The real box score: Arizona 101, ASU 13

A VIEW FROM THE ZOO
When reading the box score after the game, only pertinent information is posted. First downs, yards (total, and both passing and rushing), turnovers, time of possesion, offensive and defensive leaders, and the score breakdown.
After Saturday's win over rival Arizona State, I would like to petition to add "push ups" to the mix, and with good reason.
It was agreed upon prior to game time by a group of friends sitting with me in the Zona Zoo that when the Wildcats scored, I would be tossed into the air to preform push ups, one for every point on the board.
Digging into the back of my mind and rustling up some useless stats that have been floating around in my head for years now (the part of my brain that should hold the vital information learned in my three years of college), I decided that there was no way I'd be going up for many push ups. After all, looking at the stats, the line in Vegas would have been going my way.
1. Arizona has struggled at big games over the years.
When it comes down to the nitty gritty, Arizona just cant seem to catch a break. With bowl implications on the line the past two seasons, the Devils got the best of Arizona when they needed to win the most.
2. The Wildcats had lost the last two games.
17 points against the Ducks in the first half, 17 points scored against Oregon State in the next game.
3. The Devils were riding a three game win streak. The defense for ASU looked unstoppable against the Bruins the week before, and had trounced the other two opponents even before playing UCLA.
4. Sonny Dykes was playcalling.
Our "Air Zona" offense had gone quiet of late thanks in part to conservative offensive calls that were, well, offensive.
5. Ten years of waiting.
Dick Tomey placed a ten year curse on the Wildcats when he left. Eleven would be like nothing (and please don't tell me that the Hawaii bowl would have been a great consolation prize given to Arizona if they lost. Might as well have been the Clorox Toilet Bowl).
So you can see with the logical reasoning that, at the most, Arizona would struggle to get past 17. And even with 17, these football minded buddies of mine would be in no mood to throw me up into the air if ASU was winning.
So, what the hell, right?
And, to my credit, had the game ended after half time, due to the same four boring plays run by Arizona(up the middle, quick out to Thomas, slant pass, punt), State would have won 10-7, and I would never have been in position to lose my lunch.
Being tossed seven times was bad enough, but the way it was looking, there wasn't much of a shot for the Wildcats.
But like most of my Vegas-type predictions, everything blew up in my face just like I knew they would.
But lets put it this way- I'd rather be lying in a pool of blood because I got dropped by a bunch of ridiculously tall guys in all their excitement and see Arizona beat the living hell out of Tempe, than seeing the Devils go to a bowl game.
So let me just reiterate my point here- Every time Arizona scored, I was thrown into the air for as many points were listed on the scorboard.
So after an early seven points, the Wildcats put up 24 points in the second half, 21 coming in the third quater.
Now, I'm no math major, but here's the numbers for the push ups: If I was an Arizona State fan(God forbid me from ever becoming part of the maroon and gold), I would have been lifted a total of 13 times. A field goal to start, and a giveaway touchdown thanks to a bad snap on Arizona's end (3+10=13).
But due to the graces of a higher power, I did not attened that loathsome school up north. Instead, I was vaulted (much like the Wildcats), into another stratosphere 101times on the night (7+14+21+28+31= 101).
So if football was a game of push ups, Arizona blew past it's instate rivals on their way to Sin City, 101-13.
If you are a Sun Devil fan, be grateful that push ups haven't been added to the box score yet.

What happens in Tucson stays in Las Vegas

PREVIEW OF THE 109th ANNUAL DUAL IN THE DESERT
Mikes Stoops desperately needs Las Vegas.
Not to gamble his money away, not to renew his wedding vows, and not to cry in his beer over hard economic times.
Mike Stoops needs Las Vegas to restore confidence in not only himself or for the team, but for the long suffering fan base, which has continually dwindled the past few seasons.
In order to get to Las Vegas, the Wildcat must drive the steak through the Sun Devil's heart today, push them out of the bowl stage, and win back the Territorial Cup. Winning sends Arizona to the Las Vegas Bowl. Fail, and the Cats let the hated Sun Devils into a bowl, push Arizona to the last place bowl game given to the Pac-10.
A bit of recent history- Arizona has dropped three straight to ASU, and the Sun Devils are riding a three game win streak down I-10 for today's showdown, momentum oozing out of Tempe.
The road to Las Vegas never looked so tough. But for the sake of Wildcat football, and Stoops' livelihood, this might be the biggest game Tucson has seen in a long time.
In Stoops' five year stint as head coach has been tumultuous, fielding good teams, but unable to put the pieces together. In this day and age, Stoops' grace period is long finished with, and results are needed.
Losing to rival Arizona State three times in a row, something that has not happened since the mid-60's early 70's. And for the past three years, the Wildcats have found themselves within one game of beating their hated opponent and heading to a bowl game.
Every year for Stoops, the result has been much of the same, with the post game analysis of, "we will get them next year."
Next year is now for the Stoops. After being promised not just a team but a program, fans are losing faith in the former defensive coach from Oklahoma, once a top pick from brother Bob Stoops' top ranked Sooners.
Once a top head coaching prospect, (some said he would bolt for the NFL after one good season with the Wildcats) Stoops is the most loved coach of all Pac-10 schools.
The thinking is, "as long as Stoops remains at Arizona, all we have to do is keep the score close. Stoops has yet to learn from his critical late-game mistakes."
These mistakes have cost the Wildcats too many close ones over the last few years, and made the coach a perennial visitor on the preseason "Hot Seat" list. Fortunately for Stoops, much of the attention is off of him due to the recent coaching vacancy at McKale Center.
The frosting is now gone for the Cats' cupcake season. It has taken one too many licks this year, and Arizona coaches are scrambling to find some way to hold on to the remnants of a once promising debut to the national stage.
The season has not gone as planned for Stoops and company, and though the Wildcats will be headed for a bowl after today's game win or lose, falling to ASU again could spell doom for Stoop's coaching career at Arizona. To give the Devils an opportunity to go bowling would pain the fan base, and destroy any credibility towards the team turning the corner.
The Wildcats need to beat the Sun Devils today, not only for bragging rights, but to snub the Devils of a bowl, which ASU has done to the Cats for far too long now.
The Wildcats need to beat Arizona State to win in-state recruiting battles, and push themselves to a national level in the recruiting race.
The Wildcats need to win back the hearts of fans, and give them something other than blind hope to look forward to.
And most of all, Mike Stoops desperately needs a confidence booster for his waining coaching career.

An all too common face for Stoops in his five years as coach. -Photo courtesy of ESPN

Watch the game live on ESPN and FSN Arizona. Check out post-game feedback at the Canyon Cable, your home of the outright opinion!

Who needs March? The maddness has already begun!

Upsets in college basketball are not exactly common, nor are they scarce either. In most seasons however, the draw dropping, rank tumbling upsets come during the mid season in conference play.
The mid-major upsets against the cream of the crop can be counted on during March, when all seeds ranked lower than fourth decide to put on the glass slippers and go dancing.
Anyone remember 2006's George Mason?
It might be too early to call, but the 2008-2009's mid-majors have forgotten all about March's madness, and given the top of the food chain all it can handle.
And not only have the mid-majors staged a comeback rivaling Revenge of the Nerds, home court has whittled away to almost nothing, as the Big 12/Pac-10 Challenge has shown us.
Thursday night was must see TV in Buffalo (yes Buffalo) as the Bulls put second ranked UConn in a stranglehold, narrowly missing the shocker, 68-64.
A few nights prior, Virgina Tech, the football school, fought the twenty-second ranked Badgers of Wisconsin to the bitter end losing 74-72.
And lets not forget Cornell's ten point loss to Syracuse, another top 20 team., at the Carrier Dome in New York.
Yes, the mid-majors have foregone March.
The once coveted home court advantage has also fallen to the wayside, as sixth ranked Oklahoma narrowly avoided Southern California's upset bid, 73-72, while the Bruins lost Texas 68-64.
And the absolute shocker of the week was Arizona (you knew it was coming), expected to take a beating from Texas A & M, came within one point of downing the Aggies 67-66.
College basketball's finest are feeling the squeeze this season, which will make for a very intriguing March tournament. But with these early season curveballs someone is bound to tumble.
North Carolina, anyone?

Cupcakes for the masses; why a bowl game just isn't good enough

It was on my late night drive back to my house that I was suddenly awakened by a radio commercial that was not supposed to be funny, but grabbed my attention because of the question I had to ask myself at the end of it.
The commercial was for one of the local radio stations, advertising a chance to win money every week the Wildcats played on the gridiron.
The voice-over guy said, "There's never been a better time for college football in Tucson."
Okay, I can understand why they would say something like that, I mean, we are going to a bowl game for the first time in years, right?
And then the laughter started in as I heard the second part of the advertisement.
A woman continued the dialogue, and in the sexiest voice she could muster, said the following, "the Wildcats are winning, and so could you..."
My immediate question, and what spurned me to write about this today, four days before the Dual in the Desert, was, "yes, but who have we played?"
And at this point, if you are a die-hard Wildcat fan who does not need any more sour press about the team, please stop reading this right now.
For those of you brave enough to continue, lets keep this train rollin'.
In Mike Stoops' five year tenure, coach has compiled a 22-33 record, while dropping so many close games, there's not enough room in this blog to write about them.
In the past three seasons, Stoops has been a game away from making the post season, and quite possibly turning the corner and bringing the program up from the ashes.
In his first year as head coach, the season was saved by taking the Territorial Cup from a decent ASU team, yet after the initial win, he has not seen the trophy for three past seasons.
But maybe this season, Stoops finally got it right.
Stoop's non-conference schedule was full of cupcakes, ranging from Idaho (2-10, at last check), Toledo (3-9 to one up the Vandals), and a pitiful New Mexico team (4-8, they just keep getting better) which was the Wildcats' first loss.
What a great way to get a few easy wins, right?
And then the early Pac-10 schedule, which, by all accounts, was not Stoops' fault, got the coach another couple of wins to settle at 4-1.
Why on earth would a Wildcat fan be annoyed with this? Four wins, one (ridiculous) loss, and in a great position to get to that elusive bowl game!
The first real test for the Cats came on the road against the up-and-coming Stanford Cardinal. Stoops, in all his glory, managed to lose by one point, 24-23.
4-2. Stoops tries again, and this time defeats a pretty good Cal-Berkley team, 42-27 at home.
At homecoming, the Wildcats put together a lovely bundle of errors to lose to perennial title contender USC, 17-10.
But the most important win came following the loss against bottom-feeder Washington State, which gave the Cats bowl eligibility.
So with a 6-3 record and a guaranteed bowl game, who the hell needs the last three games, right?
Well, two ill fated losses later, the Wildcats find themselves in the same position as the past three years, just with the guaranteed bowl game.
So lets have a quick recap, of how Stoops magically pulled out a bowl from under his sleeves.
Crappy non conference schedule. Check. Win all games against the bottom of the Pac-10. Check. Blame the close losses on how the team is, "just not there yet". Check. Beat ASU. Ah, put that pencil down.
The Sun Devils march into Tucson looking to put themselves into their own bowl game, and finishing the season 6-6.
If momentum is the key to any matchup, Stoops' troops have the gas gauge on empty, losers of the last two, while archival Arizona State struts into Tucson with three blowout wins to give themselves enough confidence to beat Arizona.
If history is a good indication of what is to come this Saturday, Arizona fans might want to stay home and finish up the Alabama vs Florida matchup.
So it is now up to Mike Stoops, to deliver what was promised to Wildcat fans 5 seasons ago, and get to that bowl game that has eluded the Wildcats for ten years now.
Yes, sexy voice over lady, "the Wildcats are winning".
But can somebody please tell me who we're playing?
-JMB