More on the Mildcats

by Nestor on Oct 3, 2006 10:18 AM PDT in Football Comment 15 comments

Given what Stoops troops did to the Bruins last year I don't think we need motivation for this Saturday. Arizona was one of the worst teams in the Pac-10 last year. This year they are not only one of the worst teams in the PAC, but in the country. Here are some highlights of LSU kicking the sh!t out of Mildcats in Baton Rouge. It was a thorough beat down of what looks like a hapless team on both sides of the ball:

Their offense is a joke, and there defense is mediocre. Things are not looking good for Mildcats who are coming off a deflating loss against Huskies (who were of course reenergized by Dorrell's gift in Seattle). Here is the inside slant on Mildcats from Sportsline:

Arizona has gone from being a surging program to a swirling one, and that was never more evident than in a 21-10 loss to Washington.

The Wildcats were the surprise pick coming out of fall camp.

Arizona had an up-and-coming quarterback, a solid defense and was entering the third year under coach Mike Stoops.

The quarterback doesn't have much time to throw because there is no such thing as a running game.

Arizona went the second straight game with negative yards rushing. After being held to minus-16 against USC a week earlier, the Wildcats were minus-seven against the Huskies.

The defense, the same unit that held USC to one touchdown until the final minutes of a 20-3 loss, was exploited against Washington quarterback Isaiah Stanback. The Husky signal caller completed 10 straight passes in the second quarter to pile up 244 passing yards, two throwing scores and a 21-3 lead at halftime.

And as for this being Stoops' big year: The Wildcats are 2-3 after flopping in what he said was the "biggest game for the program since I've been here."

If UCLA coaches do their jobs this upcoming Saturday, these Mildcats should continue to spiral down the toilet.

As I jave mentioned elsewhere Arizona?s offense basically has been a joke. DeWayne Walker?s defense, which is now number 3 in the country, should have no problem shutting down one of the worst offensive units the country if it wants to live up to the hyper of a top-5 defense. And it sounds like they themselves are expecting a repeat performance of the Stanford perfomance (on defense).

Here are some gory numbers on Arizona?s lousy offense:

Category	National Rank	Actual
Rushing Offense	113	68.40
Passing Offense	75	185.00
Total Offense	109	253.40
Scoring Offense	112	12.00

Again not much to say here after taking a look at Zona?s offensive stats. Sure they have played a tough team in LSU, but those numbers are god awful. Walker?s defense if it wants to live up to the hype of being number 3 defense in the nation, shouldn?t allow this team to score in double digits. They should be able to shut down the Zona running game, and rough up QB Willie Tuitama, who was sacked 6 times by Washington. Tuitama killed the Bruin defense (well whoever lined up against him pretending to be Bruin defense) last year. But this year he has been totally inconsistent completing 55 percent of his passes. I believe right now he has the worst passing efficieny rating in the Pac-10. His OL is not giving him any protection. So we can expect our DL to have a field day slamming him into the ground getting some revenge for last year's debacle.

As for Arizona?s defense it?s not atrocious unlike it?s offensive unit but is way below average:

Category	National Rank	Actual
Rushing Defense	70	139.40
Pass Efficiency Defense	82	135.56
Total Defense	86	359.60
Scoring Defense	65	21.80

Given those numbers ? the Bruin offense ? should be able to put up some balanced numbers this coming Saturday.

The first thing that jumps out to me is the Arizona rushing defense which is giving up almost 140 yards a ground. Again you?d think this would be a great opportunity for Dorrell and Svoboda to put together a game plan built around pounding an effective running game down throats. Right now we have a running game, which is ranked 29th in the country, gaining about 174 yards a game. We should keep pounding the Zona DL with Markey, who is gaining over 100 yards the game, and then mix in our passing game with effective play actions keeping the Mildcats mediocre defense on its heels. Again emphasizing the running game doesn't mean the Bruins have to become on dimensional on offense. It would be nice if they don't run the ball on first downs over 70 percent (89 out of 124) of the time. Bringing down that ratio to something around 55/45 or even 60/40 against horrible rushing defenses could be nice. It could be worth it to have Ben throw on some running downs, using a short passing game to set him and the offense up on 2nd and short or 3rd and short situations, keeping the opposing defense off-balance.

If the coaches truly mean their words about their offense taking advantage of its learning points and going through its growing process then they should be able to put up some great numbers against a D that hasn?t done much to stop the run or put up an effective pass defense on Saturday. We will be watching.

GO BRUINS

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Did you say........

"if the UCLA coaches do their job?"

Just checking.........

by RDO on Oct 3, 2006 1:27 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Arizona's Defense

Arizona's offense is awful, but their defense is much better than those numbers suggest. The statistics are skewed by the games against LSU and USC. In their other three games, against weak competition comparable to what we've faced, they've given up just 88 yards rushing per game. Only one RB this year (Moody of USC) has gained as much as 65 yards against them. The defense kept Arizona in the game against USC until well into the 4th Quarter, despite a terrible offensive performance

If our offense doesn't play much better, this will be a very low-scoring game.

by vanaaron on Oct 3, 2006 1:37 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Don't really buy that ...

Southern Cal rushed for more than 200 yards on Zona defense, and I don't think their inexperienced running backs are all that. Moreover, Washington also racked up more than 160 yards on these guys. I think our backs are more talented the combo. up in Washington, and we have one of the more talented group in the Pac-10. I think it is more than reasonable for Markey, Moline, and Bell to put up good numbers gaining around 150-200 yards on the ground this weekend.

This shouldn't be a low scoring game on our end, if our offensive coaches do their jobs. Lets stop making excuses for them.

by Nestor on Oct 3, 2006 1:56 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Look Again

USC had its lowest yardage output of the season against Arizona. Washington averaged less than 4 yards per carry against them, even counting Stanback's scrambles (their RB's barely cracked 100 yards).

I watched Arizona against BYU and against USC, and their defense is definitely not "way below average." It is probably the best defense our team has faced so far this year (admittedly not saying all that much).

That said, it is not a dominant defense, and if our offense plays well we will score points, enough to win comfortably given that Arizona's offense is atrocious. But let's not pretend that the Arizona defense is weak, so that we can instantly dump on the coaching staff if the team doesn't waltz right through them.

by vanaaron on Oct 3, 2006 3:03 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

all very good points

I agree with you vanaaron. Arizona's D is not a push-over as the numbers may suggest. Still, as you said, we should win this game. If we do not hit 300 yards in offense I think it will be close. Remember also, that Arizona amassed their offensive stats against LSU, USC, Washington and BYU, two great defenses and two average defenses. We amassed our offensive stats against 3 bad defenses and 1 average defense. So Arizona can put up better offensive numbers, not much, but they can. They have a young and hurt OL so its not likely. Could be close.

I truly hope for a great season, but if we dont have one we must dumpdorrell.com

by DumpDorrell on Oct 3, 2006 4:49 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not sure what you are looking at ...

Southern Cal gained 218 total yards on the ground against the Zona defense, which was their best production on the ground against any defense this season. Their passing game stumbled a bit, but there was nothing wrong with their rushing game against Zona's suspect dfense. Washington has 166 total totay yards (154 net). They may not have run for 300 yards like they did against Sooners' suspect defense, but they gained almost 300 yards in passing against Zona. This is not exactly a good Zona defense. From what I have seen this season, they have been very unimpressive.

There is really no reason for UCLA not to handle this defense on Saturday. Zona defense may not be a patsy like Rice, but they are no where close to being some kind of above average defense in the country. Pretty weak in my book.

by Nestor on Oct 3, 2006 5:05 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It has more to do with match-ups and

schemes. Stanback had 10 rushes for 46 yards, I too think this will be a close game. It's not like Olsen is getting better every game. Arizona's D may not be good but they are better that Rice, Stanford and Utah.

by cv on Oct 3, 2006 3:09 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Exactly

So their defense is better than Rice, Stanford, and Utah. That doesn't make them world beaters. And it should still be a defense, a Bruin team loaded with talents at skill position should be able to handle this Saturday. Its the coaches job to put the talents players we have in position to win, and if they do that we should have a comfortable win avenging our disgraceful performance last year.

by Nestor on Oct 3, 2006 5:08 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Of course their not world beaters

But then again, neither are the UCLA receivers. Between Olsen's problems and the receivers I think that match-up favors Arizona. UCLA must be able to run the ball, to wear down the Arizona D.

by cv on Oct 4, 2006 7:09 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Our receivers

should be damn good receivers. As N pointed out above we have the talent and a HC who got this FREAKING job because of being NFL "WR coach," and a former great WR. If our passing game cannot get it done against a secondary who got lit up Stanback's passing, then Dorrell and his offensive staff will have lot more questions to answer.

by bluestreet on Oct 4, 2006 7:23 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I believe that Dorrell and the coaching staff

will have a lot more questions to answer after Saturday.

by cv on Oct 4, 2006 7:32 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sadly

you may be right.

But I am holding out hope and trying to have some faith in the talent we have in our roster. Again this is supposed to be the 3rd most talented team in the Pac-10.

by bluestreet on Oct 4, 2006 7:34 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just wanted to give some props to UCLA...and USC!

Scott Wolf posted on his blog covering USC that there have only been seven NCAA Division I-A programs that have never faced or scheduled a non-Division I-A opponent since the current division setup was established in 1978.

The schools that have yet to play a non-Division I-A opponent since the advent of the current format are Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, USC and Washington and UCLA.

That's three Pac-10 schools and three Big Ten schools for those keeping score. The SEC can go suck an egg!

P.S. You guys should be able to beat Arizona handily as long as you don't turn the ball over. UA's D is better than people think, but the offense is just plain offensive and requires help from an opponent giving away the ball.

by God Loves a Trojan on Oct 3, 2006 5:05 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Not giving the ball away?

I'm afraid that we might have to find another way to win then...

by scittles on Oct 3, 2006 7:15 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

AZ QB's decline

I attended the AZ-SC game and asked a nice knowledgeble, elderly couple sitting in front of me, about Tuitama, how he didn't seem to be the quarterback he was made out to be in the pre season press. They told me he got a bad hit in the LSU game, received a concussion, and hasn't been the same since. Seems he is always looking over his shoulder. fyi.

by manatee on Oct 4, 2006 6:18 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs