No Bye Week

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 9:49 am

I'll take the board stance of "UCLA has Arizona's number, no reason why they won't win again". Now that's foolish talk, but before Mora/Hundley, that was a lot of "insight" on the game. Which was nonsense.

UCLA has beaten Arizona with a strong run game each year. They've had the best RB all three years of the Mora/RichRod games and I'm not so sure it's different. But at this point, the offense will be adjusted for Rosen, who isn't really a running QB, athletic as he is, so Im not sure what to expect from the passing game.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 9:57 am

Best rb? Ever heard of kadeem carey?

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 10:21 am

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 10:22 am

So you agree your post makes no sense. Ucla absolutely did not have the better rb in the 2012-13 matchups and it was equal last year.

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 10:30 am

UCLA's top rusher accumulated 400 yards in 3 games
Arizona's top rusher accumulated 250 yards in 3 games.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 10:32 am

So the only way to count which school had a better rb is in that one game...And dismissing the other 12-13? Gotcha.

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 10:40 am

They only play once a year, how else would I be able to determine who was better in each UCLA-Arizona game, other than actually picking who performed best in that game? How a player performs in another game has no bearing on who was the best player in a UCLA-Arizona game.

I made no reference on who had a better season, who was drafted, who has an NFL career, or who won awards. You are too eager to jump in and try to show off or get in a nice "burn" on someone. Machina isn't here to pick on. Just relax.

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 10:44 am

Saying "the best RB" is different than saying "the best RB performance".

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 10:48 am

Hater, I think you are too focused on finding an error and missing the point. Ucla dominated us in the running game in 2012 (308 to 121 rushing yards) and 2014 (271 to 80 rushing yards). There ability to run on us and stuff our run game is why Ucla controlled both games. 2013 was actually a much closer game and the rushing was very equal, but the closeness of the game is forgotten because the beat us up the year before and the year after.

Hater you are right Carey was the better back, but Ucla has had the better running game over the last 3 years against Arizona.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 11:09 am

Maybe bug needs to go back and edit his post then.

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 11:15 am

Then we'd both be wrong. And I know how much you hate it when the internet is wrong

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 5:02 pm

Nice article from Brian Pedersen at Bleacher Report on Arizona's strengths, weaknesses, and secret weapons.

Strengths

First and foremost, Arizona's speed and depth at the receiver position are its greatest positives. This was a key to 2014, when seven players caught at least 23 passes. And with all but one of them returning, it was possible to shift one wideout (DaVonte' Neal) to cornerback to help that unit.

. . .

Weaknesses

As great as Wright is for Arizona's defense, he can't do it all himself. That was evident last season, as his great numbers still weren't enough to keep the Wildcats from giving up far too many big plays and get off the field quickly. The problems started up front, where the lack of a pass rush and very little production from the defensive line enabled opposing quarterbacks to wait for openings in the secondary.

. . .

Secret Weapons

Look for Arizona to shift its personnel all over, mixing and matching with receivers getting the ball in the backfield and tight ends lining up out wide, all in an effort to keep the field as spread out as possible and ramp up the tempo even more.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Thu Jul 09, 2015 11:02 am

Zona Zealots Ryan Reyes with the Top 5 questions going into the season. Here are his:

5. Will Nick Wilson have another breakout season?

4. Is Anu Solomon going to be up for the Heisman?

3. Does Arizona have enough for another 10+ win regular season?

2. Can Arizona win the Pac-12 South for a second consecutive year?

1. Is Rich Rodriquez here to stay?

Read his article. There is no new information, but the only way we get more and better Wildcat articles is by reading the few available. Warning - Zealots makes you go to a new page for every new point which is becoming all too common and I personally don't like.

Here are my quick answers to his 5 questions.

5. Nick Wilson has already had his breakout season. The question is can he improve, stay healthy, and will Baker be a quality back-up. I expect a 1,5000+ yard performance from Wilson because he is a year stronger, more experienced, and the passing game will open up the running game.

4. All the players receiving preseason hype need to learn from Scooby. Don't worry about awards. Worry about doing your best on the next play. Awards will take care of themselves after the season. Will Anu be better than last year? Almost certainly and luckily he won't have to do it by himself. Anu has Wilson and a great group of receivers to help make him be a great college QB. Now, if we could just find a center.

3. We have the offense to make a good run this year the questions are will our defense be improved and can we survive injuries in a "no bye week" season. We will see, but we are better set up this year for a 10+ win season than we were last year.

2. Yes, but it will be tough because it is one of the top 2 divisions in CFB.

1. Yes. Coach, family, and staff love Tucson. We won't have to worry about him leaving until after our first PAC 12 championship.

Here are the top five questions I have going into the season.

1. Will our overall defense improve? It is a little embarrassing to have the best defensive player in the country and be the 80th scoring defense. I'd like to see us be at least a better than average defense.

2. Do we have a viable #2 RB? A healthy Baker should fill the role, but I won't be happy until I see it on the field.

3. Tight ends - Are we going to use them like Miller and Hill or will they add a new wrinkle to our offense?

4. Are we ready in the trenches? Specifically the new tackles, center and the quality of our D-line rotation depth.

5. Are we ready for Ucla and Stanford? I think these 2 games will determine if we have a bad (0-2), good (1-1) or great (2-0) season. Both teams will try and out muscle and intimidate us. The 1st 3 games should be game planned so we win, build experience for our back-ups, and prepare for Ucla and Stanford. You want to be relevant, than beat Ucla and Stanford!

Sage&Silver · Post by **Sage&Silver** » Thu Jul 09, 2015 4:05 pm

ANGCatFan wrote: ........

Here are the top five questions I have going into the season.

1. Will our overall defense improve? It is a little embarrassing to have the best defensive player in the country and be the 80th scoring defense. I'd like to see us be at least a better than average defense.

2. Do we have a viable #2 RB? A healthy Baker should fill the role, but I won't be happy until I see it on the field.

3. Tight ends - Are we going to use them like Miller and Hill or will they add a new wrinkle to our offense?

4. Are we ready in the trenches? Specifically the new tackles, center and the quality of our D-line rotation depth.

5. Are we ready for Ucla and Stanford? I think these 2 games will determine if we have a bad (0-2), good (1-1) or great (2-0) season. Both teams will try and out muscle and intimidate us. The 1st 3 games should be game planned so we win, build experience for our back-ups, and prepare for Ucla and Stanford. You want to be relevant, than beat Ucla and Stanford!

Arizona was 6th in number of plays defended. So yards/game & points/game etc will always put UA near the bottom.

For opponents points per play UA ranks 34th.

Things like fewer 4th downs on offense will help the defense out in the per game stats. Also, putting teams away in the 1st quarter like Oregon does making opponents one dimensional probably would help a lot.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Thu Jul 09, 2015 5:28 pm

8 Weeks!

Just Sayin'.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 8:27 am

A couple interesting notes from Gary Randazzo and the Friday Fizz at WSR.

And since we’re on the subject of Arizona coaching staffs, here’s a fun fact about the group Rich Rodriguez has put together in Tucson. Entering the 2015 season, Arizona is one of only five schools to return all 10 of its coaches from 2014. While fans look to the players and if and how they will improve, a lot of that improvement comes from consistency in coaching. Arizona absolutely has that.

A constant concern for UA football this season is the fact Arizona has zero bye weeks. An interesting point of note, however, is the Wildcats will face only one opponent this year who will be coming off a bye week and that’s Oregon State on Oct. 10. Two positives here: OSU is predicted by most analysts to finish in the Pac-12 North cellar; and the Wildcats get the Beavers at home. A third positive for the dreamers out there is if Arizona wins the South and advances to the Pac-12 Championship Game, the Wildcats would actually experience a bye week since their last game of the regular season is on Nov. 21, with the league title game not played until Dec. 4.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 3:38 pm

Shereen Rayan has an article at Zona Zealots on "Breaking down 'Expert Football' Predictions for the Pac-12". I don't remember seeing her byline before, but she looks at some of the PAC 12 predictions and discusses them. No new information, but at least a new approach for an article.

Sage&Silver · Post by **Sage&Silver** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 5:37 pm

Those were some hot sports takes

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 12:47 pm

Good article from SB Nation talking about how Vegas sees each team. Here is the Arizona summary:

Arizona shocked a lot of people when they won the Pac-12 South last year. What are the odds that they do it again?

Right now the market actually has Arizona as just the fourth choice to win the South, at 6-1. USC, UCLA and Arizona St are all being given better odds to win the South. Any of them could do it, the South is stacked with talent this year of course, but Arizona might actually have the best value at 6-1. Arizona does return a lot of key contributors from last year, including of course Anu Solomon at QB. But right now, the market says 6-1 odds.

The breakdowns of the other teams are more detailed than the Arizona write-up and worth a look. I found this interesting on Stanford:

On offense, QB Kevin Hogan had an inconsistent year last year, but he closed the season well, and he's a third-year starter now, so that's promising. The running game should be better this year than it was last year, and Stanford should also benefit from returning 4 of 5 starters on the O-Line, and will probably be effective in using their deep rotation of tight ends. But on defense, there are relatively new questions with experience and depth both up front and in the secondary. So, there are a lot of big positives but definitely some uncertainties with Stanford heading into the season. I suspect their offense will be surprisingly better than usual, while their defense will be slightly, or possibly significantly, worse than usual, and in the stacked Pac-12, they'll get their wins, but won't dominate. 10 wins will definitely be a stretch, but more likely because of a less elite defense than the offense not scoring enough. The market right now has them at just 9 wins, and juiced to the under.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 1:30 pm

Here's are some articles from the SI site.

First, their Arizona season prediction. Here's the summary:

Prediction

Rodriguez is building the program into a consistent winner just like he did at West Virginia and the 26 wins in his three years is the most successful period in program history. He has a young trio in Solomon, Wilson and Jones to lead the offense and the nation’s best defender in Wright, but he needs to continue building the roster and adding depth to the lines to get where he wants to be.

The schedule doesn’t have any open weeks so the team won’t be able to hit the refresh button in the middle of the year or before a tough opponent. This could also hurt the team late in the season when they have three road games in the last four weeks, so fatigue could be the difference in close games. Plus, any injuries suffered throughout the year won’t have the cushion of getting an extra week to recover without missing a game.

Arizona gets UCLA and Utah at home but road games at Stanford, Washington, USC and Arizona State could make things difficult to repeat as Pac-12 south champions with the division arguably the best in college football.

Here is another article where one Zona Zealots writer, Miguel Gonzalez, interviews his editor, Shereen Rayan, on what to expect from Arizona. No new info and these writers don't even try to hide their Wildcat fandom.

SI also looks at the Top 5 candidates for Defensive POY (Scooby is #1) and Offensive POY (no Wildcats are on the list). We may not have made this list of Offensive POY candidates, but Anu, Wilson, Cayleb, and even Grant realistically could be competing for this award by November.

Puerco · Post by **Puerco** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 1:14 am

ANGCatFan wrote:Shereen Rayan has an article at Zona Zealots on "Breaking down 'Expert Football' Predictions for the Pac-12". I don't remember seeing her byline before, but she looks at some of the PAC 12 predictions and discusses them. No new information, but at least a new approach for an article.

She's turrible. Homer with no real knowledge or insight. Kind of like all of us...

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 7:38 am

Best Arizona preseason podcast this year posted at AZ Desert Swarm.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Tue Jul 14, 2015 7:31 am

Bleacher Report is predicting that the 26 Sept game against ucla in Tucson will be ESPN College Game Day.

Championships aren't won in September, but they could be lost. That's what Arizona and UCLA are facing in their Pac-12 opener, as these are two of the three teams that battled for the South Division title in 2014.

Here is who Bleacher Report thinks we are competing with:

Other candidates: Arlington, Texas (Arkansas vs. Texas A&M); Syracuse, New York (LSU at Syracuse); Tempe, Arizona (USC at Arizona State)

Usc plays Stanford in the third week and ASSu opens against A&M. If both teams are undefeated I think they would beat us out for Game Day.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Tue Jul 14, 2015 4:42 pm

Espn blog looks at special teams in the P12 south.

The Wildcats turned in solid punt return and kick coverage ranks in 2014, and they should only be expected to improve performance in those facets as their roster matures and deepens. One should never underestimate the value of a dependable punt returner, and Arizona has just that in veteran DaVonte' Neal.

Rich Rodriguez's club should also benefit from featuring a kicker who's been through fire. Remember Casey Skowron's nightmare against USC last year (a miss at the final gun) and his subsequent redemption against Washington. That recovery bodes well for the Wildcats, who also return all-conference punter Drew Riggleman.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 10:36 am

Orange County Register previews Arizona for ucla with local expert Daniel Berk. Nothing new, but Berk does mention his players to watch:

Q: Are there any newcomers, underclassmen that the coaching staff is particularly excited about?

A: Cornerback Cam Denson saw a little time last year as a true freshman, but will likely shift into a starter's role this year. He has the size and speed to be a top-tier corner in the Pac-12. He had a good spring and seems to know the defensive scheme better. Look for him to be a major contributor in the secondary. On the other side of the ball, Tyrell Johnson had a small role last year as a true freshman. He mostly played slot receiver, catching a couple touchdown passes. His speed is something Rodriguez loves and he's bulked up a little now, as well. Look for Arizona to get him the ball more this season. As mentioned before, Tagaloa is also a player who will have a major impact this season.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 6:53 am

NFL.com with 50 questions that shape the CFB season.

37. Will Arizona's light schedule hurt the Wildcats in the College Football Playoff rankings? Oregon's not on the schedule, and the team has three soft non-conference games (Nevada, 7-6 last season, isn't exactly a test).

41. After 163 tackles, 29 for losses, in 2014, what can Arizona LB Scooby Wright possibly do for an encore?

Question 37 - It depends. Win the first 5 games and the OOC schedule doesn't matter. Two top 25 wins nullifies the weak OOC schedule. Lose to ucla or Stanford and it will be harder to move up the polls because of the schedule.

Question 41 - It is going to be tough to match last year's number, but I don't put anything past Scooby. Also, I don't think Scooby's numbers matter as much as the numbers for the overall defense. If Scooby's numbers drop a bit, but our team metrics improve Scooby has done his job.

UALoco · Post by **UALoco** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 11:17 am

If Arizona wins the P12 and has one loss or less, we are in. If we have 2 losses, it depends on what the other Big 5 champs W/L records look like. We'd likely lose out to a B10 or SEC team with 2 losses. B12 and ACC are in the same boat we are.

Sage&Silver · Post by **Sage&Silver** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 1:58 pm

I don't get all the blustery talk about Arizona's weak schedule disqualifying the team from the playoffs.

The 'Cats have NINE regular season Power Five opponents (an yes NAU)

The number of P5 teams on other contenders schedules (ranking per Lindy's):
1. Ohio State 9 (w/ an FCS)
2. TCU 10 (w/ an FCS)
3. Alabama 9 (w/ an FCS)
4. Oregon 10 (w/ an FCS)
5. Baylor 8 (w/ an FCS)
6. MSU 9
7. Notre Dame 9
8. Auburn 8 (w/ an FCS)
9. Clemson 9 (w/ an FCS)
10. Georgia 9 (w/ an FCS)
11. USC 10
12. FSU 9 (w/ an FCS)
13. LSU 9 (w/ an FCS)
14. ASU 10 (w/ an FCS)
15. GT 10 (w/ an FCS)
16. Wiscy 9
17. Tennessee 9 (w/ an FCS)
18. OK State 9 (w/ an FCS)
19. Arizona 9 (w/ an FCS)
20. UCLA 10 (BYU makes eleven if you count 'em)

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 6:35 am

Here is an article from Bruin Sports Report written by James Durrant of Ute Zone that I found fascinating. Overall, the article is written as an Arizona preview with no new informaton, but the part I really enjoyed was when Durrant breaks down 2 key plays from last year's Utah-Arizona game.

The first play came toward the end of the first half with Utah down 14-0 and facing a third-and-one from their own 39-yard line and the ball on the left hash. Devontae Booker was getting a needed breather and was replaced by Bubba Poole, who had run for seven yards the play before. Utah lined up with Jeremiah Poutasi at left tackle, Junior Salt at left guard, Siaosi Aiono at center, Isaac Asiata at right guard and J.J. Dielman at right tackle. Jameson Field was in the slot left with Tonga slot right. Kenneth Scott was wide right between the numbers and the sideline with Delshawn McClellon wide right, between the right hash and the numbers. Wilson was in the shotgun, five yards deep with Poole to his right and another yard deep.

Arizona was in their base 3-3-5 alignment. Tackle Dan Pettinato lined up over Dielman, with nose Parker Zellers just off center of Aiono, slightly in the A-gap between the Utah center and Asiata, and end Reggie Gilbert in the B-gap between Salt and Poutasi. Scooby Wright was head-up on Aiono and three yards deep with Sam linebacker Derrick Turituri to his left, just outside Dielman and four yards deep. Arizona showed zone coverage in the secondary. Safety/linebacker hybrid Tra'Mayne Bondurant was six yards deep and showing inside shade to Field, with spur safety William Parks four yards off the ball and giving an outside shade to Tonga. Corner Jonathan McKnight was seven yards off the ball and outside shading McClellon while right corner Jarvis McCall was eight yards deep over Scott. Safety Jourdon Grandon was 10 yards deep and just inside Tonga with bandit safety Jared Tevis 12 yards deep and also inside Field.

Utah ran an inside zone play in an attempt to simply pick up the first down. Tonga and Field both ran bubble screen looks to try and hold the secondary while Scott and McClellon fired off downfield. Scott went to block McCall while McClellon stopped a couple of yards downfield. Dielman reached down to block Pettinato, Asiata went after Wright, and Aiono blocked Zellers. The hurry-up offense Utah was running near the end of the half appeared to cause confusion up front, as neither Poutasi nor Salt bothered to block Gilbert, and both headed downfield. Poole had no chance as he was met in the backfield by the defensive end. Poole tried to get upfield and reach the sticks with Gilbert around his legs, but he was met at the 40 by Bondurant. Bondurant did not get a clean shot at the twisting Poole, but he managed to reach in with his left hand and rip the pigskin loose. The ball bounced off his feet, rolled backward, and was scooped up by Pettinato at the Utah 31-yard line with nothing but Wildcats around him. The 277 pound lineman met no resistance on his rumble into the endzone, giving Arizona a 21-0 lead.

The real back breaking play came early in the fourth quarter, after a Travis Wilson fumbled on third down stopped a potential Utah scoring drive. Utah was forced to punt, and although Tom Hackett pinned the Wildcats inside the 5-yard line, for plays later Arizona had the ball, third-and-two, on their own 25.

Utah had defended third downs well to this point, allowing just three conversions on nine attempts, though they had not faced a third-and-short. Arizona lined up with Steven Gurrola at center, flanked by Cayman Bundage at left guard and Jacob Alsadek at right guard. Mickey Baucus lined up at left tackle with Fabbians Ebelle at right tackle. Austin Hill lined up as an H-back instead of receiver, just off the outside hip of Baucus and three yards deep in the backfield. DaVonte' Neal lined up in the left slot while Trey Griffey was wide left at the far numbers and on the line of scrimmage. Caleb Jones was wide right on the numbers. Backup quarterback Jesse Scroggins was in the game at this point, six yards deep, with Nick Wilson on his right.

The Utes countered by giving Arizona a slightly different look than normal, starting with what appeared to be an odd front of Greg Reese at left end and on the inside shoulder of Ebelle, Lowell Lotulelei at nose head-up on Gurrola, and Sese Ianu as another end on the inside shoulder of Baucus. Jared Norris was standing up on the line wide of Ebelle. Jason Fanaika played the Mike, lining up in the A-gap between Gurolla and Bundage, four yards deep. Nate Orchard began the play before the snap off Hill's outside shoulder and in a linebacker position, three yards deep. Utah - as they had all game - played with only one safety in Brian Blechen, who initially started as the deep safety 11 yards deep and head-up on the center. Justin Thomas played as a corner-safety hybrid, and on this play the diminutive slot corner was head-up on Hill and four yards deep. Davion Orphey played the traditional slot position over Neal and showed off-man coverage. Dominique Hatfield lined up at right corner covering Griffey and showed press-man, as did Eric Rowe covering Jones.

Just prior to the snap, Orchard walked up to the line of scrimmage, giving the Utes a five man front, while Blechen crashed down from the safety spot, and at the snap he was the eighth player in the box, on the outside shoulder of Alsadek and almost even with Fanaika. Arizona ran a simple inside zone play and not a zone-read. The line zone-blocked to their left, while Hill pulled across the formation and taking out Norris. Baucus took care of Orchard while Bundage bear-hugged Ianu. Greg Reese tried to get inside Ebelle, but the senior right tackle was able to keep Reese to the outside of the play. Brian Blechen stayed to the outside of the play in order to stop an option run by Scroggins that was never there, or to cover Hill had it been a pass play. Lotulelei went with the flow of the play by starting to his right, exactly what Arizona wanted. Gurrola was able to keep Lotulelei going horizontal, and was aided by Alsadek reaching to combo-block the big defensive tackle. Alsadek was the key blocker on the play once Lotulelei went right and Reese could not get inside Ebelle. His block on Lotulelei created a huge gap between defensive linemen that would have ideally been filled by Fanaika, but the big guard came off the block and was able to kick Fanaika out of the hole. Wilson followed his blocker through the hole before cutting off the block to the inside.

At this point, Wilson's cut made a first-down play into a touchdown. Thomas read the play immediately, and attempted to get in position to tackle Wilson. With Blechen up at the line, Fanaika accounted for and the three corners in tight man coverage, Thomas became the last line of defense. With his momentum carrying him to his left, Thomas had overrun the play and lost sight of the ball carrier behind Fanaika and Alsadek. By the time he recovered it was too late as Wilson had already seen the play developing and cut inside and away from Thomas. The Utah defender dived desperately at Wilson's feet, managing to get a finger or two on the right shoe of the back but it was not enough. It was now a race to the endzone between Wilson and Davion Orphey - who also had to get around Neal. Orphey could not do it and the result was a 28-10 lead for Arizona to which they would only add.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 9:14 am

Here is the best Arizona preview you will see before camp starts from Bill Connelly at SB Nation: As long as Rich Rod is in town, Arizona is a Pac-12 South contender.

Lots of meat in this preview and not just a rewrite after reading reports from the local writers. Here are Connelly's 3 big ifs for Arizona this year:

What three "ifs" do the Wildcats need to win back-to-back division titles?

The secondary doesn't become a liability. That might mean staying healthy, and it might mean newcomers are able to hold up.

The offensive line can at least match last year's numbers while the more experienced backfield helps the front five out more.

Arizona avoids the "one on, one off" routine and strings together consistent quality. The Wildcats played with fire in performing their best when they absolutely had to; it's hard to get away with that twice.

Not sure his last if is that clearly written. I think he means to say - The Wildcats can play at a high level every game and not take anyone for granted or allow teams to jump out to early leads.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 9:34 am

Definitely is right about consistency. Chart of last year's percentile performance game to game

catgrad97 · Post by **catgrad97** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 10:37 am

Yes. And that 60 percent from the last game is generous.

Arizona needs its experienced players to play with that experience every down this fall. They can't keep forgetting who they are or where they're playing like they did at UCLA and against Oregon and Boise State for opening quarters.

Consistency has to hold over the schedule, because there's no bye week to pick the team up.

FightWildcatsFight · Post by **FightWildcatsFight** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 2:55 pm

Puerco · Post by **Puerco** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 5:36 am

That SB Nation preview is pure brilliance. Thanks for sharing.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 6:29 pm

The Daily Barometer previews all of Oregon St's P12 opponents. No surprises in the Arizona section, but the conclusion is interesting because we have a history with their new Defensive Coordinator.

How Oregon State matches up in 2015:

These are completely different teams since the last time OSU and Arizona faced off. Arizona is in their fourth season under Rich Rodriguez and he has them looking like the West Virginia teams he coached to multiple BCS games in the late-2000’s. Oregon State is breaking in a new coaching staff, with an entirely new offensive and defensive system. Arizona is farther along than the Beavers at this point. Last season Arizona put up 42 points on Utah, whose defense was coordinated by current OSU defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake. This will be huge test on the road for the Beavers to make it four straight wins against the Wildcats.

FightWildcatsFight · Post by **FightWildcatsFight** » Thu Jul 23, 2015 5:06 pm

Anybody have an official date for the start of fall camp? Paul Magloire tweeted August 3rd but I haven't come across any official statements.

Also, is there a fall camp held away from Tucson, like how ASu does theirs in Payson?

Sage&Silver · Post by **Sage&Silver** » Thu Jul 23, 2015 5:08 pm

FightWildcatsFight wrote:Anybody have an official date for the start of fall camp? Paul Magloire tweeted August 3rd but I haven't come across any official statements.

Also, is there a fall camp held away from Tucson, like how ASu does theirs in Payson?

Used to be Ft. Huachuca.

Since the new turf was installed in the stadium, plus whatever the state of the facility at Campbell/6th is now, RR has kept the team in Tucson.

FightWildcatsFight · Post by **FightWildcatsFight** » Thu Jul 23, 2015 5:11 pm

Sage&Silver wrote:
FightWildcatsFight wrote:Anybody have an official date for the start of fall camp? Paul Magloire tweeted August 3rd but I haven't come across any official statements.

Also, is there a fall camp held away from Tucson, like how ASu does theirs in Payson?
Used to be Ft. Huachuca.

Since the new turf was installed in the stadium, plus whatever the state of the facility at Campbell/6th is now, RR has kept the team in Tucson.

Gotcha, thanks.

It makes more sense anyways from a training aspect to keep the team practicing where they play. From a fan interaction perspective though it kinda sucks. Do you know if fall practices are open to the public? This is my first time really following the team in the offseason so I am still catching up.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Thu Jul 23, 2015 5:15 pm

Like Nowhah's optimism, but if he wants to move up the ladder at espn he should be pushing an SEC team.

RazorsEdgeAZ · Post by **RazorsEdgeAZ** » Thu Jul 23, 2015 5:22 pm

FightWildcatsFight wrote:Anybody have an official date for the start of fall camp? Paul Magloire tweeted August 3rd but I haven't come across any official statements.

Also, is there a fall camp held away from Tucson, like how ASu does theirs in Payson?

Last year think players went to Dinner, maybe stayed one night at Ft. Huachuca. Rest of the time on campus. Looks like Fall Camp report day is Aug. 4th

FightWildcatsFight · Post by **FightWildcatsFight** » Thu Jul 23, 2015 5:23 pm

RazorsEdgeAZ wrote:
FightWildcatsFight wrote:Anybody have an official date for the start of fall camp? Paul Magloire tweeted August 3rd but I haven't come across any official statements.

Also, is there a fall camp held away from Tucson, like how ASu does theirs in Payson?
Last year think players went to Dinner, maybe stayed one night at Ft. Huachuca. Rest of the time in campus. Looks like Fall Camop report day is Aug. 4th

Looks like I missed that. Thank you.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Thu Jul 23, 2015 5:24 pm

FightWildcatsFight wrote:It makes more sense anyways from a training aspect to keep the team practicing where they play. From a fan interaction perspective though it kinda sucks. Do you know if fall practices are open to the public? This is my first time really following the team in the offseason so I am still catching up.

Last year was the first year they didn't practice at the Fort, but Coach Rod still took them down to meet the troops and do some team building activities. The staff was pretty clear that they loved going down there, but it just took much logistically to move down there for practice. I expect the same thing to happen this year.

Usually the only formally open events are the 2 scrimmages one in Phoenix and the one at the stadium to end fall camp. They have opened a couple of practices the last 2 years to Wildcat Club members.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 4:53 pm

Ted Miller projects the P12 best offenses. Arizona is #4.

4. Arizona

Returning starters: 7

QB: Sophomore Anu Solomon is a second-year starter

Returning skill: The Wildcats welcome back Solomon, three of their top four receivers, topped by 1,000-yard receiver Cayleb Jones, and sophomore running back Nick Wilson, who rushed for 1,375 yards and 16 TDs last year.

Returning O-line: 2

FPI ranking: 24 (No. 6 in Pac-12)

Verdict: The offensive line is the biggest issue. Yet while things are uncertain at center and the O-line depth is a question, replacing two OTs is not a worry, as Cal transfer Freddie Tagaloa has NFL talent and Lene Maiava has starting experience. If there is a second issue, it's whether Solomon will take a step forward in terms of consistency after he struggled late last season as the wear and tear on his body seemed to affect his performances. Otherwise, this unit sets up to improve upon the 34.5 points per game it scored last year. Plus, there's the Rich Rodriguez factor. He's the best offensive head coach in the nation. This will be his first Pac-12 experience with a returning starter at QB, and one suspects he will make the most of it.

Sorry if this has already been posted, but I ran across it and it gave me pause. The top 4 projected offenses from Miller are in order Oregon, USC, Cal, and Arizona. Arizona is 4 because of the questions on the offensive line (which comes down to center and depth). USC is 2 because of the O-line and Kessler along with their embarrassment of 5 star talent.

I think the real outcome will be Arizona passes at least USC who will drop to 4th or lower. Arizona's skill positions will take a much bigger jump this year and they were pretty equal to USC's last year. The biggest factor will be on field coaching and play calling. Coach Rod is just that much better than Sark.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 5:08 pm

Interesting look at ucla's QB situation from isportsweb. Most important game on the schedule. Beat the Bruins and we control the south.

FightWildcatsFight · Post by **FightWildcatsFight** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 7:40 pm

ANGCatFan wrote:Interesting look at ucla's QB situation from isportsweb. Most important game on the schedule. Beat the Bruins and we control the south.

Absolutely. I know we get Utah at home later in the season but the UCLA game is easily the biggest at home and maybe on the schedule. That game should be absolutely poppin' like the USC game last year and will probably be a sell out. We need a good "Welcome to the PAC" crowd to greet Rosen.

FightWildcatsFight · Post by **FightWildcatsFight** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 10:54 pm

Encinas of AZDesertSwarm has us #2 in South, USC winning PAC12.

http://www.azdesertswarm.com/football/2 ... redictions

Sage&Silver · Post by **Sage&Silver** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 12:18 am

FightWildcatsFight wrote:Encinas of AZDesertSwarm has us #2 in South, USC winning PAC12.

http://www.azdesertswarm.com/football/2 ... redictions

Would be OK with that. The program isn't at the point where I'd be upset with a 7-2 conference record.

As for USC... I can't remember the last time USC lived up the the pre-season hype.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 6:25 am

FBSchedules.com looks at the reduction in bye weeks this year and how it will impact CFB.

The reason for the drop comes down to the dates allocated for a given year. Take a look at the number of days from the first Saturday to the final Saturday for the each of the last five regular seasons vs. the number of total combined byes.

2011 92 days (Sept. 3 – Dec. 3) 149 byes

2012 92 days (Sept. 1 – Dec. 1) 147 byes

2013 99 days (Aug. 31 – Dec. 7) 260 byes

2014 99 days (Aug. 30 – Dec. 6) 261 byes

2015 92 days (Sept. 5 – Dec. 5) 139 byes

So, in other words, fewer total days equals fewer open dates.

. . .

The last season an FBS program played without a week off was, not surprisingly, in 2012 when the number of byes was slashed in half vs. 2013-14 standards. That year, five programs played without a break—Akron, Western Michigan, New Mexico, UNLV and Cal—none of which won more than four games.

Take a look at the five teams facing similar situations in 2015.

FIU: The Golden Panthers technically have Week 13 off, but that’s after they’ve played their entire 12-game regular-season slate. The only way this works out to be a legitimate bye is if they ascend to the C-USA championship game on Saturday, Dec. 5.

Miami (Ohio): As is the case with FIU, the Redhawks technically get Week 13 off (Nov. 28), but that’s after they’ve played all 12 of their regular-season games.

Hawaii: For the second-straight year the Rainbow Warriors play 13 regular-season games, only this year they’ll play them consecutively without a break. This scheduling twist seems especially cruel to the only program not located on the mainland, saddled with an exhausting travel itinerary.

Arizona: Like FIU and Miami (Ohio), the Wildcats draw a Week 13 “bye”, meaning it comes after all 12 back-to-back regular-season games and is only applicable if the team reaches the Pac-12 title game on Friday, Dec. 4.

Colorado: Like Hawaii, the Buffaloes pick up an extra regular-season game this year and will pay the price for it by playing 13 straight without a break. The last time Colorado played 13 was in 2011, also it’s most recent campaign without an open date.

The Impact

The biggest concern with such a drastic drop in open dates is injuries. It’s logical to assume that fewer days off, resulting in fewer recovery days, will lead to not only to an increase in the number of overall injuries, but more game time lost to injuries.

This potentially has a tremendous impact not only on an entire team (think wins/losses, bowl bids and title opportunities), but on individual players (think starting job retention, stats, individual awards and NFL draft stock).

The other angle worth considering is depth. In other words, the deeper-stacked teams will have an advantage in years with fewer open dates, being able to better withstand an onslaught of injuries. This perpetuates the reign of the big rich schools who recruit well like the Alabama’s and Ohio States of the league, stacked with stockpiles of talent.

While we can logically assume this will happen on some level, what’s more difficult is tracking the changes, this due to the lack of solid statistical record keeping on injuries.

On the flip side, will fewer interruptions in a season provide a benefit for some programs, especially those who run high-powered offenses that require precise timing?

And what about stopping and starting momentum with fewer weeks off?

No matter how you slice it, the drastic drop in bye weeks is bound to create a silent undercurrent that drives many of the major storylines that emerge in 2015.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 6:57 am

A good look at the season from BoydsBets.com. The site analyzes Arizona and then has the breakdown from 3 different writers including SB Nation's Jason Bartel.

*We take the win chance by using the college football win percentage chart for each point spread

Season Predictions
Rodriguez clearly has Arizona moving in the right direction and has a lot of talent to work with in 2015. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, I don’t think they are going to be able to match last year’s success. The Pac-12 South is as strong as it’s been in years with USC, UCLA, Arizona State and Utah all looking like they will be improved from last year.

My biggest concern with Arizona is their schedule. While they get a favorable draw with Washington State, Washington and Oregon State out of the North, they go from having 5 home conference games to 5 away games this year. They also find themselves in a rare spot without a single bye week all season.

I have the Wildcats losing on the road at Stanford, USC and Arizona, while also dropping one of their two homes against UCLA or Utah to finish up at 5-4 in the conference and 8-4 overall. While I’m only slightly predicting Arizona to eclipse their win total of 7.5, I have a hard time not seeing this team win at least 8 games.

2015 Projections
Pac-12 (South) T-4th
Pac-12 Record 5-4
Overall Record 8-4
Win Total Prediction OVER 7.5

Jason Bartel
AZDesertSwarm

OVER 7.5 Wins – After a 10-win regular season last year, 7.5 wins seems very low to me, and I will certainly take the over. I think this is just a case of the Pac-12 South being wide open. The only team that would be a surprise if they came out on top would be Colorado. The other five teams all have a legitimate chance to make it to the Pac-12 Championship Game.

Arizona’s both helped and hurt by their schedule this season. The two Pac-12 North teams they miss are Oregon and Cal, which most people have as the two best teams in that division. Also, having UCLA and Utah at home this season will likely help as well. And the non-conference season is exceedingly weak, with all three of those schools dealing with turnover at important positions.

But the Wildcats are hurt by the fact that there are no bye weeks. So if there’s an injury to a key contributor, all of the sudden, this team could be in serious trouble, as there won’t be any time for guys to rest in between games.

I think Arizona goes 9-3 in the regular season, 6-3 in Pac-12 play. Most of the key players are back from last year’s team, and all have another year of experience under their belt. Anu Solomon did all of that last year as a redshirt freshman. It’s only natural to think that he’ll be improved this season. The offensive line loses three starters, but the players replacing them seem to be better than the guys that left. I would put three losses in there as Washington, USC, and ASU.

But the Pac-12 South is nuts, and anything could happen. Except Colorado winning. That won’t happen.

Sage&Silver · Post by **Sage&Silver** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 2:23 pm

This seems like a general 2015 season thread so.

PAC-12.com lets you rank how the South will pan out.

ASU has about twice as many 1st place votes as any other team.

*I just hit refresh and voted again... so that explains why Arizona has more 1st place votes than USC or UCLA yet still behind both while ASU has a crazy number of 1st place votes. Clearly some group of idiots has filled out 400+ ballots with ASU in first and UA coming in 6th.

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