Arizona Wildcats Football: Cardiac Cats, Are They More Than Last Minute Magic?

You can call them Cardiac Cats or just plain lucky.

Regardless, the still No. 14 Arizona Wildcats have been able to pull off late minute drives in the past two games to come through with the win.

After taking a 20-point lead against the Iowa Hawkeyes, Arizona allowed them to creep back into the game tying it at 27 apiece.  The late fourth quarter drive that resulted in a touchdown for the Cats was the deciding factor in the game, however many people deemed the Wildcats victory a fluke.

And after Saturday night where the Wildcats scored their game winning touchdown against the California Golden Bears with 1:11 left in the game, surely people will point to the same conclusion.

Within the next couple days, we will be hearing how the Wildcats should be 2-2 instead of 4-0 or how they were not meant to win those games.  Critics will say how the Wildcats hardly beat a Cal team that just lost to Nevada or how the Wildcat offense fell flat and couldn’t sustain legitimate drives.

But instead of making excuses for the near wins, is it possible these Wildcats are good enough to pull off last minute victories like these?  Great teams come through in the clutch, and in these past two games that’s exactly what the Wildcats have done.

Against Iowa with 3:57 left on the clock, Arizona quarterback Nick Foles capped off a 72-yard drive with a touchdown to Bug Wright through the Hawkeye defense that had stifled them through the second half.

Then when the defense had to hold Hawkeye quarterback Ricky Stanzi and the rest of the offense from tying the game yet again, the Wildcat defense came up with three sacks in four plays.

Sure against Cal, Arizona’s offense was stalled until the final drive, but their defense didn’t allow any touchdowns to a Golden Bear offense that isn’t a stranger of the end zone.  With eight touchdowns through the air and another eight on the ground in their first three games, shutting down this Cal offense is more significant than some people might recognize.

Even with the tight games, there was never a panic moment by the team or the fans.

Last year, with the Oregon Ducks driving down the field at the end of the fourth quarter and at the end of overtime, there was a panic amongst the Arizona faithful and players.

It was the type of atmosphere where nobody wearing red felt they had control of the game and it was more of a race against the clock than if the Wildcat defense could hold Jeremiah Masoli and the Duck offense.

But in these past two games, whether it is their undeniable trust in Foles or just a natural maturation of the team, the Cats have stayed calm enough to find themselves on the winning side of both contests.

As a former gym teacher of mine said, “Pressure Makes Diamonds” and so far this season, the Cats have a couple of diamonds to hold onto.