Mike Stoops Weekly Press Conference: USC Week

A lot of questions this week regarding the poor play against Stanford, and the possibility of one or two starter changes. I'll go on record now, and say that it is past time that CB Trevin Wade got sent to the bench, and that it's time to hand the starting job to Shaquille Richardson.  I'm as big a Wade fan as anyone, and am mystified as to why he is playing so poorly.  Maybe he's playing hurt, I don't know.  Whatever is happening, he has gone from a sure NFL draft pick to a guy that needs to be on the bench.

Also, if he were healthy, I'd be all for Matt Scott starting against USC. Foles looked terrible this past weekend. He held onto the ball too long, and made bad decisions. I can't count how many times he tried, in vain, to escape a collapsing pocket.  What I can tell you is that Matt Scott would have fared better against that type of pressure, and has earned the right to start against USC.  Enough of my growling, for now.  Let's hear what coach Stoops had to say.

(On the Stanford game.)  "We just didn't play well enough to win against a team like Stanford the other night. Really got, just kind of out played, out executed across the board."

"We didn't get off to the start we needed to, and gave them some momentum."

"Just couldn't get the stops we needed, couldn't make the plays on third down."

"Overall, it just wasn't good enough against a better team."

"I was looking at the stat sheet on the way home and it was about as clean as I've ever seen a defensive stat sheet. We had maybe one PBU, one tackle for loss. That's a credit to their system, and our lack of production."

(On Injuries.)  "Nick came out in good shape, so that's a positive."  "Matt will be out, it looks like this week."

(On whether WR Juron Criner will be healthy for the USC game.) "We hope so.  He won't get much practice, it'll be limited this week."

(On moving forward.) "We've moved past big wins, we've moved past tough losses. It's part of the season. There's still a lot to play for."

(On why Trevin Wade is struggling.) "I don't know, just hasn't been a typical year for him. He just hasn't played like he's capable of. He's got to keep working at it. Sometimes you get into a slump and it's hard to get out of. You gotta work your way out of it and practice your way out of it."

(On whether Shaquille Richardson will start against USC.) "Well, we're always looking at continually giving players opportunities, so Shaquille is a guy we continually try to develop. But in no way shape or form is this on Trevin. There were a lot of misplayed plays in that game Saturday night. We just expect more of him, he's a guy that was a pre-season all Pac-10, and All American."

(On whether he talked with his brothers this past weekend.) "No. Not much talking yesterday. (laughs) It was a rough weekend."

(On Arizona's 2011 schedule.) "It's another challenging schedule, throwing in Oklahoma State, and Stanford, and Oregon right off the bat. It'll be a tough month, but that's kind of how it is."