RichRod, Wildcats have work cut out for them following injuries
A minute or two after 11 Thursday night, I walked to the UTSA locker room underneath Arizona Stadium and heard the strangest thing.
Applause.
About 200 UTSA fans/family/friends greeted the Roadrunner players and coaching staff with one round of cheers after another. And yet UTSA lost 42-32.
But that was just the scoreboard. UTSA won the game in every other facet. The Roadrunners staff put on a coaching clinic, setting school records for 525 yards and 95 plays. Arizona backpedaled. It had no answer defensively.
Remember, this is a team that last year gained 70 total yards against UTEP. Yes, UTEP. It is a team that played 11 freshmen Thursday, a team for which 11 players made their first career start.
Here’s some better perspective: Over the last 10 seasons against non-Power 5 conference opponents, Arizona allowed an average of 301 yards per game. In those 24 games, no one gained more than 446 yards, and that was an undefeated, 12-0 powerhouse Utah team of 2004.
What ails the UA defense isn’t going to be easily corrected, even if Scooby Wright is physically able to return by the Pac-12 opener against UCLA on Sept. 26.
Recruiting errors in the Class of 2014, especially linebackers Jamardre Cobb, Antonio Smothers and Marquis Ware, have made Arizona desperately thin in an area often exploited by opposing offensive coordinators.
I’m not suggesting this will be a lost season, not given Rich Rodriguez’s resourceful coaching history, but he’ll be the Pac-12’s Coach of the Year again if he and his staff can restore Arizona’s defense into an effective unit anytime soon.
