Black Eye for West Coast Football

Wilma and I watched the Oregon/Oklahoma football game this past weekend. You know, the game where the PAC10 showed the country the high level of officiating that is rampant though this league. Sure, the refs blew a couple of calls at the end - especially the onsides kick - but is that really a surprise? Hell no. Not to us. Not to anyone who's watched those blind zebras place themselves on a pedestal higher than the game itself. What did you expect, Sooners? You gave up over 500 yards in offense to the Yucks, but you still had a chance to win the game. Three times you got down inside the Oregon 20 yard line and settled for field goals. Sure, the game was taken away from you in the last minute and a half, but you had already given it away. Hopefully, that officiating team - suspended for one game - is the one that was going to be assigned to the AZ/SC game this weekend and we'll get some real refs. I seriously doubt it, though. But I'll wait for the replay.

Look who's back

B.J. Dennard returns to the Wildcat football team after taking care of some personal business. Welcome back to him, as our receivers could use some help.

Cats go Stone Cold

Against Stephen F. Austin, AZ did just enough to win the game. Could this be the end of Stoops' vanilla offense? Will we get to see what he's really got against SC this weekend? I doubt it. Chris Jennings did a fine job filling in for Chris Henry in the backfield, running for over 200 yards. As Stoops said in his post-game interview, though, "It game against a Div 1AA team." That's okay - we'll take it. I did feel like bashing a few cans a la Stone Cold a few times, though. We're not very good -- we're not so bad -- oh, heck...

Bye Bye B.J.

Receiver leaves UA football team
- With Dennard leaving the super-freshmen receivers we've been hearing about will have a chance to step it up. Best of luck, BJ. We've already forgiven you for fumbling that kickoff return last week against LSU.

Bad Sports!

It's mind boggling what some people will do to keep someone else out of a game. First we have this punter for Northern Colorado who stabbed the starting punter in the leg, presumably to get more playing time. Even worse, how about this T-ball coach who PAID a kid to keep a disabled player out of a championship game. T-Ball! Unfreakinbelievable.

Road Warrior Animal Jr. new Buckeye hero

Wilbur can't help but notice when wrestling meets, well, anything. Here we have Road Warrior Animal's son stepping out of the squared circle and onto the gridiron with some impressive results for Ohio State. And how cool is it to get calls and messages from Stone Cold, the Undertaker, and the Hulkster himself?

Willie T knocked for a loop

As if Saturday's loss to LSU wasn't bad enough, now it appears that Willie T suffered a concussion on the Wildcats' first play. It was a vicious hit, one of many put on Willie that day, but it was the only one that was penalized. I saw a few more helmet-to-helmet hits that were ignored by the refs. We should be so lucky to hit so hard and not get flagged.

UGH-ly Early

LSU covers the spread in the first quarter - Wilma finds it hard to watch this one. Who put these guys on the schedule??

Stoops-kabob

Well, not exactly. As Stoops says about the 93000 fans that will attend tomorrow's game at LSU:

"I mean, what can they do to you? They can't eat you, can they?"

Let's hope not. The Cats will have to play one helluva game to keep their momentum going. Still, LSU by 18 seems like an overly optimistic spread to me. Cats will keep it much closer. And it is a game they can win.

The Texas Connection

When the Cats and LSU suit up for tomorrow's game, over 40 players will be from the Houston area. AZ has 29 of them, with nine starters from Houston. Stoops' experience at OU must have taught him something.

Also - Cat Linebackers get respect from the Bayou press.

Canada Dry

Here's what Canada is saying about last weekend's visit by the Basketcats. Again - "college hoop legend Lute Olson" makes the article.

Wildcats Finally Get a Folk Hero

The Zona faithful got their wish last Saturday. Arizona won a close one, after going 1-10 in games decided by three points or less in the last 8 years. Nick Folk got the fans back up on their feet with one second left in the game when he kicked the game-winning field goal that seemed to be willed through the uprights by the Wildcat Nation.
The crowd was fired up and ready for this one, an amazing sight for those of us who got seats to the game (and over 58,00 of us did). After a fumble on BYU's first play from scrimmage was recovered by the Cats, the crowd was at a fever pitch. Unfortunately, we didn't have much else to cheer for (save Chris Henry's bruising 54-yd. run) until Folk connected at the game's end.
Part of the blame for the drop in intensity from the crowd can be placed on the game itself. Virtually no offense from the Cats, Willie T's lack of touch on many passes, and a defense that shut down the Cougars' running game but gave up almost 300 yards in the air. I blame the band and cheerleaders, though, for not seizing on a fantastic opportunity and keeping the fans whipped up. The band again disappeared into the crowd after their pre-game and halftime routines and don't seem to understand how important they are to the homefield advantage. It was a pleasant change to not see the section leaders parade around the track during the 3rd quarter, but it would have been nice to hear "Bear Down" and "Fight Wildcats" more than one or two times during the game. Come on, band - pick up those freakin' instruments! If you truly are "The Best Band in the History of the World" we need to hear more of you. And if all the halftime shows are going to be based on "Radiohead" music - yikes!
And Wilma is right - the crowd needs to get more involved in the game. It's our job to pump up the team, not vice versa. One good thing about a close game like Saturday's - everyone stays til the end.
Maybe we can see what a real football crowd looks like in Baton Rouge this weekend - LSU has got it going on.

What are the Cougars thinking?

This article from a BYU perspective gives us some insight into the Cougar mind. Interesting that they are mentioning "upset" and "win" in the same breath. Aren't we the team coming off of back-to-back 3-8 seasons?
Another interesting article here that lists both UA and BYU as "Sleeper" teams this season. Let's see who wakes up first on Saturday.

Mike Bell giving Broncos boost

Hooray for Mike Bell! After being overlooked in this year's NFL draft, Mike has put himself in position to be the Broncos' starting running back. Hard work and toughness pay off.