Arizona Wildcats Football: Midseason Report Card
The beginning of this Arizona Wildcats football season may have been one of the most anticipated in recent history.
Quarterback Nick “Sunshine” Foles was back to lead the offense, defensive ends Ricky Elmore and Brooks Reed back to lead the defense, and head coach Mike Stoops was back as his passionate self to keep this squad on target for roses.
Everything was going as planned for the Cats until they hit a speed bump colored orange and black last Saturday. However, not all is lost for the team from Tucson.
Five games into the season, the Wildcats are 4-1 and staring down seven more Pac-10 games that could finally plant them into the Rose Bowl for the first time in team history.
Many believe Arizona is for real, having being placed at No. 9 in the AP Poll at one point and currently placed at No. 17.
But forget those rankings, after all this is college right?
The grades are in from their mid terms, so let’s see how these Wildcats have done on their midseason report card.
Offense
1 of 5
With almost 33 points scored per game and an average of over 340 passing yards per game, this Arizona offense has not disappointed.
With the help of Nick “Sunshine” Foles, along with standout wide receiver Juron Criner, this Arizona passing attack is one to be feared. Top amongst the Pac-10 and No. 5 in the country for passing yards per game, Foles has clearly shown that he has the arm and skills necessary to lead a team through an explosive Pac-10. Contributions from David Douglas, Bug Wright and David Roberts have helped keep this passing game alive and have shown that this receiving core is much more than just Criner.
If Arizona’s offense were to be graded just on passing alone, they would definitely come out with an A. However there are other factors of this offense that are keeping it from perfection.
Arizona’s rushing game is not what is has been in the past, averaging only 116.4 yards per game. Clearly a pass first team, Arizona may have forgotten about what their running backs are capable of. Senior Nic Grigsby, who accumulated over 1,100 yards on the ground in 2008, has yet to show he is back to that form after an injury plagued 2009 season.
Bowlingball Keola Antolin and bruiser Greg Nwoko have not been utilized as much, which has resulted in a low average yards per carry for Arizona with 4.3 yards.
This is also seen in time of possession where, against Cal and OSU, the Wildcats drew the short straw when it came to time with the ball in their hands. To help the defense rest on the sidelines, the running game has to get going to eat up some clock.
Grade: B+
Defense
2 of 5
Numbers can be deceiving, and even though Arizona had one of the best ranked defenses in the country, those games came against some inferior opponents. While they have been able to hold their own and capitalize on opportunities, there is still work to be done with this defense, and that was seen against Oregon State.
Yet again the defense had a hard time with a mobile quarterback in Ryan Katz, and it will be interesting to see if they can right the ship in time to play Jake Locker. Not only that, but their top five pass defense imploded, allowing Katz to throw for almost 400 yards. This is the area that needs to be most improved, especially when the Wildcats play the likes of Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.
Even with just under 15 points against per game, this Arizona defense gave up 21 to Iowa and 29 points in a loss to Oregon State.
The rush defense has been solid, and the three new Wildcat linebackers in Jake Fischer, Derek Earls, and Paul Vassallo have improved every game. If the Wildcats want to win the Pac-10, they need to figure out what happened against the Beavers and go back to playing like they did in the first 4 games.
Grade: B-
Special Teams
3 of 5
Special Teams
The return and coverage teams have played great so far this year, with the only real miscues being a fumbled punt by Bug Wright. In that same game, however, Travis Cobb took one to the house for 100 yards off of a kickoff. Cobb is Top 10 in the nation on kickoff returns, with over 31 yards per return.
On the punt return side, Bug Wright hasn’t blown anybody away, but with the seams that he has been hitting, it’s only a matter of time until he brings one back all the way. He is also holding his own on kick returns with an average return over 28 yards.
The return game would receive an A-; however, you must take into account the kicking game.
Senior Keenyn Crier, who had a spectacular freshman and sophomore year has only been on the decline. He seems to kick it too far when it needs to be short, and too short when it needs to be far. On a 4th and 5 against OSU, Crier booted a 47-yard punt right into the endzone resulting in a touchback for the Beavers which was eventually brought in for a score. His 40 yard average per punt and zero punts within the 20 isn’t helping his cause either.
Place kicker Alex Zendejas hasn’t played any better.
Of six field goal attempts, he has made only four, including a miss at the end of the first half which would could have changed the outcome of the entire game against the Beavers. Don’t forget he also missed an extra point in the same game, putting it right into the backs of his linemen.
We have seen much better out of Crier, and Zendejas must buckle down and become more consistent. If this lackluster play keeps up, don’t be surprised to see John Bonano (who handles kickoffs) or even talks of Crier possibly taking a couple kicks towards the uprights.
Grade: C-
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Coaching
4 of 5
The lack of rushing yards isn’t necessarily due to the running backs, but to the coaching staff for not giving the ball to them more often.
Grigsby only has 50 carries on the year, where in 2008, he had 91 carries through the first five games. Teams cannot win on passing alone, and there will be times where they must rely on their running game.
Rushing the ball wears down defensive lines and linebackers, and in doing so can make life much easier for offenses, not to mention time of possession. Against OSU, the Wildcats only controlled the ball for 23:37, and it seemed to take its toll on the defense, which was unable to stop almost all of the Beaver drives.
If Arizona can run the ball more often, the yards will come with it. Just like trusting in your defense, you must trust in your running game and once the coaching staff does this, you will see the entire team prosper.
Stoops also has the knack of calling a timeout when the defense is on the field. Call me old school, but I save my timeouts for offense and for the end of games. When he is calling a timeout on defense that shows the players are not all in sync, something the coaching staff should be working on.
Despite all that, he has made good play calls in tough games which has lead Arizona to 4-1.
Grade: B
Overall
5 of 5
For a team that had such high hopes, Arizona has yet to play to their potential.
They have found ways to keep all the games interesting, which can be unsettling for fans and coaches alike, but the good news is they are only two games into Pac-10 play.
Even with those couple imperfections, the Wildcats have been able to come through the clutch with game winning drives against Iowa and Cal. If they can find the kind of focus they had during the final 10 minutes of the Iowa game and translate that into an entire game, there are no limits for this team.
Despite their 4-1 record, the Cats have yet to play a perfect game which bodes well for Arizona. So far this year, they have yet to hit their peak, something they hope to be at by the time Stanford, USC and Oregon roll around.
Yes, they were ranked No. 9 at one point, but for the expectations of this team and in knowing what this team is capable of, there is no reason why their overall grade should be curved.
Overall Grade: B-
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