Bear Down Wildcats

Well, we all know what this team is now. Which is to say, oh no, we suck again.

That being said, NAU is likely our only reasonable chance at a win the rest of the year. We don't have the talent to compete with almost any FBS team.

Az 24-20

'Cats will win, and then lose every game the rest of the way.

The good news is most of the fans will get in on time through the metal detectors since there will only be about 20,000 - 25,000 tops probably.

50-0 NAU. Oops.

After being confident we would win tonight, I don't even feel good about NAU now. Hope we can pull it out and get one win this year.

Oh, we'll look like world-beaters against NAU. Knock 'em off the line, even with Carroll's lousy O-line, run wild, play toss and catch, big hits on defense, etc. People will say the team was tired of losing and let out all of its frustration, but we could also do that against CDO. Maybe they can pull off some unexpected shocker against a mediocre team suffering from injuries and other internal problems sometime later in the season. But SDSU is not a particularly good team, and they had a simplistic game plan. To give you an idea, they're talking about the Arizona Bowl as a season objective. We got burned on selling-out and blitzes, and our offense was exposed by an average-to-decent MWC defense. I was a little concerned that some of our competitiveness against BYU was due to them staying vanilla with a new QB and running clock with the big lead, but they did fairly well against a supposedly-decent Utah team. So it's weird week to week in college football, but disappointment is definitely the operative word in Tucson this week.

Cats win big but the only win of the season. McCloud gets some minutes to see if he is a gamer.

NAU is going to beat us.

Carcassdragger wrote: ↑Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:57 pm NAU is going to beat us.

Chance to bet the house

Moneyline: NAU: (+3000) | ARIZ: (-10000)
Spread: NAU: +22.5 (-110) | ARIZ: -22.5 (-110)

Merkin wrote: ↑Sun Sep 12, 2021 4:54 pm Cats win big but the only win of the season. McCloud gets some minutes to see if he is a gamer.

I would like to see this. Could be a fresh start….

NAU is pretty bad, lost 42-16 to Sam Houston State and 34-7 to South Dakota

ASUHATER! wrote: ↑Mon Sep 13, 2021 8:03 am NAU is pretty bad, lost 42-16 to Sam Houston State and 34-7 to South Dakota

So you are saying we have a chance?

Yep, a chance. That's why I said 24-20 game. We win on a TD on some busted play in the 4th quarter.

We are 1-1 ATS and we move to 2-1 ATS this week. 42-10 cats

Depth chart: https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/ ... vs_NAU.pdf

Game notes: https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/ ... vs_NAU.pdf

This will not be our only win this year

Merkin wrote: ↑Mon Sep 13, 2021 6:28 am

Carcassdragger wrote: ↑Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:57 pm NAU is going to beat us.

Chance to bet the house

Moneyline: NAU: (+3000) | ARIZ: (-10000)
Spread: NAU: +22.5 (-110) | ARIZ: -22.5 (-110)

What site?

azgreg wrote: ↑Mon Sep 13, 2021 1:51 pm

Just based on Plummer's high school highlight tape, I've always thought he had high potential and can be very good.

Both Cruz and Plummer have cannon arms, and can make great throws given time. But reading a defense and making a quick read? Need lots of work there. SDSU made our QBs look bad by disguising blitzes. O-line didn't help either.

And it's not like the 3-3-5 D is anything new. It's been around for a while now. But our entire O coaching staff, QB, and O-line all looked lost. If SDSU can do that to us, imagine what PAC-12 Ds can do!

NAU will likely have some tricks up their sleeve, but they simply don't have the horses. We'll win, but it will be closer and more uncomfortable than we would want.

PHXCATS wrote: ↑Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:24 pm

Merkin wrote: ↑Mon Sep 13, 2021 6:28 am

Carcassdragger wrote: ↑Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:57 pm NAU is going to beat us.

Chance to bet the house

Moneyline: NAU: (+3000) | ARIZ: (-10000)
Spread: NAU: +22.5 (-110) | ARIZ: -22.5 (-110)

What site?

https://www.fanduel.com/theduel/posts/n ... erz0pp16dv

I think we'll win easily, but it just won't mean anything. Chris Ball is in his third year as their head coach, coming from Memphis, where he was the defensive coordinator. His first year, he went 4-8, with lots of lop-sided losses. We beat them 65-41 in Tucson, and their radio idiot (their games are or were on 1490) was going crazy as I was driving home early after the blowout because they tacked on a couple of late scores while our team was sleepwalking with the game out of reach. Last year with the cancellations, they went 3-2, with nothing much of note. So far this year, they're 0-2 (just like us!) with losses to Sam Houston and South Dakota by a combined score of 23-76. I appear to have lost (or maybe I threw out) whatever college football preview magazine I bought this summer. But I'm sure they weren't picked to do anything in the Big Sky. The non-conference schedule this year was poorly laid-out. We should have opened with NAU, then played SDSU, then played BYU in Vegas. We'd wind up with the same 1-2 record, but at least you'd be building with progressively better teams for conference play. This way, we'll just get some false confidence, if you can call it that, before going to Eugene to get waxed.

TheCat - I’m curious. Do you get paid by the word in your job?

Merkin wrote: ↑Tue Sep 14, 2021 4:26 pm

PHXCATS wrote: ↑Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:24 pm

Merkin wrote: ↑Mon Sep 13, 2021 6:28 am

Carcassdragger wrote: ↑Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:57 pm NAU is going to beat us.

Chance to bet the house

Moneyline: NAU: (+3000) | ARIZ: (-10000)
Spread: NAU: +22.5 (-110) | ARIZ: -22.5 (-110)

What site?

https://www.fanduel.com/theduel/posts/n ... erz0pp16dv

You do know this was for the basketball game kn December 2020 right?

PHXCATS wrote: ↑Tue Sep 14, 2021 8:14 pm

Merkin wrote: ↑Tue Sep 14, 2021 4:26 pm

PHXCATS wrote: ↑Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:24 pm

Merkin wrote: ↑Mon Sep 13, 2021 6:28 am

Carcassdragger wrote: ↑Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:57 pm NAU is going to beat us.

Chance to bet the house

Moneyline: NAU: (+3000) | ARIZ: (-10000)
Spread: NAU: +22.5 (-110) | ARIZ: -22.5 (-110)

What site?

https://www.fanduel.com/theduel/posts/n ... erz0pp16dv

You do know this was for the basketball game kn December 2020 right?

Nope, my mistake. In any event, there is probably not any line.

Not Vegas, but just for the sake of discussion, one of these picks a blowout, while the other sees a close game. (But, If you split the difference, you get about the spread for that basketball game.)

https://freepicks.picksandparlays.net/m ... redictions

https://www.oddsshark.com/ncaaf/norther ... 21-1391356

AzCatFan2 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 14, 2021 3:13 pm Both Cruz and Plummer have cannon arms, and can make great throws given time. But reading a defense and making a quick read? Need lots of work there. SDSU made our QBs look bad by disguising blitzes. O-line didn't help either.

And it's not like the 3-3-5 D is anything new. It's been around for a while now. But our entire O coaching staff, QB, and O-line all looked lost. If SDSU can do that to us, imagine what PAC-12 Ds can do!

NAU will likely have some tricks up their sleeve, but they simply don't have the horses. We'll win, but it will be closer and more uncomfortable than we would want.

Has Carroll seen the 3-3-5?
Serious question.

Postmaster wrote: ↑Fri Sep 17, 2021 9:08 am

AzCatFan2 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 14, 2021 3:13 pm Both Cruz and Plummer have cannon arms, and can make great throws given time. But reading a defense and making a quick read? Need lots of work there. SDSU made our QBs look bad by disguising blitzes. O-line didn't help either.

And it's not like the 3-3-5 D is anything new. It's been around for a while now. But our entire O coaching staff, QB, and O-line all looked lost. If SDSU can do that to us, imagine what PAC-12 Ds can do!

NAU will likely have some tricks up their sleeve, but they simply don't have the horses. We'll win, but it will be closer and more uncomfortable than we would want.

Has Carroll seen the 3-3-5?
Serious question.

I don't know, but it's not like the defense is some new wrinkle. It's a nickel D, and one that Charlie Strong starting using at S. Carolina two decades ago. Strong is credited with using it as a base defense, but 2000 was not the first time football teams employed 5 DBs in a defense. Lots of 4-2-5 and 3-3-5 defenses utilized on long passing downs, and D-coordinators liked the blitzing flexibility the defense provided. Strong used it as a base because his roster was full of athletic guys, but not enough guys in the trenches or guys who could play linebacker.

Brennan may have never faced a 3-3-5 before, but it's not like there isn't two decades of tape on how coaches like Hoke call a D, and how to attack it. I also doubt this is the first time Fisch had ever seen a 3-3-5.

AzCatFan2 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 17, 2021 11:26 am

Postmaster wrote: ↑Fri Sep 17, 2021 9:08 am

AzCatFan2 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 14, 2021 3:13 pm Both Cruz and Plummer have cannon arms, and can make great throws given time. But reading a defense and making a quick read? Need lots of work there. SDSU made our QBs look bad by disguising blitzes. O-line didn't help either.

And it's not like the 3-3-5 D is anything new. It's been around for a while now. But our entire O coaching staff, QB, and O-line all looked lost. If SDSU can do that to us, imagine what PAC-12 Ds can do!

NAU will likely have some tricks up their sleeve, but they simply don't have the horses. We'll win, but it will be closer and more uncomfortable than we would want.

Has Carroll seen the 3-3-5?
Serious question.

I don't know, but it's not like the defense is some new wrinkle. It's a nickel D, and one that Charlie Strong starting using at S. Carolina two decades ago. Strong is credited with using it as a base defense, but 2000 was not the first time football teams employed 5 DBs in a defense. Lots of 4-2-5 and 3-3-5 defenses utilized on long passing downs, and D-coordinators liked the blitzing flexibility the defense provided. Strong used it as a base because his roster was full of athletic guys, but not enough guys in the trenches or guys who could play linebacker.

Brennan may have never faced a 3-3-5 before, but it's not like there isn't two decades of tape on how coaches like Hoke call a D, and how to attack it. I also doubt this is the first time Fisch had ever seen a 3-3-5.

This is just me, but I think issue 1 is that the most effective counter to the 3-3-5 involves exploiting the smaller D with a physical O line and run game, neither of which we have.

Casteel was a 3-3-5 guy, and that was a reason why, under RichRod, we were never top 60 nationally in rushing yards per game allowed.

Arizona is a 23 point favorite.

Just what this sorry team needs -- a patsy to make them start thinking they might actually be good.

BBQ wildcat wrote: ↑Fri Sep 17, 2021 6:04 pm Just what this sorry team needs -- a patsy to make them start thinking they might actually be good.

Sorry team? Every fucking person on this board knew this season was a rebuild.

Check yourself!

Of course I knew it. Everyone knows it. Still, it doesn't make the team any less sorry.

So NAU announced they'd go White/Blue/White, which some infer means we'll go White/White/Blue again at home. That's unless they break out the non-traditional red jerseys, but I don't think NAU would be allowed to wear blue in that case. (Seems like allowing both teams to wear somewhat dark colored jerseys tends to be a once-a-year exception for rivalry games or some other special request.) I believe the call for fans to wear white to the UCLA game on Oct 9 probably means the team will wear all white in that one. So, one speculation is that Fisch thinks it might be easier for his QBs to pick out receivers when they're in white. Larry Smith expressed that many moons ago when the '82 team wore white to a number of home games.

Fisch stated he likes wearing white jerseys when it hot out.

azgreg wrote: ↑Sat Sep 18, 2021 11:42 am Fisch stated he likes wearing white jerseys when it hot out.

Under our present reduced circumstances, I assume we'll be playing "Pac-12 At Night" at home for the rest of our season, but it's doubtful our stadium lights are hot enough to require lighter colored clothing to reflect their heat, and it's past Labor Day, so it's not a fashion statement. Meanwhile, they sent out an e-mail that anybody can go in any of the entrances at the four corners of the stadium. So, I guess if any of them are backed-up, people can try another one. We'll see how it goes this time, although if it's 25K people, they probably won't have too much trouble.

azgreg wrote: ↑Sat Sep 18, 2021 11:42 am Fisch stated he likes wearing white jerseys when it hot out.

I like wearing carpets at diversity appreciation events.

scumdevils86 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 13, 2021 8:12 am Yep, a chance. That's why I said 24-20 game. We win on a TD on some busted play in the 4th quarter.

Still hoping for this

Carcassdragger wrote: ↑Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:57 pm NAU is going to beat us.

Do you guys realize how goddamn fucking bad we are now?

Fuck.

Merkin wrote: ↑Mon Sep 13, 2021 6:28 am

Carcassdragger wrote: ↑Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:57 pm NAU is going to beat us.

Chance to bet the house

Moneyline: NAU: (+3000) | ARIZ: (-10000)
Spread: NAU: +22.5 (-110) | ARIZ: -22.5 (-110)

How much did you win Merk?

Carcassdragger wrote: ↑Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:29 pm

Merkin wrote: ↑Mon Sep 13, 2021 6:28 am

Carcassdragger wrote: ↑Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:57 pm NAU is going to beat us.

Chance to bet the house

Moneyline: NAU: (+3000) | ARIZ: (-10000)
Spread: NAU: +22.5 (-110) | ARIZ: -22.5 (-110)

How much did you win Merk?

Not a dime. But congrats to the bettors who didn't think Arizona was better than NAU

Carcassdragger wrote: ↑Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:20 pm

Carcassdragger wrote: ↑Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:57 pm NAU is going to beat us.

Do you guys realize how goddamn fucking bad we are now?

Fuck.

Yes. Plus, I realize we have players on this team that are not getting a chance to see the fucking field.

That’s on Fisch!

It's on Robbins and Heeke.

Merkin wrote: ↑Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:33 pm

Carcassdragger wrote: ↑Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:29 pm

Merkin wrote: ↑Mon Sep 13, 2021 6:28 am

Carcassdragger wrote: ↑Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:57 pm NAU is going to beat us.

Chance to bet the house

Moneyline: NAU: (+3000) | ARIZ: (-10000)
Spread: NAU: +22.5 (-110) | ARIZ: -22.5 (-110)

How much did you win Merk?

Not a dime. But congrats to the bettors who didn't think Arizona was better than NAU

I gave my friends who are sports betting fiends the SDSU money line last week and NAU to cover tonight. They made out big on both actually. Wish I would have thrown some down too.

And outgained NAU by 140 yards. It took a special kind of effort to lose this one. Well done Jedd the Fisch!