“Leaving the game plan is a sign of panic, and panic is not in our game plan.”-Chuck Noll (four time Super Bowl winning coach)
Some sage advise from the coach with more Super Bowls than any other, however there’s one problem for the Wildcats-their game plans (especially on offense) tend to be pretty crap.
Now this isn’t to say that I think Stoops is a bad coach or that a loss today means we should start scouting for his replacement. In fact, as I stated here, Stoops has ushered in the most successful period in Arizona Football history. & for an example of the results of overreacting to a disappointing season one need only look to Dick Tomey being fired in 2000 after two six loss seasons (a mere two years after leading Arizona to a 12-1 record & a #4 ranking) in favor of John Mackovic who would be fired after going 10-18 over two and a half seasons. Fact is, Stoops is good but he’s not great.
At the start of the year Stoops announced that there would be co-coordinators on offense & defense. This decision was met with some skepticism because… well… no one has two coordinators for the same side of the ball. Conventional thinking is, for consistency’s sake, you need one guy in charge. Now I can’t say this decision is too blame for the mediocre play calling (indeed, they could all just be bad coordinators) but needless to say this season has hardly convinced me Stoops made a good decision.*
*Linebackers Coach Tim Kish is now the sole defensive coordinator after Secondary Coach Greg Brown accepted a job at the University of Colorado. I still miss Mark Stoops.
Talent wise this Arizona team was capable of a ten-win season (& I’m not just saying that because it was my pre-season prediction). A defensive secondary loaded with standouts (Trevin Wade) & talented players who had been highly regarded recruits (Adam Hall, Shaquille Richardson, Robert Golden) struggled mightily due in large part to schemes that didn’t suit their skills. An inconsistent pass rush, a pass rush the UA coaches inexplicably declined to jump-start as they refused to blitz under almost any situation, did not help them.
The failures in play calling on defense, however, pale to those on offense. Offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh & running backs & tight ends coach Seth Litrell were handed an offense with a stud quarterback, three solid running backs, a half dozen skilled receivers (including the best in the PAC-10 in Juron Criner), & a line composed completely of seniors. Free tacos (acquired whenever the team scored 33 points) should’ve been automatic at every home game, & in non-conference play they were as UA scored at least 34 points in all three games. Then the PAC-10 season started, teams were able to watch film of the Arizona offense, & the Wildcats broke 30 points only once, against a putrid Washington team (I know they made a bowl, but if you think last year’s Holiday Bowl was bad just wait & see what Nebraska does to them this year). & this brings me to the game planning. In 3 of Arizona’s losses (3 games they should have one) the offense was stalling in the 4th quarter & all hope seemed lost when we abandoned the game plan & went no huddle. In each of these games this change of pace resulted in a quick score & a glimmer of hope before a kick went against us (2 onsides we failed to recover & a blocked extra point). When your greatest strength is your quarterback & wideouts & whenever you go no huddle it produces results (the no huddle offense was also the lone bright spot in the Stanford massacre) why not run it more often? Or even as your normal offense? Alas that’s a question I don’t know the answer too because, as someone with an IQ above Sarah Palin’s, I would’ve switched to it a long time ago.
Due in large part to these play calling failures Arizona finds itself on a four game skid, which has seen it fall from Rose Bowl contender to a team that loses to Brock Osweiler, a guy who only a month ago was going to play basketball. Now in order to save their season the Cats must complete the daunting task of defeating the #14 team in the nation, the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Oklahoma State is 10-2 & they have the #1 ranked offense in the nation. Their passing attack is second in the nation thanks to All-American receiver Justin Blackmon (100 yards & a touchdown in every game he played this season) & 27-year-old quarterback Brandon Weedon (the former minor league baseball player passed for over 4,000 yards & 36 touchdowns this season). Don’t worry though; the Cowboys are far from one-dimensional. They’ve got an All-American running back too (Kendall Hunter ran for 1,500 yards & 16 touchdowns)! & if our defense is actually able to keep them out of the end zone their kicker, Dan Bailey, won the Lou Groza award as the best kicker in D-1 Football.
There is some actual good news though. Oklahoma State is terrible on defense. I mean like God-awful (which once again tells you how good their offense is seeing as they’re 10-2). They rank 91st in yards allowed, 68th in points allowed, & no defense struggled to get off the field more as they were out there for 981 plays, more than any team in D-1 football. In their two losses they gave up 51 & 47 points & over 500 yards in both. Their loss to Nebraska was all the more depressing because they allowed freshman QB Taylor Martinez to complete 23 passes for 323 yards & 5 touchdowns with no interceptions-in no other game did Martinez complete more than 14 passes for 167 yards & he threw 4 touchdowns & 6 interceptions over the rest of the season. So there is hope.
Defensively the key for the Wildcats will be the line of scrimmage. If they can pressure Weeden into a couple mistakes & keep Hunter from breaking long runs they may be able to hold OSU under 40 points (Blackmon will get his regardless). However I only see that happening if the Cats consistently mix in blitz packages & based on the regular season that seems unlikely.
On offense Foles & Criner should have a field day. In fact the only thing that should contain them is the play calling. In those two losses OSU’s opponents ran the ball 40+ times & held the ball for 35 minutes. I’m afraid that our coaching staff will see that as an invitation to run the ball, which will hold the offense back when they need to be putting up as many points as possible. Once again we likely won't see the offense reach its full potential until we panic, & abandon the game plan.
Oklahoma State 41, Arizona 30-at least no one will be able to blame this one on Zendejas
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