I would say let's put things in perspective

[Newportcat]

Man I missed this board as I feel like it's ok to be pissed off when we lose and not get attacked

However I think some perspective is needed after today's game

We lost four games this year and only one was a blowout to a team we had beaten earlier in the year
Every game we lost was to a team that should be in the top 20 in the country in the final rankings
We got two GIFTs for wins
We finally played in a BCS type bowl game again
We lost that game after coming back from a big hole and the game was decided in the final seconds
We lost to a very good team who has traditionally been a top 10 program over the past decade
We have the defensive national player of the year and he is a sophomore and not a great nfl prospect so potential he stays until his senior year
We have a stud true freshmen RB who should continue to improve
We have a freshmen qb who while looked crappy at times should only get better
We blew away all expectations after losing our starting qb and greatest ever offensive player
We return a ton of talent next year
John mackovic is not our head coach
Mike stoops is not our head coach
We actually have a legit football facility now and our locker room isn't in mckale
And we BEAT ASU

If you would have told me before the season that we would win 10 games, beat ASU, play in the fiesta bowl, lose in the last few seconds, have the national defensive player of the year and the PAC 12 coach of the year and found a RB to replace Kadeem Carey, I would have said Sign me up for that

Perspective people

Game sucked but we fought back which you can't always say we do and the future still appears much better then our recent past

It's still typical Arizona football but just on a much better stage

Maybe Johnny optimist is back!

[Bangkok Wildcat]

Wise words / summary Newportcat.......I know you're right and we had a good year BUT when you've just been kicked in the nuts, it takes a while to get over it! Lol.

What really pisses me off and makes this whole loss worse was our beloved Hoops team's TERRIBLE and PATHETIC loss to HATED and sucky UNLV!!!! This really put me in a sour mood for the holidays.....

God forbid any type of poor performance at ASSU this weekend.......

[3goggles]

Amen Newportcat!!! Frustrating game but the future is bright in TucTown!

[TheGreatCatsby]

We're on the right track for sure. But I still think we wiffed a big one tonight; played poorly and without hustle the first half, picked it up the second half. I DON"T think Anu is the answer unless he was either playing hurt tonight or else makes a dramatic leap next year. He's been in the system 2 years now and tonight's performance was unacceptably bad.

Pretty amazing Rich is like 26-13 with the quarterbacks and defenses he's had since he's been here. I was always up for just waiting for year 5, and start grading Rich from there. So far he's earned an A, when a C performance would have kept us all interested to see how things start year 5. Next year we just simply have to get better quarterback play, his system demands it since its quick pace puts so much pressure on the defense if the offense is failing to get anything going.

And yes it's a holiday bonus Macovich and Stoops are no longer our coach. Next year if we reach 10 wins will be a miracle.

[3goggles]

We're on the right track for sure. But I still think we wiffed a big one tonight; played poorly and without hustle the first half, picked it up the second half. I DON"T think Anu is the answer unless he was either playing hurt tonight or else makes a dramatic leap next year. He's been in the system 2 years now and tonight's performance was unacceptably bad.

Pretty amazing Rich is like 26-13 with the quarterbacks and defenses he's had since he's been here. I was always up for just waiting for year 5, and start grading Rich from there. So far he's earned an A, when a C performance would have kept us all interested to see how things start year 5. Next year we just simply have to get better quarterback play, his system demands it since its quick pace puts so much pressure on the defense if the offense is failing to get anything going.

And yes it's a holiday bonus Macovich and Stoops are no longer our coach. Next year if we reach 10 wins will be a miracle.

It will be the first where his qb returns that will be huge with another off season to study watch film and master offense. Yes the game was frustrating and hard to deal with but let's looks forward!

[Newportcat]

Who cares we lost to UNLV

Honestly it's pointless to even care about basketball games until the tournament as it's final four or bust with this team. That's why I love college basketball and also hate it, only thing that matters is how you play in march. Look at Uconn and Kentucky last year and candidly us last year. Awesome in December and January and then boom no one cares

Regarding football I am upset we lost but to me we have been playing with the houses money this whole year given the cal and Washington games. Two games we had no business winning, would have never own before, and somehow pulled out victories.

We didn't make a rose bowl this year, this loss means absolutely nothing. We win great but probably doesn't change recruiting or expectations going into next year. Maybe a little but I want to make a rose bowl and our chanes for doing it next year did not change based on this game

Also, keep in mind we came back from a big hole. We never typically do that, most times we lay down and die. We had a shot and missed it. Much better then other games like PAC 12 championship against Oregon where we layed down and died.

So we didn't get some big fancy trophy, big deal, tomorrow nobody remembers this game across the country. And we didn't get embarrassed like ole miss

[PHXCATS]

The team far exceeded expectations all year. Anu played poorly at times as did the defense. Denfense did not give up a point in the second half. Anu has some issues between the ears right now but most of them can be corrected with time and work.

If Anu is not the qb next year it is very good for Arizona as he will improve greatly from what we saw from him this year.

[3goggles]

The team far exceeded expectations all year. Anu played poorly at times as did the defense. Denfense did not give up a point in the second half. Anu has some issues between the ears right now but most of them can be corrected with time and work.

If Anu is not the qb next year it is very good for Arizona as he will improve greatly from what we saw from him this year.

How is it good for arizona if anu isn't the QB? Pretty sure he is our best option! I hear people talking about Dawkins but I think we take a step back with another new QB.

[Merkin]

The team far exceeded expectations all year. Anu played poorly at times as did the defense. Denfense did not give up a point in the second half. Anu has some issues between the ears right now but most of them can be corrected with time and work.

If Anu is not the qb next year it is very good for Arizona as he will improve greatly from what we saw from him this year.

How is it good for arizona if anu isn't the QB? Pretty sure he is our best option! I hear people talking about Dawkins but I think we take a step back with another new QB.

Hard to say for sure. Probably wasn't that hard to beat out Scroggins and Randall since they were both sub-50% passers in JC, and even they beat out Brewer.


"He's a competitor. He has a big-time arm. What excited me more about him is his mental makeup." - UA QBs coach Rod Smith on Brandon Dawkins

[3goggles]

Yeah and RR said Anu was the smartest freshman he has ever had and look what happened! It's easy in practice when you are on the scout team look at Davonte Neal for example! If Dawkins wins the job then I trust the coaches but I think it's a early for people calling for Anu to transfer and what not!

[Newportcat]

Two quick things

How in the hell did we beat Oregon at Oregon. Our bad loss against them doesnt look so bad anymore. Our win at their place has to be the greatest win in our programs history for a road game.

Secondly, I watched the oregon game with some U of A buddies and we all agreed on the same thing. At least the team showed heart to come back and make it a game and what would we really have gotten if we won that game. A big trophy, little bit of momentum but not much else. No one outside of us even remembers that game at this point. I would have love to win but TCU won there game by destroying Ole Miss and frankly no one really cares at this point or remembers. We had a chance to win it at the end, well tie it, but missed. The Pac-12 game was much much more disapointing. Sort of like us losing to UNLV, worthless as if we make a final four no one cares or remembers.

[azgreg]

How in the hell did we beat Oregon at Oregon.

Didn't you hear? Their entire offense was injured.