Congrats Wildcats!!!

[General Chaos]

Cats beat USC 21-17. So proud of this team. Should be going to the Holiday Bowl. GO CATS!!!!

 

[Mr. Boldin]

Juron Criner

Thats all that needs to be said.

 

[Renz]

Juron Criner

Thats all that needs to be said.

Too bad we didn't get Gerrell Robinson, huh?

All credit to Stoops and his players. They could have thrown in the towel after that tough loss to Oregon, but they sucked it up and beat SC and asu on the road.

I was skeptical that Stoops could build on last season's bowl bid, but he did it. Great season for a team picked to finish 8th in the PAC-10.

We will definitely compete for the conference again next season, especially if we get a healthy Gronk back.

BEAR DOWN!!!

 

[Dback Jon]

That last Oregon drive...all that separate UA from the Roses

 

[schutd]

I didnt have the benefit of sound on the game at my restaurant. Can someone PLEASE explain to me what happened in the last 2:23? Did I miss something? Didnt we kneel on first down, then take an effin TO then run two up the gut, then take a delay penalty with one TO remaining, then with 7 seconds left not dance the clack away but slide into home giving the ball back to USC for one final play? Why not kick? Dont want to kick off to USC? Doesnt a field goal take 7 secs off the clock? Why that last slide on the ground on 4th?

I hope not having sound made me misconstrue what I saw. That looked like the worst coaching I have ever seen. SOmeone help me please. IM stoked on the win, but baffled by that last possession.

HELP!

 

[Mr. Boldin]

Could you imagine the fall out if we kick the FG and another Zendejas FG gets blocked and SC runs it back to win?

What about if we kick off and boot it out of bounds again and SC has a short field?

If we just run a play on 1st down, Foles can drop back 3 steps and kneel the ball and the game is over.

At this point I dont even care, we won. The thing that bugs me is that we finally knocked off SC, but missed the Rose Bowl by a matter of minutes, again.

Congrats to Stoops and the team. This season was very intersting and a win in the Holiday Bowl finally allows our program to turn that corner heading into a new decade. It only took 10 years, lol, but we are finally back where we started.

 

[schutd]

I think thts one of SToops problems. he coaches based on a what if THAT happens again. And then he thinks himself right into obviously sticky situations. At some point you have to let your players go out and do their jobs, and if they dont get it done on the field, thats that.

But I agree. Im just happy we won. Onward and Upward. Its been a rough 10 year.

 

[Lefty]

I think thts one of SToops problems. he coaches based on a what if THAT happens again. And then he thinks himself right into obviously sticky situations. At some point you have to let your players go out and do their jobs, and if they dont get it done on the field, thats that.

But I agree. Im just happy we won. Onward and Upward. Its been a rough 10 year.

No coach would of kicked the field goal. Running the ball was the correct call. Barkley was not going to go 70 yards in less than 10 seconds.

 

[schutd]

No coach would of kicked the field goal. Running the ball was the correct call. Barkley was not going to go 70 yards in less than 10 seconds.

Why not? A FG puts you 7 up, just in case. And using the logic that he wasnt going to go 70 yards in less than 10 seconds is bunk. Thats an assumption its that type of assumption that Stoops has made all year and inexplicably he chages course, and goes batty on 4th down. You have a TO, take it, dont lose the 5 yeards. Kick a near gimme that would most likely take 6-8 seconds off the clock. There would have been 8 seconds. Hmmmm. Dont even need to Kick off. If you do, F it. You still have to defend one more time anyway, but a desperation KO return with 00 on the clock is a better bet than a hail mary with 3 seconds left. All of which would be moot if the freaking QB does a little side to side running on the last play instead of a worthless non time consuming side up the middle.

And No one answered me, did I not see something correctly? Did we not kneel down on first? And then take a TO? What the heck? Honest question, thats what I really thought I saw, I had no sound. so Im honestly curious if thats what happened. And if it is, someone please explain.

 

[splitsecond]

Why not? A FG puts you 7 up, just in case. And using the logic that he wasnt going to go 70 yards in less than 10 seconds is bunk. Thats an assumption its that type of assumption that Stoops has made all year and inexplicably he chages course, and goes batty on 4th down. You have a TO, take it, dont lose the 5 yeards. Kick a near gimme that would most likely take 6-8 seconds off the clock. There would have been 8 seconds. Hmmmm. Dont even need to Kick off. If you do, F it. You still have to defend one more time anyway, but a desperation KO return with 00 on the clock is a better bet than a hail mary with 3 seconds left. All of which would be moot if the freaking QB does a little side to side running on the last play instead of a worthless non time consuming side up the middle.

And No one answered me, did I not see something correctly? Did we not kneel down on first? And then take a TO? What the heck? Honest question, thats what I really thought I saw, I had no sound. so Im honestly curious if thats what happened. And if it is, someone please explain.

Have you paid attention at all this season? Nothing - and I mean nothing, including PAT's - are gimmes with Zendejas. To top that off, Barkley at this stage of his career is one of the worst - if not THE worst - performing QB's USC has had in 10 years. He isn't going to go the length of the field in 3 or 7 or even 30 seconds. As much as I HATE to manage a game that way, it is the correct decision under the circumstances that were in front of them at the time.

 

[Mr. Boldin]

We took a TO after we took a knee, because we realized we couldnt run the clock out. After that TO they started calling plays.

As for taking the 5 yards, that was a pretty smart move because it allowed us to take a TO after the change of possesion and set up our defense.

 

[Wildcat05]

The only mistake about that last sequence was downing the ball on 1st down. Stoops should have realized that there was too much time left to just down the ball. Should have ran it up the middle 4 times.

Kicking a FG would have been the WRONG decision. Put us up 7, then we have to kick the ball to McKnight, one of the most dangerous return men in the nation. Bad idea. Hell, maybe, and only because it's Carrol, we should have taken a shot to the endzone to put us up 11... but I'm happy with how it turned out.

 

[Chaplin]

The only mistake about that last sequence was downing the ball on 1st down. Stoops should have realized that there was too much time left to just down the ball. Should have ran it up the middle 4 times.

Kicking a FG would have been the WRONG decision. Put us up 7, then we have to kick the ball to McKnight, one of the most dangerous return men in the nation. Bad idea. Hell, maybe, and only because it's Carrol, we should have taken a shot to the endzone to put us up 11... but I'm happy with how it turned out.

I thought Nwoku could have stayed on his feet a little bit longer to eat a couple more seconds off, but other than that, I was happy with the strategic end to the game. Anything to beat USC.

 

[schutd]

Thanks for the info. SO then my only complaint is a lack of situational understanding in that kneel down, and that 4th down run was horrendous. Answer to your question; no I havent paid attention at all this season. This was the first game I was able to watch. So I didnt know Zendejas was a problem. Thanks for the heads up. It all makes more sense, but was STILL an incredibly confusing and stressful end to that game. Why in gods name, after taking that knee do you call time out? Realize the situation and let the clock run. Silly.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Heck of a year for the Cats, gotta give Stoops some credit.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Just finished up a whirlwind trip, UA-USC from the sidelines on Saturday and a quick flight back yesterday AM to head down to UofP Stadium for Sunday Night Football.

First off, I'm so, so proud of this Arizona Wildcat team. They've had ridiculous injuries and bad breaks this year but still managed to stay together and play well enough to win down the stretch. The players and coaches were so excited after the game yesterday, many of the SoCal kids that were spurned by USC wanted to get one from them before graduating and doing it near home with their families in the stands was very sweet. Good job guys.

Second, am I going to have to start eating crow on Mike Stoops? Sure, the guy still isn't a good game manager (although I'm beginning to think that trait is overrated in college football, see National Champions Les Miles and Mack Brown) but he consistently pumps out talented players who work hard, fit the system, and play the right way. He's definitely matured as a coach. I know that offseason after 2007 when he was getting absolutely killed personally on the recruiting trail specifically by Dennis Erickson and Mike Bellotti was a very tough time for him personally and got him to do some soul searching. 16-9 and a more collected demeanor (comparatively speaking of course) since then ain't bad.

Next up, Nebraska in the Holiday. Should be a packed house and a huge viewing audience and more national exposure. It's looking like Arizona's going to do very well on the recruiting trail over the next several weeks but I'm hoping Stoops sticks with what got him here. Not recruiting kids 4-star morons like Louis Holmes, Gerrell Robinson or Ryan Bass but hard-working kids who fit the system.

Lastly, pretty sure we're going to add Gronk and Grigs to this offense and it's going to be a freaking monster. Which we'll need as a younger defense gets it's legs during an easier schedule at the beginning. Next year can be another special one, but the Pac is going to be tough.