- 2,096
- 10
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2008
I forgot about Zach Miller and Stevens
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: this_feature_currently_requires_accessing_site_using_safari
The hardest part is over. Now, Arizona and head coach Mike Stoops can go about the business of becoming more competitive in the Pac-10.
The Wildcats simply had to qualify for a bowl game in 2008 after missing the postseason every year this century. The coach had to have last year's Las Vegas Bowl in order to remain employed. The players needed it to build some confidence and momentum. Fans of the school just wanted something to finally feel good about. Beating a ranked BYU team last Dec. 20 might not seem like much to some schools, but it was a pivotal moment in the modern history of this program. Now what?
The sense of urgency that permeated throughout Tucson a year ago has been replaced by a sense of excitement. That'll happen when you taste a winning season for the first time in a decade. Stoops can breathe a little easier this season, and do what he does best-develop players. The talent pool on both sides of the ball is deeper than it's been in a while, thanks to some really good recruiting, so there'll be no excuses for not playing another December bonus game. Sure, a four-year starting quarterback has departed, but rest assured that the 'Cats are ready for life after Willie Tuitama.
Arizona broke ground with last year's return to the bowl season. Now, it's time to start building again in the desert.
What to watch for on offense More from the running game. Instead of becoming a three-ring circus, which most expected when Sonny %%**! came on board in 2007, the Wildcats have been surprisingly balanced on offense. And it's going to continue. Nic Grigsby and Keola Antolin offer an exciting one-two punch out of the backfield. The offensive line has traded finesse for ferocity, attracting a slew of 330-pounders capable of manhandling opposing linemen. Heck, if mobile Matt Scott winds up winning the quarterback derby with Nick Foles, don't be surprised if a little read-option doesn't make its way into the playbook. Obviously, Arizona won't abandon the passing attack, but with so much talent in the running game, why not leverage it?
What to watch for on defense Tons of speed. Yeah, they're all football players, but it's the athletes that make this Wildcat defense so difficult to navigate. They swarm tackle like it's the good old days in Tucson, bringing pressure, taking good angles, and rarely allowing the opposition to break free into space. The linemen, even the 295-pound tackles, are explosive. The linebackers move laterally like defensive backs. And the defensive backs are suffocating. With veterans back at every level, Arizona just might be tough enough this fall to challenge USC as the Pac-10's premier defensive unit.
The team will be far better if… it improves in tight games. When the outcome was decided by 10 points or less in 2008, the Wildcats were just 1-5, including painful losses to Stanford, USC, and Oregon State. The players and the coaching staff still aren't used to winning, having just broken a string of nine straight years without a winning season. It takes time to develop that attitude or swagger at the end of close games, something Arizona witnessed up close a year ago.
The Schedule The non-conference schedule builds to a big day at Iowa that could set the tone for the season, but the opener against Dan LeFevour and Central Michigan will be tricky. The trip to Iowa City begins a run of three straight road games with the first two Pac 10 games at Oregon State and Washington, but at least there's a week off between the two conference games. While there's a nice three game home stretch against Stanford, UCLA and Washington State, three teams that didn't go bowling last year, the payback comes in the end with three road games in the final four against most of the big boys. Closing out at Cal, Oregon, at Arizona State and at USC means the first half of the season has to be strong.
Best offensive player Junior TE Rob Gronkowski. With a blend of imposing strength and seam-busting speed, Gronkowski is an NFL-ready tight end playing in the Pac-10. At 6-6 and 265 pounds, he looks like a tackle, yet is the most dangerous player on the field, especially when the Wildcats need a first down or a touchdown. In his first two years out of high school, he already has 16 touchdown receptions, raising the likelihood he won't be an amateur beyond the upcoming season.
Best defensive player: Senior CB Devin Ross. The fact that the Wildcat pass defense flourished the year after Antoine Cason and Wilrey Fontenot were drafted by the NFL is all you need to know about Ross. He stepped into the lineup and shut down all comers in an All-Pac-10 debut as a starter. He'll be even tougher to beat this fall, as he makes his case for joining Cason and Fontenot at the next level in 2010.
Key player to a successful season: Sophomore quarterbacks Matt Scott and Nick Foles. Whoever wins this offseason battle is going to have sizable shoes to fill. No, neither has to be Willie Tuitama right out of the chute, but he does have to help keep the offense cranking by getting the ball to the playmakers and keeping drives going on third down. The quarterback situation will be just fine in Tucson, but does that mean 2009 or 2010?
The season will be a success if ... the Wildcats bowl for a second straight season. Hey, let's not get greedy, folks. It was just last year that Arizona was pining to end its decade-long postseason drought. Before labeling this program a sleeper out of the Pac-10, take a gander at the road schedule, which includes trips to Iowa, Oregon State, Cal, Arizona State, and USC. If the 'Cats can keep the momentum going with another eight-win season, write it down as a solid year.
Key game: Sept. 26 at Oregon State. Losers of nine of the last 10 in this series, the Wildcats desperately need to break through against the Beavers. Doing it in Corvallis will not be easy. The first Pac-10 game of the season has a way of setting the tone for the rest of the year, so this trip could dictate how seriously and howl long the program contends for a conference crown.
2008 Fun Stats:
- Second half scoring: Arizona 235 - Opponents 111
- Penalties: Opponents 88 for 679 yards - Arizona 53 for 457 yards
- Punt return average: Arizona 17.8 - Opponents 10.6
- 2009 CFN Arizona Preview | [font=verdana, arial, sans serif][size=-1]2009 Arizona Offense
- 2009 Arizona Defense | 2009 Arizona Depth Chart[/size][/font]
http://cfn.scout.com/2/881022.html[font=verdana, arial, sans serif][size=-1]
[/size][/font]
we'll know early in the pac-10 season that oregon away and usc home back to back is going to be difficult. Hopefully Riley and the WR corphave been getting there timing and take pressure off of J. Best.Originally Posted by JBWU
Check sig. This could be the year.
Best defensive player: Senior CB Devin Ross.
BAWSEEEEEEEEEEEE
Originally Posted by 92
Originally Posted by acidicality
no one...since he's better than maurice jones-drewOriginally Posted by Statis22
Who's gonna solve the Quizz this year?Just realized, he is that good.
On a sidenote, I am kind of hoping that my boy Shane Vereen (along w/ Jahvid) has a monster year this year.
Dude is very talented and there is no doubt in my mind that he will be able to bear the burden of replacing the great tailbacks that preceded him.
Hopefully it's a night game like it was 2 yrs ago.Originally Posted by chris82790
bouta be at memorial stadium october 3rd to see cal vs usc!
whats the kid name from UofA that was a Freshman lawst yr. #1, he moved to SS right? I liked him vs USC and ASU last yr
Robert Golden
I've got UO winning that one by at least a couple TD's, they lost a lot from last year and we got em at home. I'll admit though thatI'd love to wallop them more than most teams after Urban and co. kind of manhandled us down there in '05. Coincidentally, Bellotti also referenced thatgame in explaining how he first started looking at using the spread at Oregon.Originally Posted by ninjallamafromhell
Games I'm looking forward to:
Oregon vs. USC
Oregon vs. Utah
Oregon vs. Cal
Oregon vs Boise State
Should all be very good games.
LOS ANGELES -- Quick facts from the Pac-10 before media day begins. Bet some of these surprise some folks:
- The Pac-10 has a winning record vs. every BCS conference since 2000. Yes, even that one down yonder.
- The Pac-10 is 9-2 in BCS bowls since 2000.
- The Pac-10 has the highest all-time bowl game winning percentage of all FBS conferences.*
I do not disagree. I wanted to name him, but I also wanted to have a reason other than "I really want this guy to be good, and plus Kellysaid he would have used him in the bowl game. Oh! And he had some ridiculous looking highlights during high school!"Originally Posted by Fecta23
LAmichael James >Chris Polk
Originally Posted by Chester McFloppy
LOS ANGELES -- Quick facts from the Pac-10 before media day begins. Bet some of these surprise some folks:
- The Pac-10 has a winning record vs. every BCS conference since 2000. Yes, even that one down yonder.
- The Pac-10 is 9-2 in BCS bowls since 2000.
- The Pac-10 has the highest all-time bowl game winning percentage of all FBS conferences.*