Good team in a bad conference =.....

[slimcat]

We will finish in the top 3 of the Pac-10 this year. Mark it!

I know several of you pessimists out there (namely UofACat23) will argue that Arizona has been a bottom dweller for over 10 years, our defense hasn't been tested, and we lost to New Mexico. But this year's Arizona Wildcat Football Team has the stars aligning in its favor.

Take a look:

We have the conference's 2nd best offense, a top tier conference defense, a schedule loaded with home games, difficult games at home (Cal, ASU, USC), and a very poor overall conference.

Oregon will probably be starting its punter next week at QB.
Washington is only Jake Locker and Jake Locker can't throw very well.
ASU is a bottom tier conference team as we all know by now.
Wazzu is Toledo.
Oregon State lost to Stanford.
Stanford is Stanford.
Cal lost to Maryland and we have them at home.
We beat UCLA.
That leaves us with USC. Bring it on tampons!

If we count USC as a loss and one other Pac loss, we would be 2nd place or 3rd place at worse. USC will not lose another game (except to maybe us of course), so they will be in the NC game. That will most likely leave AZ as the conference's Rose Bowl eligible team if we only have a couple losses.

The conference is down this year, and we are good (not great but good), but we don't need to be great this year, just good and we will be in prime position for a Rose or Holiday bowl berth!

[madddawg11]

I'd say 3 more losses, USC, possibly Cal and a road game that we'll say we should have won. Anything more than that would be a HUGE dissapointment.

[WildcatBlitz]

In general i think we had our best chance to go undefeated then any other time, but remember that we are the wildcats and we shoot ourselves in the foot.

Honestly though most teams have their best games against us. NMU is 1-3 would you think ahead of time we would blow them out?

1 game at a time, focus on one before we jump to USC, this team has a already problem of being focused. Arizona hasn't played good ball since week 2, lets work on that first.

[LegallyKenny]

PAC is not sending two teams to the BCS this year.

[ZonaDefender1]

im not going there yet. fire and brimstone time is over. Just win the damn games......

[madddawg11]

Originally Posted by LegallyKenny

PAC is not sending two teams to the BCS this year.

A good chance they won't, the conference is too weak. A better game from ASU against what I consider an overrated Georgia team and a stronger non-conference showing from Oregon would've helped matters alot. Oh well.

[ASUHATER!]

at this point i'm worried about the pac 10 even having 5 bowl teams much less sending 2 to the bcs.

we might not even have teams to send to the poinsettia or hawaii bowls.

[WildcatBlitz]

Originally Posted by ASUHATER!

at this point i'm worried about the pac 10 even having 5 bowl teams much less sending 2 to the bcs.

we might not even have teams to send to the poinsettia or hawaii bowls.

Aren't we guaranteed 6 or 7? No matter how bad the conference is?

[Adam Hawes]

I think it's 6, but you still have to get the teams elligible.

Maybe we can use the SEC excuse and say that the PAC is just so good that all of the teams beat each other up too much???

Oh wait, the preseason...

[UofAcat23]

Originally Posted by slimcat

We will finish in the top 3 of the Pac-10 this year. Mark it!

I know several of you pessimists out there (namely UofACat23) will argue that Arizona has been a bottom dweller for over 10 years, our defense hasn't been tested, and we lost to New Mexico. But this year's Arizona Wildcat Football Team has the stars aligning in its favor.

Convenient how after we lost to UNM you didn't make a post while I was the one saying we'd still be fine, because I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist.

Since you brought it up though, I think we are better than:
OSU, Stanford, and the Washington Schools

I think we are worse than: USC, Oregon, and Cal, and ASU

Although USC is really the only "unwinnable" game.

However, I think we will end up losing at least one of the should wins and winning one or two of the should loses.

That would put us at 7-5 or 8-4, which is pretty much where I expected us to be in the first place.

[catgrad]

As optimistic as I was to start the season, I don't see Arizona doing any better than 5-4 in conference. UCLA was terrible. Arizona let them hang around for three quarters and the 'Cats were lucky the Bruins didn't get a key turnover or hit a big play.

Tuitama continues to show me inconsistent decision making. I don't understand why Arizona football coaches continue to think they can run the ball in short yardage by lining up in an obvious running formation. They're not USC or Ohio State where they can blow the other team's defensive line off the ball. I hate to say it, but Arizona is a finesse team. The best chance of running the ball in short yardage, especially in the red zone, is to spread the field. Instead of running 11 on 11, make it 6 on 6.

Gronkowski is certainly a difference maker but I still see Arizona stumbling at Oregon, against USC, ASU and games against UW, WSU & Oregon State are by no means automatic wins. Especially after the New Mexico performance.
Until Arizona has a quarterback who can make something out of nothing with either a scramble or checking off to a second or third receiver, I see Arizona as too predictable. Getting to a bowl game will be a tight squeeze.

[Merkin]

Originally Posted by catgrad

continue to think they can run the ball in short yardage by lining up in an obvious running formation.

With a 189 pound tailback no less who runs more like Barry Sanders than John Riggins.

Gotta agree on spreading things out where Grigs can find his holes instead of expecting the line to push the DL back.

[catgrad97]

Originally Posted by Merkin

Gotta agree on spreading things out where Grigs can find his holes instead of expecting the line to push the DL back.

Yep. Only the standard consequence for that misadventure is a holding penalty that ends up putting our punter in the hole.

Maybe that's why Tomey was so "up the middle" all the time on third downs. He knew his line couldn't run-block effectively on a spread field and didn't want to risk a loss of 10 yards of field position.

[tempecat]

None of this mattes unless we beat ASU this season. I'm sick and tired of losing to them (given I live/work in Tempe it brings me close to them).

A bowl game is welcomed, but I can't see keeping Stoops with another loss to ASU. An ASU win is as important as going to a bowl game or having a winning record. I'm not willing to sell my soul to go to a bowl game and not beat ASU. Stoops needs the win or he should be gone, period.

Now on to Washington. I'd say most Pac-10 teams are better than UNM (including us), but it only takes one off day to lose to a bad team and this year in the Pac-10, that is assured of happening.

[azcat49]

Oh that kool aid tastes really good!

I agree with Slim actually. the PAC is pretty down this year and the schedule aligns like we are destined to make a run.

No doubt we have the most experience of all the teams other then USC. Why can't it be us.

It was great to see us, in the third quarter, going with three second stringers on the line (Baxter, Threatheway and Diaz) and still being effective.

Grigsby's fumbles is a concern but the defense, if we can tighten up the run, will make the Cal and Oregon games very winnable.

I know I booked a hotel in Pasadena for January (hey the Rose took Illinois). Oh that optimism!