Arizona Football: Grading Each Position on the Offense and Defense Thus Far

Four games have come and gone in the 2011 season, and fans in Tucson are getting restless.

After a string of disappointing losses to end the 2010 season, the Wildcats have continued to struggle.

The offense has been a major letdown, and the defense has been maybe the worst under Mike Stoops’ tenure in the desert.

After three consecutive brutal games against Oklahoma State, Stanford and Oregon, the Wildcats find themselves 1-3 (0-2) and in an identity crisis.

Arizona has had the most difficult schedule in all of college football, but they haven’t been close in any of their three tough tests.

Making it into the Pac-12 championship game is probably out of the question, but making a bowl game should be the objective for this team.

Can the Cats remedy the situation and save Stoops' job before the season ends?

Overall Offense: B-

Four games into the 2011 season, penalties, dropped passes, turnovers and missed opportunities have held this offense back from its full potential. The Wildcats rank 86th in points per game (24.0), fifth in passing yards per game (372.5) and 119th in rushing yards per game.

Quarterback: A

Nick Foles has been the lone bright spot on this offense. Thus far, Foles has completed a staggering 129-of-183 passes for 1,447 yards with 10 touchdowns. I truly believe Foles is the most underrated offensive player in the Pac-12, possibly the entire FBS.

Running Back: D+

I honestly don’t know how the running game has been so bad for the Wildcats so far. Keola Antolin is a phenomenal running back with tremendous upside, but for some reason the running game has been non-existent. As mentioned up top, the Wildcats rank second to last in college football in rushing so far.

Wide Receiver / Tight End: B-

This unit would be higher, were it not for drops and missed opportunities. Against the Ducks in Week 4, the Wildcats dropped numerous passes that could have gone for big yardage, especially by seniors Juron Criner and David Douglas and junior Dan Buckner.

Offensive Line: D-

I think we all knew that the offensive line would be bad. That tends to happen when you replace the entire unit from last season. I had no idea though, they would be this bad though. The running game has no fluidity because there are no holes for the backs to run through, and the pass protection hasn’t provided Foles any time to find open receivers.

Overall Defense: C-

The defense has struggled to say the least. So far the Cats have allowed teams to average 35.0 points per game (106th) and 484 yards per game (112th) making them the worst defense in the entire Pac-12. The one saving grace is that this defense has gone up against three of the top-10 offenses in all of college football.

Defensive Line: D+

Besides the offensive line, no unit has been worse for the Wildcats then the defensive line. The Wildcats rank 112th in run defense averaging 233.5 yards on the ground per game.

Linebackers: C

I didn’t really know what grade to give the linebackers. They haven’t contributed to the run defense, and their coverage in the secondary hasn’t been something to brag about. I figured a grade between the two other units would be accurate.

Secondary: B-

The defensive backs have been a little bit better than the front seven, not that that’s hard to do. Arizona’s pass defense ranks 89th in the FBS, allowing 250.5 yards through the air per game. Considering that the Wildcats have gone up against three of the top-10 quarterbacks in college football in three of their games (Brandon Weeden (OSU), Andrew Luck (Stanford) and Darron Thomas (Oregon)), being ranked where they’re at seems appropriate.

Special Teams: C

Considering how bad the kicking game is and how good the punting has been, I figured a C is more than a fair grade. Special teams have been friend and foe for the Wildcats in 2011.

Kicking: F

This is pretty obvious. The Wildcats have struggled with their kicking in 2011, going between two kickers who have a combined 2-of-5 field goals made for a long of 28, as well as two missed extra points already.

Punting: A-

The punting game has been just the opposite, averaging 48.0 yards per punt. That’s the sixth best in FBS football.