We’re breaking from form today with our weekly deep dive into Arizona Wildcats football.
Because of my travel schedule over the weekend, I couldn’t re-watch Saturday’s 42-17 loss to Oregon State in time to produce this blog. But it wouldn’t be Monday without five takeaways from the game. So here they are, without the benefit of replay. We’ll resume our normally scheduled programming next week after the season finale (assuming nothing newsworthy happens regarding the head coach).
1. Quarterback conundrum
UA coach Rich Rodriguez has good reason to not reveal his starting quarterback every week: By withholding that information, he forces the other team to prepare for two QBs with different – and incomplete – skill sets. The harsh reality regarding Brandon Dawkins and Anu Solomon is that they are flawed players, and those flaws showed up again Saturday night in Corvallis, Oregon. Dawkins is a wonderful, competitive athlete. He’s fun to talk to, full of youthful energy and optimism. But nearly three years into his time at Arizona, he isn’t a well-rounded quarterback, and it’s fair to wonder whether he’ll ever get to that point. Dawkins simply doesn’t see the whole field. If his first receiver isn’t obviously open, his next inclination is to run. That can be very effective. But it puts a cap on what he and the UA offense are capable of producing. We’ve seen disciplined defenses (Utah, Stanford) essentially take the running option away; Dawkins doesn’t have a Plan C. Solomon has the vision and savvy Dawkins lacks but isn’t as elusive and just can’t stay healthy. Solomon was slow to get up twice Saturday, and after the second instance – a 19-yard sack that sparked visions of the BYU game – he was done for the night. Is the redshirt junior done at Arizona as well? Stay tuned.
2. All losses are not created equal
None of Arizona’s losses during this eight-game losing streak has been pretty or cause for hope. The Oregon State setback might have been the most alarming of all – even more so than Washington State. Here’s why: The Wildcats didn’t commit a bunch of penalties against the Beavers; the UA had just three for 29 yards. The Cats didn’t lose the turnover battle; each team gave the ball away once. For the first time since the skid started, Arizona didn’t lose the field-position battle; each team’s average starting point was its 27-yard line. Despite all those factors working in their favor – or at least not working against them – the Wildcats still lost by 25 points. And they lost by 25 points to a team that came into the game with an identical 2-8 record. This wasn’t surging USC, better-than-its-record Stanford, ranked Washington State or playoff-contending Colorado. This was an opponent whose talent level was thought to be on par with Arizona’s. You can cite injuries, but Oregon State has lost a bunch of players as well. Even if the 2017 recruiting class is as good as advertised, it really makes you wonder how quickly the Wildcats can turn things around.
3. ‘Mistakes in recruiting’
Regarding the lack of talent, Rodriguez made a comment last week that rankled some of the players (and their parents). Rodriguez was asked about recruiting defensive linemen. Here’s what he said: “A lot of our issues, obviously, were some mistakes in recruiting. That goes on us as coaches. We have nobody to blame but ourselves. That’s at all positions, but particularly defensively. When we’re starting four or five walk-ons or former walk-ons right now in this game, it’s good for them, but it also means we’ve either made some mistakes or had some bad luck injury-wise. I think it’s been a combination of both.” Some viewed those comments as a shot at the current roster. I don’t think that was Rodriguez’s intention. I think he was just giving an honest assessment of the situation. He and his former staff did not do a good enough job of finding the right players, particularly in the defensive front. For example, Marcus Griffin, a former four-star defensive lineman, rarely if ever plays. Remember four-star linebackers Jamardre Cobb and Marquis Ware? Cobb is a seldom-used fullback; Ware is no longer with the team (and wasn’t playing much, if at all, when he still was). Those “mistakes” add up.
4. Most Valuable Wildcats?
Let’s take a brief break from the bad news and focus on something more fun. Namely, who are Arizona’s MVPs this season? On offense, you can make a strong case for Dawkins, flaws and all. He is the Wildcats’ leading rusher, passer and touchdown producer. Receiver Shun Brown also merits a long look. He has a team-high 521 receiving yards, is averaging 18.0 yards per catch and is tied for the team lead with three TD receptions. Two off-the-radar candidates: offensive linemen Nathan Eldridge and Layth Friekh. They’ve started every game. On this team in particular, there’s great value in that. On defense, midseason MVP and leading tackler Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles hasn’t played as well in the second half of the season. I’m currently leaning toward Michael Barton, who has played multiple positions, played through injury and leads the team in tackles for losses (seven, including three sacks). I’m open to suggestions on both sides of the ball. Please leave a comment if you have thoughts.
5. RichRod’s future
Finally, the topic that’s been filling my Twitter timeline and my colleagues’ message boards: Rodriguez’s future in Tucson. The majority of fans who have let their feelings be known are pretty clear on this: They want Rodriguez to be fired. I understand your angst, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. For one thing, Rodriguez bought himself time by turning over the defensive staff. He acknowledged a problem within the program and did something about it. Second, it would cost a significant amount of money to move on from Rodriguez after this season. USA Today reported that his buyout is almost $9 million if he were to be fired without cause on Dec. 1. I’ve heard that it’s somewhat less than that. But it’s a seven-figure check regardless. Third, I don’t think Greg Byrne plans to fire Rodriguez after one bad season. (I say think because Byrne declined an interview request before the game Saturday night. I’m hoping to talk to him sometime later this week.) The Wildcats’ conference record the past two seasons – 3-14 – suggests it’s more than one, but the bottom line is still four bowl berths (and three wins) in five years. Rodriguez deserves one more to get it right. If 2017 doesn’t yield promising results, all bets are off.
