.

Then why don’t they do 4 on 4 like Hockey which I actually enjoy.

Everybody eligible even the center. Like flag football.

Now that I have my COVID shot I feel so enlightened!

EastCoastCat wrote: ↑Fri Mar 12, 2021 6:19 pm Then why don’t they do 4 on 4 like Hockey which I actually enjoy.

Everybody eligible even the center. Like flag football.

Now that I have my COVID shot I feel so enlightened!

Fwiw, NHL is now 3 on 3 OT which is even more entertaining. Do 7 on 7 drills haha

Going to be at the Spring Game.

Merkin wrote: ↑Thu Apr 22, 2021 1:02 pm Going to be at the Spring Game.

He’s going to attend practice today. I will go ahead and predict Jordan will leave Tucson this weekend feeling pretty confident regarding the QB #1 spot.

Our current 12 game losing streak with no non-conference teams scheduled keeps getting brought up, so one question is whether we can end it before our third game of 2021 against NAU. COVID-19 and other circumstances in 2020 make it hard to get a handle on other teams, but I'll take a stab at BYU and San Diego State. We can get into their personnel later, but I just wanted to look at what they did on the field in 2020.

BYU
While most teams in the west had a number of games cancelled, BYU's independent status helped them in that regard. The good news is that they got 12 games in, and only lost one. The bad news is, most of the teams they played wouldn't generate much interest or respect. So, I'll basically dismiss Navy, Troy, Louisiana Tech, UTSA, Texas State, Western Kentucky, and Northern Alabama just as we would if any were on our non-conference schedule. BYU won at Houston, but the Cougars had a 3-5 season. They beat 4-4 San Diego State, but the Aztecs have some circumstances I'll get into when discussing them. BYU got a win at 5-2 Boise State, which is certainly always worthy of attention. And, they beat 6-4 Central Florida in the Boca Raton Bowl, which is also worthy of a nod. So those are basically their two wins of any note in a very weird year. Their one loss was at an 11-1 Coastal Carolina team whose schedule made BYU's look like the SEC West. I'll note that in 2021, BYU plays 5 Pac-12 teams, plus Boise, Baylor, and Virginia, along with 4 "probable-win" type teams.

San Diego St
The Aztecs got 8 games in and went 4-4. It's worth noting that they're building a new smaller stadium in Mission Valley on the site of the old one, where the area will be developed into some campus/retail buildings, hotels, and a grassy area which will double as game-day parking. But, they had to play 2020 "home" games at the home of the LA Galaxy soccer team in Carson, and they'll do it again this season. (The 2020 Holiday Bowl was cancelled, but will probably be played this year at the Padres' Petco Park before moving into the new Aztec Stadium.) So, no real home field advantage, and awkward all the way around. Their best win was probably over a 5-4 Hawaii team in Carson. The 4 losses were in Carson to San Jose State during their 7-1 dream season, and at 11-1 BYU, at 7-2 Nevada, and at 4-2 Colorado.

I don't have any great conclusions to draw from this, other than it helps to have some context, and not just the numbers of a won-lost record to judge what a team did the previous season.

On offense, BYU loses QB Zach Wilson with his 3,000 passing yards and 33 TDs, along with leading target WR Dax Milne with about 1,200 receiving yards and 8 TDs, and five offensive linemen from their depth chart. On defense, they lose leading tackler LB Isaiah Kaufusi, and their entire starting defensive line. So, we may be catching them at a decent time, as they'll be plugging in a fair number of unproven players. But, they've still got plenty of talent, they're fairly big, and I suspect from ticket sales they'll have something of a home field advantage in Las Vegas. I assume for the first game, their returning backup QB, Baylor Romney, will win the QB competition against last year's third stringer and an incoming freshman of note, but you never know. So here are the presumed starters, with any available stats from last season.

Offense:
QB Baylor Romney 6-2 195 SO 261 Yds 1 TD/1 INT
RB Tyler Allgeier 5-11 220 SO 1130 Yds/13 TD
FB Mason Wake 6-1 250 SO
WR Neil Pau’u 6-4 215 JR 603 Yds/4 TDs
WR Gunner Romney 6-3 195 JR 767 Yds/2 TDs
WR Kody Epps 5-11 180 FR
TE Isaac Rex 6-6 250 FR 429 Yds/12 TDs
LT Harris LaChance 6-8 310 SO
LG Clark Barrington 6-6 300 SO
C James Empey 6-4 300 JR
RG Connor Pay 6-5 300 FR
RT Blake Freeland 6-8 300 SO

Defense:
DE Gabe Summers 6-2 275 SO
NT Caden Haws 6-2 315 FR
DT Lorenzo Fauataea 6-4 305 JR
OLB Max Tooley 6-2 215 SO 44 T/3 TFL/1 INT
ILB Keenan Pili 6-3 235 SO 72 T/4.5 TFL
ILB Payton Wilgar 6-3 245 SO 57T/5 TFL
OLB Drew Jensen 6-2 215 SO 27 T/1.5 TFL/1 INT
CB D’Angelo Mandell 6-1 185 JR
CB Keenan Ellis 6-0 180 JR
S Chaz Ah You 6-2 205 JR
S Talan Alfrey 6-3 185 FR

Special Teams:
K Jake Oldroyd 6-1 195 SO 13/13
P Ryan Rehkow 6-5 240 FR 45.1 Avg
KR Caleb Christensen 5-9 195 20.6 Avg
PR Hobbs Nyberg 5-11 195 5.5 Avg

Experience and depth would be the two words I'd use to describe the Aztecs. Among the starters, there's one potential slot for someone other than an upper-classman. Brady Hoke doesn't win the swimsuit competition with flashy offense (last season was a composite 25-18 score), but his teams will be physical and fundamentally sound. Possibly due to that offensive philosophy, last year's starting QB, Carson Baker, entered the transfer portal, so those duties figure to fall to his backup.

Offense:
QB Jordon Brookshire 6-2 215 SR 410 Yds 2TD/2INT
RB Greg Bell 6-0 200 SR 637 Yds/6 TD
FB Chance Bell 5-10 180 SR 273 Yds/3 TD
WR Jesse Matthews 6-0 190 JR 326 Yds/1 TD
WR Kobe Smith 6-2 185 SR 122 Yds/2 TD
TE Daniel Bellinger 6-6 255 SR 203 Yds/0 TD
LT Jonathan Harrison 6-5 320 FR
LG Chris Martinez 6-4 310 SR
C Alama Uluave 6-2 305 SR
RG William Dunkle 6-5 330 JR
RT Zachary Thomas 6-5 300 SR

Defense:
DE Cameron Thomas 6-5 265 JR 35 T/9.5 TFL
DT Jonah Tavai 6-0 305 SR 27 T/4.5 TFL
DE Keshawn Banks 6-4 275 SR 14 T/5 TFL
OLB Caden McDonald 6-3 235 SR 34 T/10 TFL
MLB Seyddrick Lakalaka 6-1 235 SR 28 T/5 TFL/1 INT
OLB Andrew Aleki 6-3 230 SR 28 T/5 TFL
CB Dallas Branch 5-11 175 JR 7 T
CB Tayler Hawkins 6-1 205 SR 37 T/1 INT
S Allan Mwata 6-0 190 JR
S Trenton Thompson 6-2 200 SR 35 T/4.5 TFL
S Patrick McMorris 6-0 210 JR 10 T/1.5 TFL

Special Teams:
K/P Matt Araiza 6-2 205 JR 10/14 FG 49.8 Punt Avg
KR Jordan Byrd 5-9 170 SR 29.5 Avg/1 TD
PR Jesse Matthews 6-0 190 JR 9.4 Avg

Kid’s gonna be a doctor by the time his eligibility is up.

Irish27 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 27, 2021 3:09 pm

About time.

I learned a lot from my time at Arizona.


I wonder if he learned he isn't a very good QB?

Might do OK in FCS though.

Merkin wrote: ↑Tue Apr 27, 2021 3:47 pm I learned a lot from my time at Arizona.


I wonder if he learned he isn't a very good QB?

Might do OK in FCS though.

I personally never saw him play so I will not knock the kid. I do hope he finds a place to get on the field and is able to show what he has.

He played a few snaps in the spring game. Nothing notable that I recall.

UAEebs86 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 27, 2021 3:56 pm He played a few snaps in the spring game. Nothing notable that I recall.

He looked lost in the spring game, always running back over to the sideline to get direction.

azgreg wrote: ↑Tue Apr 27, 2021 4:02 pm

Another one of Chiefs favorites, bad day for him.

It’th a conthpirathy!!!!

It's a traveshamockery!

azgreg wrote: ↑Tue Apr 27, 2021 4:02 pm

Never could learn how to pass block apparently. Maybe they should have tried him at WR if he has good hands. Lists at 6'2".

azgreg wrote: ↑Sat May 15, 2021 7:20 pm

What happened?

The UofA President got involved.

UAEebs86 wrote: ↑Sun May 16, 2021 9:01 am The UofA President got involved.

First of all is this true? I can't find anything other than tweets about it. I went to az sports and couldn't find anything there or in the Star.

tgrumpy2 wrote: ↑Sun May 16, 2021 3:20 pm

UAEebs86 wrote: ↑Sun May 16, 2021 9:01 am The UofA President got involved.

First of all is this true? I can't find anything other than tweets about it. I went to az sports and couldn't find anything there or in the Star.

No. It's a running joke here from the coaching search when an article said "The university president got involved" in the search.


www.beardownwildcats.com/viewtopic.php? ... 3&p=484645

But still funny!

UAEebs86 wrote: ↑Sun May 16, 2021 3:22 pm

tgrumpy2 wrote: ↑Sun May 16, 2021 3:20 pm

UAEebs86 wrote: ↑Sun May 16, 2021 9:01 am The UofA President got involved.

First of all is this true? I can't find anything other than tweets about it. I went to az sports and couldn't find anything there or in the Star.

No. It's a running joke here from the coaching search when an article said "The university president got involved" in the search.


www.beardownwildcats.com/viewtopic.php? ... 3&p=484645

Not an article but a post from a guy on the Gonzaga board.

How many games is Arizona going to win this season? Do you guys think that Cruz will be the starter against BYU to open the season?

Not many if you look at each if the 12 games which maybe 2 or 3 we will be favored in.

I’m predicting 4-8.

EastCoastCat wrote: ↑Sat May 22, 2021 10:12 am Not many if you look at each if the 12 games which maybe 2 or 3 we will be favored in.

I’m predicting 4-8.

I think they’ll be 1-11 and Cruz will be the starter.

1-11 because Cruz is the starter??

You’re as transparent as Saran Wrap chief.

Chicat wrote: ↑Sat May 22, 2021 10:28 am 1-11 because Cruz is the starter??

You’re as transparent as Saran Wrap chief.

No. I initially asked two questions. What will be the record and who will be the game one starter. I think they'll be 1-11 and Cruz will be the game one starter.

I always predict 0-12 for the football program. That way I am never disappointed.

Merkin wrote: ↑Sat May 22, 2021 10:33 am I always predict 0-12 for the football program. That way I am never disappointed.

Same, what are we now, 0-17?

12-0

Doyle is the quarterback.

chief says book it.

UAEebs86 wrote: ↑Sat May 22, 2021 10:48 am 12-0

Doyle is the quarterback.

chief says book it.

Bold prediction with a quarterback who transferred. I think even chief would disagree.

Still on the roster chief. Better get the athletic department to update it:


https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/foot ... oyle/11523

UAEebs86 wrote: ↑Sat May 22, 2021 10:58 am Still on the roster chief. Better get the athletic department to update it:


https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/foot ... oyle/11523

You guys sure are obsessed with chief and Doyle. Slow news day.

Speaking of quarterbacks, do you guys think Cruz and Plummer are good? I got so many different vibes in the media and with Fisch. Fisch kept complaining about the quarterback play but Lev said they were good. Why are there so many different opinions?

Only our resident twins were able to post from the same IP address under two different handles and not be socks when they lived together.

How are you and chief pulling it off? You live next door to each other and share a wireless router to save money?

UAEebs86 wrote: ↑Sat May 22, 2021 11:06 am Only our resident twins were able to post from the same IP address under two different handles and not be socks when they lived together.

How are you and chief pulling it off? You live next door to each other and share a wireless router to save money?

I am currently on my work computer and not even in the same city as chief. Ha. This chief thing is amazing. He gets ripped apart on this board and other boards. He must really get a lot of people angry. Very strange. Maybe we can have a football discussion on a football board or has this one regressed as well?

UAEebs86 wrote: ↑Sat May 22, 2021 11:06 am Only our resident twins were able to post from the same IP address under two different handles and not be socks when they lived together.

How are you and chief pulling it off? You live next door to each other and share a wireless router to save money?

Haha and me and SD86 have been divorced and living in separate homes for like 6 years now

Jalen Johnson had a solid spring. I hope he is up there with Casteel when the season starts. From what Spears said it looks like Joiner is out for awhile.

I think McCloud will start, he has the most experience and probably the most talent, but we will know more when he starts practicing with the team.

Almost time for the countdown.