Arizona Desert Swarm: All Posts by Jason BartelYour No. 1 free source for all things Arizona Wildcatshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46873/ds-fave.png2019-06-02T19:16:30-07:00https://www.azdesertswarm.com/authors/jason-bartel/rss2019-06-02T19:16:30-07:002019-06-02T19:16:30-07:00Arizona adds Jack Murphy as associate head coach
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<p>The former Wildcat is leaving his post as head coach at NAU to return to Tucson</p> <p id="8665S8">Sean Miller has hired yet another former head coach to help him prowl the <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/">Arizona Wildcats</a> sidelines.</p>
<p id="s8LfWq">This time it’s Jack Murphy, who was currently the head coach for the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/teams/northern-arizona-lumberjacks">Northern Arizona Lumberjacks</a> before being <a href="https://arizonawildcats.com/news/2019/6/2/mens-basketball-arizona-basketball-adds-murphy-as-associate-head-coach.aspx">announced as Arizona’s new associate head coach</a> Sunday night.</p>
<p id="1gNkZQ">“It’s very exciting to welcome back Jack Murphy and his family to the University of Arizona,” Miller said in a statement. “Jack combines invaluable head coaching experience, recruiting at the national level of college basketball, and an NBA pedigree. More importantly, Jack brings a love for Arizona Basketball and our community like no one that I have met in coaching. He is a tremendous person, a caring family man, and an outstanding coach. All of us in our program look forward to working with him as we prepare for an exciting year ahead.”</p>
<p id="rIJKgV">Before the news was announced by the school, <span>Richard Jefferson</span> and <span>Jason Terry</span> shared their thoughts on Murphy returning to Tucson.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hey <a href="https://twitter.com/APlayersProgram?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@APlayersProgram</a> I’m so excited that Jack Murphy is joining the staff. <a href="https://twitter.com/NAUcoachMurphy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NAUcoachMurphy</a> was so instrumental in the development of so many Az players like Iggy, Luke, Channing and myself!!! He’s a huge add for the program great job Sean Miller</p>— Richard Jefferson (@Rjeff24) <a href="https://twitter.com/Rjeff24/status/1135363366128631811?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 3, 2019</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/NAUcoachMurphy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NAUcoachMurphy</a> congrats on becoming the new Associate head coach <a href="https://twitter.com/APlayersProgram?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@APlayersProgram</a> I’m proud of you and wish you continued success. great hire. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BearDown?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BearDown</a></p>— Jason Terry (@jasonterry31) <a href="https://twitter.com/jasonterry31/status/1135362637771005953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 3, 2019</a>
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<p id="4n7g2K">Murphy graduated from Arizona in 2002 and worked under Lute Olson for eight years in varying capacities including: team manager, recruiting coordinator, administrative assistant, video coordinator and director of operations. He then went on to work for the <a href="https://www.denverstiffs.com/">Denver Nuggets</a> and <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/teams/memphis-tigers">Memphis Tigers</a> before becoming the head coach at NAU.</p>
<p id="pHobis">“I am very excited to be back at the University of Arizona,” Murphy said. “The great part about Arizona Basketball is that you never leave the family. You’re just returning home after a long vacation to get to work to help Coach Miller achieve all the goals he has set for Arizona. I just can’t wait to get started.”</p>
<p id="rzDCnp">In Flagstaff, Murphy had a record of 78-149 over seven seasons. This included a run to the <a href="http://CollegeInsider.com">CollegeInsider.com</a> Tournament Championship Game in 2015, the only winning season NAU had under Murphy. Since then, the Lumberjacks have failed to win more than ten games in a season.</p>
<p id="c0uIiA"> NAU has <a href="https://nauathletics.com/news/2019/6/2/mens-basketball-shane-burcar-named-interim-head-coach-of-nau-basketball.aspx">promoted Shane Burcar to interim head coach with Murphy’s departure</a>. This has not made NAU legend Commander King very happy.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Unreal nonsense happening with <a href="https://twitter.com/NAUBasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NAUBasketball</a> right now. There were a number of quality assistants that I KNOW would’ve been interested in this job had this gone the way it should have back in March and now we get this guy leaving <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LumberjackNation?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LumberjackNation</a> in the lurch. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FreakinLivid?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FreakinLivid</a></p>— Commander King (@CoachKing33) <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachKing33/status/1135368365197762560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 3, 2019</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">What kind of guy is coming home?<br><br>“Having Murph back at Arizona is fantastic. His loyalty, high character and basketball knowledge are going to be a tremendous asset to Sean and OUR program! I couldn’t be more excited today, and for the future of Arizona Basketball.” -- <a href="https://twitter.com/Rjeff24?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Rjeff24</a> <a href="https://t.co/JL2oqhNIN8">pic.twitter.com/JL2oqhNIN8</a></p>— Arizona Basketball (@APlayersProgram) <a href="https://twitter.com/APlayersProgram/status/1135365525070999552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 3, 2019</a>
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https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2019/6/2/18649977/arizona-wildcats-basketball-adds-jack-murphy-as-associate-head-coach-nau-lumberjacks-sean-millerJason Bartel2019-05-03T08:00:00-07:002019-05-03T08:00:00-07:00The Arizona fan’s guide to the Kentucky Derby
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<img alt="Horse Racing: 143rd Preakness" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Og9wJB6zLhoQKLaS75I-35gQ1Ww=/0x0:5394x3596/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63713793/usa_today_10844555.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Patrick McDermott-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>It’s Triple Crown time again!</p> <p id="xVzYDG">If you’ve been paying attention to horse racing the last half decade, you’d know that The University of Arizona is king.</p>
<p id="TvHcBK">Why? Bob Baffert and his two Triple Crowns of course!</p>
<p id="a4xy9p">It’s that time of year where #AHorsesProgram takes over your Twitter feeds for five weeks as Baffert and fellow Arizona alum Todd Pletcher vie for horse racing’s most prestigious honor.</p>
<p id="SSYntl">Baffert has done this twice. In 2015, he trained American Pharoah to the first Triple Crown in nearly four decades. And then just three years later, he repeated the feat with Justify.</p>
<p id="3jmv8O">So will he win back-to-back Triple Crowns? Well, he is the trainer of three of the favorites in this year’s <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/kentucky-derby">Kentucky Derby</a>.</p>
<p id="tGGcCf">Let’s break down the horses that Arizona fans should be rooting for in Saturday’s Run for the Roses:</p>
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<h1 id="Gs5SXA">Roadster</h1>
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<cite>Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
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<p id="RNsT17"><em>Post position: 17</em></p>
<p id="KLDmFK"><em>Morning line odds: 6-1</em></p>
<p id="2ve5qa"><em>Jockey: Florent Geroux</em></p>
<p id="M90TRb">Roadster has won both of his races this year, including the 1 1/8 mile Santa Anita Derby back on April 6th. But Baffert is lucky that this star horse is still racing. Back in September, Roadster was found to have an obstruction in his throat that was limiting airflow, so he underwent surgery that kept him out of training for three months. However, if Roadster were to win on Saturday, he would be <a href="https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/horses/kentucky-derby/2019/04/30/kentucky-derby-2019-roadster-florent-geroux-hope-break-curse-17-post/3593142002/"><strong>the first to ever do it out of the No. 17 pos</strong>t</a>.</p>
<p id="nsxZj9">His sire, Quality Road, did not race in the Triple Crown due to an injury. After being transferred to Pletcher, Quality Road was the first horse to scratch at the gate in the Breeders’ Cup Classic after scraping up his hocks on the starting gate. In his four-year-old season, Quality Road did race in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, but finished 12th, and was found to have a hoof abscess after the race. The most successful Quality Road offspring, Abel Tasman, won The Kentucky Oaks in 2017.</p>
<h1 id="pQDFDP">Game Winner</h1>
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<cite>Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
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<p id="BG4wLX"><em>Post position: 16</em></p>
<p id="fV0hIY"><em>Morning line odds: 5-1</em></p>
<p id="u4dtdd"><em>Jockey: Joel Rosario</em></p>
<p id="u0XDAz">Roadster beat Game Winner in the Santa Anita Stakes by a half-length. Undefeated as a two-year-old, Game Winner has placed twice as a three-year-old, also losing out to ex-Derby favorite Omaha Beach in the Rebel Stakes. Omaha Beach was <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/kentucky-derby-favorite-omaha-beach-scratches-from-race-220807219.html">scratched on Wednesday afternoon due to an entrapped epiglottis</a>. This has made Game Winner the favorite to win the Derby.</p>
<p id="Rcj40O">This horse is a direct relative of 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew.</p>
<h1 id="bMJc6e">Improbable</h1>
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<cite>Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
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<p id="CwCaFF"><em>Post position: 5</em></p>
<p id="fTNATn"><em>Morning line odds: 6-1</em></p>
<p id="xyBYv2"><em>Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.</em></p>
<p id="JlqlOZ">Improbable has a lot of the same connections Justify did last year, so either those particular stables will have an unprecedented couple of years, or Improbable will not see quite the same success as his predecessor.</p>
<p id="kjTihF">This is another horse that has placed twice as a three-year-old, but did win the Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs as a two-year-old, so Improbable already knows what it’s like to win at the famed track.</p>
<h1 id="d7Qy0H">Cutting Humor</h1>
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<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://twitter.com/dbrixx24" target="_blank">@dbrixx24</a></cite>
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<p id="5vBNPv"><em>Post position: 10</em></p>
<p id="A9iuHr"><em>Morning line odds: 30-1</em></p>
<p id="6VOdG1"><em>Jockey: Corey J. Lanerie</em></p>
<p id="fmwWjx">The first of two Pletcher-trained horses that we’ll talk about, Cutting Humor is coming off of a <a href="https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/232684/cutting-humor-scores-big-in-sunland-park-derby"><strong>win at the G3 Sunland Park Derby on March 24</strong></a>. That win beat Baffert-trained Mucho Gusto, who went into that race as the heavy favorite, but finished six lengths behind Cutting Humor. The time of 1:46.94 is a new track record for the 1 1/8 mile distance.</p>
<p id="6Neks3">Lanerie just won his 1,000th career race at Churchill Downs this week. That’s a lot of winning.</p>
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</div></a> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw5ZTIRALdv/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Congratulations to jockey Corey Lanerie for 1000 wins here at Churchill Downs! </a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/churchilldowns/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Churchill Downs</a> (@churchilldowns) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2019-04-30T22:40:56+00:00">Apr 30, 2019 at 3:40pm PDT</time></p>
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<h1 id="E8V7TU">Spinoff</h1>
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<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://twitter.com/PletcherRacing" target="_blank">@PletcherRacing</a></cite>
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<p id="XSPMNA"><em>Post position: 19</em></p>
<p id="DzLhyW"><em>Morning line odds: 30-1</em></p>
<p id="Tl5yXD"><em>Jockey: Manny Franco</em></p>
<p id="VfERcW">This horse has only run twice since August, but finished just 3/4-length behind fellow Derby competitor By My Standards in The Louisiana Derby back on March 23rd. He has <a href="https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/horses/kentucky-derby/2019/04/30/kentucky-derby-horse-longshots-with-low-odds-high-value/3535850002/"><strong>improved his speed figures in each of his four competitive races</strong></a>, but it’s hard to tell if either Pletcher horse will be serious contenders this year.</p>
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<p id="SeUGpR">As always, remember to use #AHorsesProgram for the next five weeks. It’s a way of life.</p>
https://www.azdesertswarm.com/2019/5/3/18524756/kentucky-derby-bob-baffert-trainer-horses-odds-draw-post-time-tv-stream-triple-crown-rosesJason Bartel2019-02-24T16:37:50-08:002019-02-24T16:37:50-08:00Arizona baseball rides big inning to Sunday win at Houston
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<figcaption>Matt Fraizer celebrates with his teammates after scoring the first run of Sunday’s Arizona/Houston finale | Jason Bartel</figcaption>
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<p>The Wildcats managed to salvage a win at UH</p> <p id="RomPZE">HOUSTON, TX — All it took was getting into the opponent’s bullpen.</p>
<p id="uD7eZd">The <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/">Arizona Wildcats</a> had their hot offensive start smothered by <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/teams/houston-cougars">Houston Cougars</a> pitching through the first 16 innings of their three-game set, but after <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/arizona-baseball/2019/2/23/18238003/arizona-wildcats-baseball-saturday-recap-final-score-houston-cougars-clinches-series-cannon">a furious finish to Saturday night’s loss</a>, the bats caught fire again on Sunday.</p>
<p id="ljsuEE">Arizona (6-2) hopped on their plane back to Tucson with a 9-4 win under their belts thanks to a seven-run fifth.</p>
<p id="XGCCKQ">It started with a <strong>Justin Wylie</strong> walk, who then moved to second on a sac bunt by <strong>Dayton Dooney</strong>.</p>
<p id="Kp0i4J">This turned the lineup over, and <strong>Matt Fraizer</strong> really got the rally jump started with a single through the left side, giving Arizona a 3-1 lead at the time.</p>
<p id="cr2iii">After advancing to second on the throw home, Fraizer went on to steal third when the Cougar pitcher forgot to look him back. <strong>Cameron Cannon</strong> walked, setting up a runners on the corners situation for <strong>Nick Quintana</strong>.</p>
<p id="F3KlQT">The junior third baseman, who doesn’t bunt too often, actually called the bunt himself before stepping up to the plate.</p>
<p id="pMlgdB">“(Coach Johnson) actually came up to me when they had a meeting on the mound,” Quintana explained. “He was like ‘Hey, what do you wanna do?’ and I’m like let’s put it down right here.”</p>
<p id="iPEcje">It paid off, as it was a perfect roller down the line, allowing everyone to advance safely, including Fraizer, scoring his second run of the game.</p>
<p id="Ddyd0w">“It was probably the best bunt I’ve ever put down too cuz I beat it out at first,” Quintana laughed. “It was cool. It was more along the lines of you just got to get it down for the run to score. But when I got it down and I kind of saw the pace of it and how close it was to the line I was like I gotta have a hard 90 here. If I’m safe, awesome, and if I’m not the run scores.”</p>
<p id="qbRBML">“It’s not something we’re looking to do all the time,” coach Johnson added. “He’s running a little better than he has in his career too.”</p>
<p id="X2PjIv"><strong>Austin Wells</strong> followed that with a walk, which was the last batter Houston starter <strong>Lael Lockhart Jr.</strong> would face on the day. And an early trip to the bullpen is exactly what the doctor ordered for the struggling Wildcats.</p>
<p id="jK9FCi"><strong>Matthew Dyer</strong> walked, which brought up pinch-hitter <strong>Tate Soderstrom</strong> with the bases loaded. A night after hitting his first collegiate home run, Soderstrom pounded a double down the right field line, scoring two and breaking this one open. That put Arizona up 7-1.</p>
<p id="82Fvx9">Two more runs would score in the inning thanks to a <strong>Ryan Holgate</strong> single that was scalded up the middle, and a nice bunt by Wylie which led to a throwing error by the pitcher.</p>
<p id="3QoScg">Dyer and Quintana both had RBI hits in the first inning as well, which seemed to give Arizona the confidence it needed to come up with a salvaged game.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/mattfraizer3?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mattfraizer3</a> avoids the tag to score <a href="https://twitter.com/ArizonaBaseball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ArizonaBaseball</a>’s first run of the day <a href="https://t.co/48F1da3Ptg">pic.twitter.com/48F1da3Ptg</a></p>— Jason Bartel (@jasonbartel) <a href="https://twitter.com/jasonbartel/status/1099764687774892032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2019</a>
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<p id="4RvNYp">“I think we feed off how we do in the first inning,” Quintana said. “For (Fraizer) to get on like that and get in scoring position right away was exciting. And then to actually get him across home plate is even better. The energy was there and it was fun.”</p>
<p id="IjvCFo">Arizona returns to action on Wednesday when they host the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/teams/new-mexico-lobos">New Mexico Lobos</a> at Hi Corbett Field. First pitch is schedule for 6 PM MST.</p>
https://www.azdesertswarm.com/arizona-baseball/2019/2/24/18238685/arizona-wildcats-baseball-final-box-score-recap-houston-cougars-fraizer-cannon-wiley-soderstromJason Bartel2019-02-23T22:29:28-08:002019-02-23T22:29:28-08:00Arizona’s late rally not enough in Saturday loss to Houston
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<figcaption>Arizona dugout turns their hats backward for full-count, two-out situation vs. Houston | Jason Bartel</figcaption>
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<p>The Wildcats just can’t win in any sport at UH this year</p> <p id="PfqA1d">HOUSTON — The University of Houston just hasn’t been the <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/">Arizona Wildcats</a>’ favorite place this year.</p>
<p id="9Qhc5R">For the second straight night, Arizona baseball’s potent offense was stifled by the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/teams/houston-cougars">Houston Cougars</a>. </p>
<p id="qMohR0">This time it was only for seven innings though.</p>
<p id="DGUqeQ">UH clinched the series with a 9-7 victory Saturday evening, but things got interesting late.</p>
<p id="Z0GwSx">Down 9-3 heading into the eighth, Arizona’s first two runners reached base, bringing up preseason All-American <strong>Cameron Cannon</strong>.</p>
<p id="ib3GfT">The junior shortstop did not disappoint, as he launched a three-run bomb off the Houston Baseball sign in left-center field to bring the Wildcats back within three runs.</p>
<p id="H2LoFV">After keeping Houston off the board in the bottom half, Arizona’s offense got right back to it in the ninth. Once again, the first two Wildcat hitters reached base, and both moved into scoring position on a <strong>Dayton Dooney</strong> groundout.</p>
<p id="1Em3bU">This brought up the top of the lineup and <strong>Matt Fraizer</strong>.</p>
<p id="5D4cZJ">The center fielder lifted one to left, but was too shallow to allow the runner at third to tag up. Cannon came back up to the plate, this time as the potential tying run with just one out left.</p>
<p id="NmGuW0">“Absolutely,” head coach <strong>Jay Johnson</strong> said afterwards if Cannon was exactly who he wanted up in that situation. “He’s hitting like .500 or something and shown the ability to drive the ball. It was good to get him. That’s why he’s hitting in the two-hole.”</p>
<p id="GNJCgF">Cannon grounded the ball to the left side of the infield, but the Cougars were unable to make the play at first, allowing Arizona to bring the potential winning run to the plate in <strong>Ryan Holgate</strong>.</p>
<p id="xg7y7V">On Holgate’s first pitch, he chopped one back to the pitcher, and that was that as the Cougars clinched the series.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Arizona rallies but came up just short as a bouncer back to the pitcher ends it. Houston wins 9-7 <a href="https://t.co/A2GSe9z0Qp">pic.twitter.com/A2GSe9z0Qp</a></p>— Jason Bartel (@jasonbartel) <a href="https://twitter.com/jasonbartel/status/1099536847934574592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2019</a>
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<p id="5PaLTi">Even with the loss, perhaps the last two innings were something Arizona can build off of moving forward.</p>
<p id="YtUkqU">“I think we got our mojo back,” Johnson said of the end of the game. “They hadn’t really been hit with much adversity through the first five games and it was a really good college baseball game last night. I thought the confidence got a little shook early in the game today but they got it back...it just took us too long to do that.”</p>
<p id="D4ypw4">Things started out promising for the Cats from Tucson. Fraizer led the game off with a single and advancing to second on a throwing error. Fraizer would move to third on a Cannon groundout, and then score when<strong> </strong>Holgate<strong> </strong>did the same.</p>
<p id="3naBsf">But Houston answered right back as their leadoff hitter <strong>Brad Burckel</strong> also singled, and eventually scored after a <strong>Nick Quintana</strong> throwing error. <strong>Tyler Bielamowicz</strong> tacked on a second Cougar run with an RBI single up the middle to give the home team the lead. UH would not look back, but it was definitely not the last we would see of Bielamowicz in this one.</p>
<p id="Tgt4kp">Arizona starter <strong>Andrew Nardi</strong> retired the first two Cougar batters in the second, and looked to be settling in. It was not the case, however, as the next five UH hitters reached base, resulting in three runs to make the score 5-1.</p>
<p id="CScyIV">Bielamowicz led off the third with a solo shot over a leaping Fraizer, extending the Houston lead to 6-1. Nardi would record one more out before being taken out of the game. The junior lefty surrendered six hits and four walks (two intentional) in his 2 <sup>1</sup>⁄<sub>3</sub> innings of work. Ten of the 15 batters he faced reach base.</p>
<p id="pnBKEo"><strong>Nate Brown</strong> took over on the mound and quieted the Cougars a bit. This allowed Arizona to get back within three after <strong>Tate Soderstrom</strong> yanked a <strong>Ryan Randel</strong> pitch over the right field fence for a two-run dinger in the fifth.</p>
<p id="bgA0dz">“It’s not a surprise,” Johnson explained about this being Soderstrom’s first collegiate home run. “He’s always had good bat speed. He swings aggressively. It’s nice to see that for him but I didn’t know that was his first but good for Tate.”</p>
<p id="ZModFc">Randel lasted six innings and left with a four-run lead thanks to a leadoff triple by <strong>Kobe Hyland</strong> in the bottom of the sixth off of <strong>Jonathan Guardado</strong>. Hyland scored when Burckel bounced one back up the middle to the second baseman for an RBI fielder’s choice.</p>
<p id="j82OLM"><strong>Matthew Dyer</strong> had a home run in the seventh for Arizona, but the left fielder Bielamowicz (this guy again), leaped over the fence and brought the ball back with him. Houston tacked two more runs on the scoreboard in the bottom half thanks to a double play ball and a popped up bunt that had some serious english on it.</p>
<p id="op1hhS">The Wildcats, now sitting at 5-2 this season, will look to salvage a game in this series on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. MST. <strong>Bryce Collins</strong> is slated to start on the mound for Arizona against UH’s <strong>Lael Lockahart Jr.</strong>, who<strong> </strong>was 0-for-3 with a walk on Saturday as the Cougars’ DH.</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="VMNvUI">
<h3 id="g9YSrM"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/AZDesertSwarm/videos/1183236368512309/?__xts__[0]=68.ARCx6ltQtOyIdjcdhQAwhnnn3FRgeDFZpXtUt_7iSNl-DJR91N3ucR2EwTXEBwknaZ-q1b9v_Rw5bZipdhVvlARxyNj-Vw7IrSVG-lDZaw1cBmBIT4aBbVwTzT8jxtbFXW_BFuSGtwrdRD_hBMcHXaim1dMayHM9GLnnNVatLnSz06XV8AovJW4t87X6jtWDwyvFr3WCRU0E86XgqV8U07IcRm0LX_1NevIhWwSb_df-X1iLNDpPeSiKeA0XGmZ0OuD6oiY1juQqNSDLFpcWBqsuwlnYWIaeucEriWaySAU8g6B4GhLCEuUl6o3hq7GMxgU8sTfKTbEoA5indtTdM2Gj5ypPoonypdubfQ&__tn__=-R"><strong>POSTGAME INTERVIEW</strong></a></h3>
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<div id="fb-root"></div>
<script async="1" defer src="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v3.2"></script><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/AZDesertSwarm/videos/1183236368512309/?__xts__[0]=68.ARCx6ltQtOyIdjcdhQAwhnnn3FRgeDFZpXtUt_7iSNl-DJR91N3ucR2EwTXEBwknaZ-q1b9v_Rw5bZipdhVvlARxyNj-Vw7IrSVG-lDZaw1cBmBIT4aBbVwTzT8jxtbFXW_BFuSGtwrdRD_hBMcHXaim1dMayHM9GLnnNVatLnSz06XV8AovJW4t87X6jtWDwyvFr3WCRU0E86XgqV8U07IcRm0LX_1NevIhWwSb_df-X1iLNDpPeSiKeA0XGmZ0OuD6oiY1juQqNSDLFpcWBqsuwlnYWIaeucEriWaySAU8g6B4GhLCEuUl6o3hq7GMxgU8sTfKTbEoA5indtTdM2Gj5ypPoonypdubfQ&__tn__=-R"><blockquote cite="https://www.facebook.com/AZDesertSwarm/videos/1183236368512309/" class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/AZDesertSwarm/videos/1183236368512309/"></a><p>A late rally wasn’t quite enough for Arizona Baseball on Saturday but they’ll use the last two innings as a springboard</p>Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AZDesertSwarm/">AZ Desert Swarm</a> on Saturday, February 23, 2019</blockquote></div>
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https://www.azdesertswarm.com/arizona-baseball/2019/2/23/18238003/arizona-wildcats-baseball-saturday-recap-final-score-houston-cougars-clinches-series-cannonJason Bartel2019-02-20T20:38:00-08:002019-02-20T20:38:00-08:00Arizona crushes Rice for first road win of 2019
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<figcaption>Nick Quintana celebrates after scoring a run in the third inning vs. Rice | Jason Bartel</figcaption>
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<p>The Wildcats started their week in Houston on the right foot</p> <p id="gEJX2G">HOUSTON — After a four-game home sweep of UMass-Lowell to open the season, the <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/">Arizona Wildcats</a> faced their first road test of the 2019 season on Wednesday against the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/teams/rice-owls">Rice Owls</a>.</p>
<p id="ObemWp">They passed with flying colors.</p>
<p id="kvpKvk">Arizona scored runs in each of the first three innings en route to a 16-5 victory in the first of their four-game trip to Houston.</p>
<p id="k4lY6K"><strong>Cameron Cannon</strong> got the offense started with a one out double down the left field line. Freshman <strong>Ryan Holgate</strong>, who hit .429 in his first weekend as a Wildcat, brought Cannon around to give Arizona the early lead.</p>
<p id="niofch"><strong>Matt Fraizer</strong> and <strong>Matthew Dyer</strong> drove in runs in the second and third innings, respectively. Rice avoided a lot more trouble though as the Wildcats stranded eight runners in the first four frames.</p>
<p id="eoPXgm"><strong>Donta Williams</strong> wanted in on the fun in the fifth inning. The sophomore from Las Vegas nearly launched a ball into a nearby hospital room for a two-run shot, making the score 5-1 at the time.</p>
<p id="ToA15H">Arizona would score three more runs in the sixth to seal the deal as Rice fell apart defensively. The Owls finished the night with eight errors resulting in seven unearned runs.</p>
<p id="60Gisl">On the mound for UA, <strong>Avery Weems</strong> got the start after pitching 1 <sup>1</sup>⁄<sub>3</sub> shutout innings on Sunday. He didn’t slow down much, tossing five-plus innings of one-run ball. Weems surrendered just four hits and two walks while striking out four. A second run was charged to him after a leadoff walk in the 6th eventually came around to score.</p>
<p id="9DYyG5">But it could have been a lot worse had <strong>George Arias Jr.</strong> not done some amazing cleanup work. He entered the sixth with a no-out, bases loaded jam. Only the one runner came across, keeping the Wildcats well in front as the game came down the home stretch.</p>
<p id="uGlRvy">From there the game was all Rice errors and pinch hitters. The Wildcats have now drawn 58 walks in the first five games of the season.</p>
<p id="A6KBy5">Arizona returns to action on Friday as they play the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/teams/houston-cougars">Houston Cougars</a> in the first of a three-game series. First pitch at Schroeder Park is scheduled for 5:30 PM MST.</p>
<h2 id="lSuvFK"><em><strong>Postgame interviews</strong></em></h2>
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<script async="1" defer src="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v3.2"></script><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/AZDesertSwarm/videos/810251689326582/"><blockquote cite="https://www.facebook.com/AZDesertSwarm/videos/810251689326582/" class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/AZDesertSwarm/videos/810251689326582/"></a><p>The Arizona Baseball bats stayed hot in Houston, which makes Jay Johnson happy</p>Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AZDesertSwarm/">AZ Desert Swarm</a> on Wednesday, February 20, 2019</blockquote></div>
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<h2 id="HlIsaP"><em><strong>Notable lines</strong></em></h2>
<ul>
<li id="UNV1tk">Cameron Cannon: 4-5, 1 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 2B</li>
<li id="5JmNs0">Austin Wells: 3-6, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 SB, 1 2B</li>
<li id="VnhPCY">Matt Dyer: 2-2, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 SB</li>
<li id="mqttt1">Nick Quintana: 2-4, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SB</li>
<li id="mTruoM">Avery Weems: 5+ IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 K</li>
</ul>
<p id="qdquLZ"> </p>
<p id="VVXmq1"></p>
https://www.azdesertswarm.com/arizona-baseball/2019/2/20/18234049/arizona-wildcats-college-baseball-recap-final-score-rice-owls-cannon-fraizer-dyer-holgate-wellsJason Bartel2018-11-24T17:24:07-08:002018-11-24T17:24:07-08:00Grading Arizona’s collapse against ASU
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<img alt="arizona-wildcats-college-football-spring-game-time-tv-channel-stream-sumlin-tate-exhibition" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/W7RL7DaGyhB0zf4Gir0BN8eH1bM=/0x0:2786x1857/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62392051/usa_today_11724720.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The coaching staff failed in the fourth quarter and all year</p> <p id="q76XWV">The <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/">Arizona Wildcats</a>’ 2018 season is over.</p>
<p id="dqbmvc">After getting out to a 19-point lead in the second half against arch-rival Arizona State, Arizona went into ultra-conservative mode, and eventually coughed up the lead.</p>
<p id="VM6k29">The way this game ended seems fitting for what the entire season for this team and this coaching staff looked like. So let’s grade the final game of this “new era” of Arizona football.</p>
<h3 id="1roCAc">All Position Groups: B+</h3>
<p id="hAYqnx">Arizona’s players outplayed ASU in every aspect of the game when given the freedom to perform the way they were able. The defensive line was consistently taking advantage of an injured Sun Devil front, the offense was moving the ball well (outside of the redzone), and there were even decent special teams plays. Everything was going fine.</p>
<p id="NDX1UY">Then the gameplan changed.</p>
<h3 id="BtLscn">Coaching staff: F</h3>
<p id="W51pcK">I was actually pleasantly surprised with the coaching staff in the first 40-ish minutes of this game with the exception of deciding to chase a two-point conversion early in the game and not teaching guys to just fall on fumbles.</p>
<p id="XF5W7B">There were different looks on offense including direct snaps to <span>J.J. Taylor</span>, the defensive scheme was tailored perfectly to get pressure in the Sun Devil backfield consistently...everything was going swimmingly.</p>
<p id="s3MIGO">Then the gameplan went from “you play to win the game” to “don’t screw this up”.</p>
<p id="lscDIZ">And screw it up they did.</p>
<p id="X2CGi0">Gone were the days of odd-man rush packages. ASU had all the time they needed for plays to develop with Arizona’s now-patented three-man “rush”. A team that had only managed to put 20 points on the board in the first 47 minutes of the game all of a sudden scored 21 over the final 13 against the prevent defense.</p>
<p id="Uy9HGE">Marcel Yates: don’t let the door hit you on the way out.</p>
<p id="sgYEec">But what about the offense? You know, the one that scored 40 points in 42 minutes and should have had more if the coaching staff hadn’t been chasing an extra point the entire game.</p>
<p id="EO4C81">Well, how about dive plays over and over? Yeah, that sounds like a recipe to keep scoring points and keep the pressure on the other team...the VISITING team.</p>
<p id="H87o9l">In the three most crucial drives of the game, Arizona picked up 15 yards on 11 plays. Those 11 plays? 8 rushes by <span>Taylor</span>, a <span>Khalil Tate</span> interception, a <span>Tate</span> incompletion, and a Taylor fumble.</p>
<p id="7b9uUu">Yep, that sounds like a great way to lock up a game you should have won going away.</p>
<p id="kHdoao">And then at the end, when the offense finally gets some momentum again, you opt to play for the long field goal and call some short rushing plays instead of trying to actually move the ball.</p>
<p id="hY5Dt2">This loss is on you, coaching staff.</p>
<p id="AyWYRw">This game is not on the players. This season is not on the players. It’s all on the coaching staff, and it’s time to see some accountability at that level or Kevin Sumlin will never earn the trust of this fanbase.</p>
https://www.azdesertswarm.com/football/2018/11/24/18110536/grading-arizona-wildcats-collapse-against-asu-sun-devils-report-card-recap-final-score-sumlin-hermJason Bartel2018-11-18T15:00:05-08:002018-11-18T15:00:05-08:00Grading Arizona’s blowout loss to Washington State
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<img alt="NCAA Football: Arizona at Washington State" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qKDq0mV__ht2PZkGzYxuO_cjK8U=/0x0:3033x2022/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62353132/usa_today_11691905.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>James Snook-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Utter domination</p> <p id="cZrCjT">(Adjective)</p>
<p id="wE1IlZ">Choose your own adventure when trying to describe the <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/">Arizona Wildcats</a>’ performance (or lack thereof) in Pullman on Saturday night as the <a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/">Washington State Cougars</a> just flat boatraced the team from Tucson.</p>
<p id="lm41P7">WSU scored 55 points before halftime, and kindly did not score that many in the second half, taking the game by a final score of 69-28.</p>
<p id="wA3Xy0">Arizona was outplayed in every way possible as WSU flexed its muscle as it makes a case for the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football-playoff">College Football Playoff</a>. Meanwhile, the Wildcats are left needing a win against arch-rival ASU to reach bowl eligibility.</p>
<p id="WEGHyR">So what was the worst part? And were there positives? Let’s dive into our report card for this abomination of a football game.</p>
<h3 id="88HKeu">Quarterbacks: B-</h3>
<p id="18CWuR"><span>Khalil Tate</span> actually did not play all that poorly. He finished with 18 completions for 294 yards and four touchdowns. He also brought back his leg game a little bit, breaking off two big rushes, including a 33-yarder.</p>
<p id="JPq41a">He made one horrible decision on the first drive, which resulted in a pick. There was also another play where he was called for intentional grounding after just kind of flipping the ball over his back into the middle of the field while being pursued by the Cougs’ defensive line.</p>
<p id="bJsuZe">Other than though it was a solid performance. He made some throws that not a lot of guys in the game can. There was some serious zip on a few of them too, and like I already mentioned, he was able to escape the pocked and actually make plays with his legs.</p>
<h3 id="OOiT2s">Running backs: C</h3>
<p id="qMHKrO"><span>J.J. Taylor</span> ran through a safety so hard that his helmet came off. That was cool.</p>
<p id="LIJW4K">Other than that I didn’t think the running game was all that impressive. Take out the sack yardage and Arizona finished with 164 yards on 33 attempts, which is good for just under five yards per carry.</p>
<p id="tE7bIe">Now if you look at just the running backs, there’s 108 yards on 28 carries, or 3.85 yards per attempt. Not as impressive.</p>
<p id="eKbvdz">I feel this falls more on the offensive line than anything, but nothing the running backs did really impressed me nor did they have any massive failures, so we’ll keep them right in the middle of the road for this week.</p>
<h3 id="w9V5lp">Wide receivers: B+</h3>
<p id="BGgB79">As good as <span>Tate</span> was, there were some great plays by the likes of <span>Shawn Poindexter</span> and Devaughn Cooper. <span>Poindexter</span> now only catches TDs (his last six catches have all resulted in points), and Cooper racked up 97 yards on just three receptions.</p>
<p id="NI1RwJ">Not to be outdone, <span>Shun Brown</span> hauled in eight of his ten targets.</p>
<p id="x5VwDZ">It wasn’t just the catches either, On Tate’s two long runs, there was some decent blocking downfield that helped get the quarterback a few more yards out there in the open field. If there’s been one group this year that has consistently gotten better, it’s this one.</p>
<h3 id="JWeSbf">Offensive line: D+</h3>
<p id="oWiUCi">Washington State’s defense was just in the backfield way too much on this particular night. The Cougs had four sacks and eight TFLs. Those eight tackles resulted in 51 yards lost, which is a disturbingly high number.</p>
<p id="b26RsE">When Arizona loses to Leach WSU teams, it’s because they are outmatched up front. And this game was no exception.</p>
<h3 id="CnlECP">Defensive line: D+</h3>
<p id="P8xfSb">Again, this is the best offensive line Arizona will play against all year, and WSU proved their worth in this one. It didn’t help that the Wildcats were constantly only rushing three — more on that later — but those three were also never able to make anything happen, and even if they were in a position to make a play, they didn’t do it.</p>
<p id="472ETy">When you give Gardner Minshew all that time in the pocket, you’re going to get picked apart, there’s no way around it.</p>
<h3 id="ff7iTP">Linebackers: D+</h3>
<p id="nBzqKl">I actually thought <span>Tony Fields II</span> was the best Arizona defender in this game, as he seemed to be able to make plays when he was in position to. He had some great, clean tackles, and definitely looked like the most energized guy out there.</p>
<p id="M8xcWD"><span>Colin Schooler</span> had another great numbers game (13 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 0.5 sacks), but I think he’d be the first to say that it wasn’t his greatest game out there. Multiple times he missed the initial tackle, allowing WSU to get a few more yards than they would have had otherwise.</p>
<p id="DFIXtb">There was also the issue of poor pass coverage. More often than not, Arizona was only rushing three, so that put linebackers back in the zone coverage scheme. And more often than not, Cougar receivers would get free in that empty space in between the linebackers and safeties.</p>
<h3 id="PtwcTi">Defensive backs: F+</h3>
<p id="VHFst9">This is more than 482 passing yards on 44 completions. It’s more than a new school record of seven passing touchdowns by Minshew.</p>
<p id="PqDqMZ">It’s a systematic problem.</p>
<p id="zoCIcv">No one was ever in position to make a play. And if they were, they committed a penalty or missed a tackle or just straight up got hurdled.</p>
<p id="Lz1QgP">And when you combine a subpar secondary with a defensive line that’s unable to get pressure on one of the best QBs in the country with a three-man rush, you get this game.</p>
<p id="7l3BiT">More on the secondary issues in a little bit.</p>
<h3 id="bLX6PX">Special teams: F-</h3>
<p id="lzXe36">You automatically get this grade when you allow a touchdown on a regular kickoff by that team.</p>
<p id="r5RwSg">What happened you may ask? This:</p>
<div id="MPNmWg">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
<p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/2LiYDdYbTA">pic.twitter.com/2LiYDdYbTA</a></p>— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) <a href="https://twitter.com/YahooSportsCFB/status/1064020192949358592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<p id="1HSJwc">And you can almost make an argument that there were worse kickoff returns than that.</p>
<p id="4XrgsE">When you give up ten touchdowns, you get a lot of kickoff return practice. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to work out. There were six returns, and four different Arizona players averaged ten yards on those returns. Ten.</p>
<p id="SBFA92">Special teams isn’t the reason this team lost, but man it definitely did not help the matter.</p>
<h3 id="MCgb8P">Coaching: F</h3>
<p id="dsdHoV">It’s time to move on from Marcel Yates.</p>
<p id="vAZ9eg">I understand why Kevin Sumlin kept Yates when he took over as head coach last winter. Yates was popular with the players, and offered continuity for a young group that was showing some promise.</p>
<p id="MeKXOE">But he is overmatched in today’s Pac-12.</p>
<p id="8vLm7u">Not only was Arizona unwilling to bring more blitz packages to potentially help out its struggling secondary, it went the other way and almost always dropped eight into coverage.</p>
<p id="IkjFj2">Zone coverage.</p>
<p id="Sjbi38">Which WSU receivers found the gaps in every single time.</p>
<p id="IeyEc0">After the first couple of drives, you have to adjust and know that if you don’t start bringing more pressure, you’re going to get eaten alive. But there was no recognition of this. Just the stubborn response that kept failing to the tune of seven passing touchdowns and 69 points allowed for the second straight trip to Pullman.</p>
<p id="siEeqI">You know what Mike Leach is and how he takes advantage of you, so do something different.</p>
<p id="HqHtIa">The problem with Yates doesn’t end with just scheme though. He played defensive back. He’s supposed to be best at coaching defensive backs.</p>
<p id="NPlbxy">The defensive backs are the worst defensive group as far as skills and knowledge goes.</p>
<p id="kUS5Y4">Corners never turn their heads back to the ball when it’s in the air, resulting in pass interference penalties on a regular basis. Safeties are not able to read routes and know where the ball is going. And no one can tackle....well, legally at least.</p>
<p id="t2XEZy">Yates is not the man to be left in charge of the defensive side of the ball moving forward.</p>
<p id="RXllIC">The coaching also failed on special teams again, as best evidenced by the kickoff return struggles. The offensive playcalling was fine.</p>
<p id="YDgpmz">But then there’s the overall decision making.</p>
<p id="0TsXpR">When you have the ball on the opponent’s side of the field, down five touchdowns, and with 11 minutes left in the third quarter, you treat that as a four-down situation. That’s just what you do.</p>
<p id="frQEGX">But on third-and-six at the WSU 44, Arizona went pass, which was an incompletion to Stanley Berryhill.</p>
<p id="c15gsf">So on 4th-and-6, Arizona punted. They didn’t set up a more manageable fourth down. They didn’t go for it instead of getting just 26 yards on the ensuing punt. Just another horrible mismanagement in a season full of those instances.</p>
<p id="ApG1ky">And there’s also the whole penalty issue this year which extends drives because there’s no discipline being exhibited by anyone on this team.</p>
<p id="TBlrlF">This coaching staff gets in its own way far too often, and no one should be surprised to see some changes once this first season of the new era comes to an end.</p>
https://www.azdesertswarm.com/football/2018/11/18/18101474/grading-arizona-wildcats-washington-state-cougars-report-card-recap-final-score-khalil-tate-leachJason Bartel2018-11-03T00:15:35-07:002018-11-03T00:15:35-07:003 things we learned in Arizona’s win over Colorado
<figure>
<img alt="donovan-laie-offensive-line-arizona-wildcats-college-football-oceanside-basketball-sophomore" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/EZQoYnvPoDFeZ6sMBUTImadGWvs=/0x0:3648x2432/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62173867/usa_today_11581526.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>UA is back?!</p> <p id="dTl5NS">An in-conference winning streak?</p>
<p id="3aouLG">That’s right, the <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/">Arizona Wildcats</a> are now 5-5 on the year and head into their bye week with some momentum after a back-and-forth brouhaha with the <a href="https://www.ralphiereport.com/">Colorado Buffaloes</a>.</p>
<p id="LkTyTw">The 42-34 victory moves Arizona to 4-3 in conference play and keeps them firmly in the hunt for a Pac-12 South crown with two games remaining. And with how this team has looked the past two weeks, maybe there’s still a chance?</p>
<p id="ippPZ5">Here’s what we learned about the Cats on a late Friday night in the desert.</p>
<h2 id="G7RZfI">1. <span>Khalil Tate</span> is (mostly) back</h2>
<p id="Dw0tvI">Last year, <span>Tate</span> burst onto the scene against this Colorado team by breaking the NCAA single-game rushing record for a quarterback.</p>
<p id="n8BES5">This year, he set new career-highs for TD passes and passing yards in a game.</p>
<p id="y9Zh8y">Tate completed 17 of his 22 pass attempts for 350 yards. He connected with eight different receivers and ended up with five touchdown passes.</p>
<p id="CbyEtN">Oh, and he broke off a season-long 25-yard run.</p>
<p id="UOy4ip">There was a short period of time where that left ankle injury seemed to reappear, but otherwise Tate looked like the healthiest version of himself. And his stats certainly back that up.</p>
<p id="Ab4vR3">If Tate’s throwing game can be this effective along with the rushing attack Arizona has now, who knows what the last two games could look like.</p>
<h2 id="9ExcQO">2. This defensive line is the best Arizona has had in a long time</h2>
<p id="pvh52r">Sure Arizona has the NCAA’s all-time sacks leader as an alum, but this current iteration of the defensive line is among the best in school history.</p>
<p id="LiCC7a">When you’re looking at recent times, it’s not hard to have a better defensive line than a lot of those teams, and that’s exactly what we’re looking at right now. The combination of <span>JB Brown</span>, <span>Dereck Boles</span>, and <span>PJ Johnson</span> is getting the job done up front in ways Arizona fans have not seen in over a decade.</p>
<p id="iFd9az">Arizona had five sacks and ten TFLs on Friday night. That’s only the second time since 2014 the Wildcats have had that many sacks in a game against an FBS opponent.</p>
<p id="86OlmC">There were plenty of instances against Colorado that Arizona only rushed four yet still got pressure on <span>Steven Montez</span>, forcing him to either throw the ball away or try and scramble, resulting in a big hit on the Buffs’ quarterback. </p>
<p id="lielY1">With inexperienced corners and a very hot-and-cold safeties group, the defensive line playing like this will be a huge key to keeping the momentum going.</p>
<h2 id="n5Yfqn">3. <span>J.J. Taylor</span> is more than capable of being a featured back</h2>
<p id="3iuOek"><span>Gary Brightwell</span> missed this game with an injury, which resulted in <span>J.J. Taylor</span> getting 40(!) carries.</p>
<p id="j5klsW">Taylor answered the call admirably.</p>
<p id="CQhaHa">He ended up with 192 yards, and some of his best runs came in the closing minutes to seal the victory. No one will be happier to see the bye than Taylor, who has now toted the ball 70 times in the last six days.</p>
<p id="ksWBSt">As long as the offensive line continues to play at this higher level that they’re playing at right now, it will only help Taylor regain his confidence after being pretty ineffective earlier in the year.</p>
<h2 id="0TKatC">Bonus: Arizona will ride the hot foot</h2>
<p id="FX89TI">Special teams have been pretty disappointing this year, and a missed extra point in the second quarter looked like it would be costly at the time.</p>
<p id="kWzFGY">But even with the missed PAT, both <span>Josh Pollack</span> and <span>Lucas Havrisik</span> got their cracks at field goals, and the two combined to go 3-for-3, all from 41+ yards out.</p>
<p id="lWOBse">If having specialty field goal kickers is what it takes, I’m here for it. And those nine points in a game like this were huge.</p>
https://www.azdesertswarm.com/football/2018/11/3/18058138/arizona-wildcats-win-colorado-buffaloes-final-score-recap-khalil-tate-takeaways-analysis-gradesJason Bartel2018-10-21T19:00:02-07:002018-10-21T19:00:02-07:00Grading Arizona’s loss to UCLA
<figure>
<img alt="NCAA Football: Arizona at UCLA" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/l4gQAIHyiQUMLUp75NOf6bPZp-Q=/0x0:2281x1521/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61855367/usa_today_11487229.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It could have been worse?</p> <p id="YotavG">If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like when two bad Power Five teams play each other, you would have to look no further than the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/rose-bowl">Rose Bowl</a> on Saturday night.</p>
<p id="0DAzrL">The <a href="https://www.bruinsnation.com/">UCLA Bruins</a> outlasted (?) the <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/">Arizona Wildcats</a> 31-30 in their late night affair where they treated the Westwood Homecoming crowd to the most meh football imaginable.</p>
<p id="F3TviW">It wasn’t Arizona’s best performance of the year, but it also wasn’t as bad as it could have been. So let’s get to grading to figure out what actually cost this team the chance at being 4-4 on the year.</p>
<h3 id="45EzHf">Quarterback: D+</h3>
<p id="aZSNYN">The numbers show that <span>Rhett Rodriguez</span> didn’t have a very good game in his first career start. Going 15 of 34 for 231 yards with two touchdowns (and two interceptions mixed in) isn’t going to win you a lot of games, but he did show that he’s at least capable of running this offense the way it’s meant to be run.</p>
<p id="cL9TX9">One thing that stood out is that his underthrows actually paid off as the receivers were able to adjust with the ball in the air while the UCLA defenders just kept running. But the accuracy certainly could have been better, even though one of the interceptions was a deflected ball off an Arizona receiver’s hands. The other was in the endzone though, one of two killer turnovers when points were to be had.</p>
<p id="kqhVbG"><span>Rodriguez</span> is probably a better option than <span>Jamarye Joiner</span> to be behind center with <span>Khalil Tate</span> hurt, but I’m still unsure if <span>Kevin Doyle</span> would do better in this situation.</p>
<h3 id="MEfQWJ">Running backs: C-</h3>
<p id="7Mx7Q1">I liked that <span>J.J. Taylor</span> was able to get the ball on the perimeter more in this game than he had in any game not against Oregon State. But I did not like what he did once he got there.</p>
<p id="tdvmx1">Several times <span>Taylor</span> got run down from behind, and the big one was the one pictured above where <span>Darnay Holmes</span> poked the ball out as the Arizona running back was getting close to the goal line. You could argue that turnover ended up being the difference even though it occurred early in the second quarter.</p>
<p id="FIOtmb"><span>Gary Brightwell</span> showed he has the size and speed needed to be a successful starter at this level. The two split carries pretty evenly and both averaged 8.1 yards per attempt which is a very good showing. But that turnover really cost this team.</p>
<h3 id="yPv1cg">Wide receivers: A-</h3>
<p id="Zw9Xz9">As mentioned above the receivers did a really nice job adjusting to RhettRod’s throws while they were in the air. No one was better at this than <span>Shawn Poindexter</span>, who hauled in six passes for 106 yards and both passing touchdowns.</p>
<p id="cUtPRX"><strong>Devaughn Cooper</strong> and <span>Tony Ellison</span> also did this with each getting a 30+ yard reception.</p>
<p id="vyYV2b">I also felt like the receivers did a really nice job blocking on the edges when guys like Taylor were out there getting yards. This was probably the best overall game this group has had this year.</p>
<h3 id="wKZ6iD">Offensive line: A-</h3>
<p id="Tu3F3a">With a little different look up front, the line actually had a really good game against the UCLA bigs.</p>
<p id="fgRpnS">The Bruins did not record a sack, had just one TFL, and really Rodriguez was very rarely under duress. The pass blocking was certainly not an issue in this game.</p>
<p id="0T86Jk">Neither was the run blocking. Arizona averaged 7.6 yards per rush as a team, putting up 289 total yards on the ground. That was the second-best team performance of the year, trailing only that 442 yard outburst in Corvallis.</p>
<p id="8Q2Sh8">Arizona averaged 7.2 yards per play in this game. Credit where credit is due, and the offensive line deserves a lot of credit for those kinds of numbers.</p>
<h3 id="vTVNRV">Defensive line: A-</h3>
<p id="dUC5R2">The combo of <span>PJ Johnson</span> and <strong>JB </strong><strong>Brown</strong> being on the outside with <span>Dereck Boles</span> up the middle is actually really, really good.</p>
<p id="T6kKyy">Arizona recorded four sacks and 12 TFLs in this game. <span>Boles</span> had a big-time fumble forced/recovered combo. UCLA averaged just 3.3 yards per carry. I don’t think there’s anything to complain about with the defensive line’s performance.</p>
<h3 id="Fg5Y2n">Linebackers: B+</h3>
<p id="fdsUER">So a lot of those TFL numbers were recorded by the linebackers themselves. <span>Colin Schooler</span> is eighth in the country in that category, picking up another three against the Bruins despite looking a little slower than normal.</p>
<p id="fNLtBZ"><span>Jalen Harris</span> is also starting to become a real weapon as a kind of edge specialist. He picked up a sack, a TFL and four total tackles of his own. When faced with a team like UCLA, this defensive front can certainly keep a team in check for the most part.</p>
<p id="GAZqHo">It really came down to two possessions in the second half where UCLA was able to get quick scores. Other than those two possessions, the defense was very solid.</p>
<h3 id="qVVLz9">Secondary: C+</h3>
<p id="wiMAAA">The real difference between the two offenses in this game was UCLA’s higher completion percentage. The two Bruin quarterbacks combined to complete 22 of their 35 pass attempts. When Rodriguez is going 15 for 34 against that, and both teams are averaging roughly the same yardage per completion, advantage UCLA.</p>
<p id="3qQFMY">Arizona’s secondary actually played pretty well, especially considering they were without their top three corners in this game. <span>Christian Young</span> just moved over to corner from safety and true freshman <span>McKenzie Barnes</span> also got a start.</p>
<p id="Ykd45L">The problem that continues to plague Arizona’s secondary is their inability to get their heads turned around on passes. It either results in long completions that could have been broken up or pass interference penalties that result in first downs.</p>
<p id="bdChd7">There was a stretch of two minutes of real time where UCLA was not called for pass interference while Arizona was on almost exactly the same play. The difference? The Bruin defender got his head around while the Wildcat one did not.</p>
<h3 id="gERb5T">Special teams: C-</h3>
<p id="0K08W8">No missed field goals!</p>
<p id="X11e3D"><span>Josh Pollack</span> was a perfect 3 for 3 on field goal attempts and knocked all three PATs through the uprights. It feels like the kickers are fighting for their jobs each week, so <span>Pollack</span> probably held onto his for the time being.</p>
<p id="7VgbeC">The main issue on special teams continues to be the return game on both kickoffs and punts.</p>
<p id="GCrLZi"><span>Shun Brown</span> made some questionable decisions to not fair catch a couple of punts and promptly got lit up because of it.</p>
<p id="x0Mx5M">Then there’s the kick return situation.</p>
<p id="13G2hH">With the new fair catch rule, this team would be better off taking advantage of that every time rather than trying to take kicks out from inside the five. There’s just nothing there and you’re costing yourself 5-10 yards every single time you try to return those. There was also an instance where a UCLA kickoff was very clearly going out of bounds and instead of letting it go, Taylor caught it and brought back to the 20. That’s an even bigger waste of yards.</p>
<h3 id="WC277K">Coaching: F</h3>
<p id="t2vtLD">It’s not even surprising at this point.</p>
<p id="swGLdH">If the play calling was better on third downs, I really believe this team would be 5-3 instead of 3-5. It’s really been that simple.</p>
<p id="7eGzpX">This coaching staff just seems to lack game-situation awareness and I don’t know how you fix that other than firing people. There have clearly been adjustments made in personnel rotations, putting guys in better places to succeed, and that kind of thing. But game management remains this team’s biggest weakness.</p>
<p id="ymTZlN">As long as the coordinators are the same, I wouldn’t expect any of that to change. Also a DB coach that actually coaches DBs well instead of just being on the staff for recruiting purposes would be pretty good too.</p>
https://www.azdesertswarm.com/football/2018/10/21/18006346/report-card-arizona-wildcats-vs-ucla-bruins-final-score-recap-thoughts-analysis-rhett-rodriguezJason Bartel2018-10-13T10:56:12-07:002018-10-13T10:56:12-07:00Grading Arizona’s loss to Utah
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<img alt="<span data-author="5158751">arizona-wildcats-defense-college-football-tackling-technique </span>" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qQtjLQDPWfLsDRhD4J8CQN9EIao=/0x0:3175x2117/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61759583/usa_today_11430582.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That GPA is falling off a cliff this week</p> <p id="hofHFE">If you weren’t able to watch the <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/">Arizona Wildcats</a> play on Friday night in Salt Lake City, well, lucky you.</p>
<p id="nCRlpA">Right from the start Arizona got blown out by the <a href="https://www.blocku.com/">Utah Utes</a>, falling 42-10 in the Pac-12 South battle.</p>
<p id="DanpV5">The score doesn’t quite show just how bad Arizona looked, so let’s go over how bad everyone was (and maybe a positive...maybe?)</p>
<h3 id="nLzCwm">Quarterbacks: D+</h3>
<p id="WT5BHg"><span>Khalil Tate</span> lasted two drives before re-aggravating his ankle injury, and <span>Jamarye Joiner</span> showed that he’s not ready.</p>
<p id="KfvHFg">Joiner even got roasted by the Twitter account formerly known as Dr. Saturday.</p>
<div id="9nbnPy">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Throw it, Jamarye! <a href="https://t.co/icDuHkJVJv">pic.twitter.com/icDuHkJVJv</a></p>— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) <a href="https://twitter.com/YahooSportsCFB/status/1050947019282485248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p id="yE3gx4">Although I’m willing to give Joiner a break on this particular play because look at what is happening to the center right in front of him. Oh lawd.</p>
<p id="lJKqPj">Then we saw <span>Rhett Rodriguez</span> take over for the last drive of the first half and he was....not terrible?</p>
<p id="dsoEBS"><span>Rodriguez</span> completed 20 of his 38 pass attempts and <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/football/2018/10/12/17972264/video-highlight-rhett-rodriguez-first-career-td-pass-arizona-wildcats-football-rich-kevin-sumlin">recorded his first collegiate passing touchdown</a>. His 111.3 passer rating is right on par with where <span>Tate</span> has been for most of the games this year.</p>
<p id="5VtjOs">This was the fourth appearance by Rich Rodriguez’s son this year, so if he does indeed start against the <a href="https://www.bruinsnation.com/">UCLA Bruins</a> next weekend, the redshirt option is off the table. But it seems to me that Rodriguez is the best option behind Tate as of right now. Of course we still haven’t really seen <span>Kevin Doyle</span> or K’Hari Lane yet, and maybe with Rodriguez at four games now we’ll see one of them instead?</p>
<h3 id="wrsZOc">Running backs: C-</h3>
<p id="TymC2V">There’s only so much these guys can do when the offensive line is getting absolutely dominated in the way it was in this game.</p>
<p id="VlnnQv"><span>J.J. Taylor</span> and <span>Gary Brightwell</span> combined for 80 yards on 20 carries. That was better than I was expecting even with that 19-yard run by Taylor thrown in there.</p>
<p id="jvVPAh">Anyways I’m not willing to put Arizona’s worst rushing performance since 2015 on the shoulders of these guys alone.</p>
<h3 id="J0qzOJ">Wide receivers: D+</h3>
<p id="hYAArP">The receivers did the quarterbacks no favors in the early going. I’ll just leave it at that and move on.</p>
<h3 id="dOjRrZ">Offensive line: F</h3>
<p id="OjCB7b">See image above on Joiner’s missed read.</p>
<p id="mPXN7U">Utah was able to get five sacks in this game. Arizona had given up six sacks all year before Friday. The Utes had six TFLs. Wildcats opponents had only 15 of them before this game.</p>
<p id="hhDn8s">This is probably the best defensive line Arizona will see all year, and there was some shuffling on the offensive line throughout the game, so maybe there was no continuity there and guys possibly playing out of position. But that performance was atrocious. No way to get around that.</p>
<h3 id="gPMaHu">Defensive line: F+</h3>
<p id="eCroPN">Utah was able to put up 230 rushing yards and their quarterback was able to average more than 10 yards per attempt. There was just nothing going up front the entire night for the pass rush or rushing defense, and this defense is going to get picked apart the way that it was when both of those things happen.</p>
<h3 id="WBumNp">Linebackers: F+</h3>
<p id="Ute7W7">Utah very obviously had a plan to nullify the <span>Colin Schooler</span> impact, and they executed it well.</p>
<p id="rDvLt1">Arizona’s best defender was only able to register five tackles, though he did have an interception. But Utah’s running backs were constantly able to reach the secondary, as evidenced by the fact that <span>Schooler</span>’s five tackles were actually the most among the linebackers.</p>
<p id="Big5Os">This defense goes as the front seven goes, and when the front seven is taken out of a game like that, there’s no way Arizona wins.</p>
<h3 id="W8fwrx">Secondary: F-</h3>
<p id="nkdCK5"><span>Jace Whittaker</span> is the team MVP despite only playing one series this year.</p>
<p id="cXhoxN">His absence has forced Arizona to start <span>Tim Hough</span>, and man he can’t cover anything. Luckily Lorenzo Burns is still playing pretty well so at least one receiver is typically covered.</p>
<p id="plI0YG">Last week I annointed <span>Jarrius Wallace</span> as the best defensive back on the team, but he played very poorly against Utah as well, getting beat in coverage a couple of times and having zones break down around him on other occasions. In fact all of the safeties seemed to be on different pages the majority of the night with Utah receivers able to find gaps at will.</p>
<p id="0vU4Ty">After a game in which it looked like the defense had made great strides, this performance was very disappointing and was many, many steps in the wrong direction.</p>
<h3 id="s4Zeh1">Special teams: D-</h3>
<p id="2G6jHV">At least there was a 50-yard punt?</p>
<p id="AHiBXn">It was very odd for Kevin Sumlin to opt for a field goal at the end of the first half after Rodriguez led the offense into the redzone down 28-0.</p>
<p id="SZr0Nc">But he did call for <span>Josh Pollack</span> to end the shutout with a 34-yard attempt. The shutout continued.</p>
<p id="P8JZ8F">Both of Arizona’s kickers are having problems making field goals, which doesn’t cost the team in a game like this where they’re totally overmatched, but against UCLA next week? It could cost them the game.</p>
<p id="TSZBtF">The return game is still pretty average and would be better off calling for fair catches with the new rule every time instead of trying to actually return the ball. Just overall the special teams aspect of Arizona is extremely disappointing and has been all year.</p>
<h3 id="k6p0O1">Coaching: F-</h3>
<p id="TgYP5v">As was astutely pointed out in <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/football/2018/10/12/17972326/arizona-wildcats-utah-utes-score-recap-college-football-what-we-learned">our what we learned</a> after this game, the offensive playcalling had no strategy behind it.</p>
<p id="ZMUltl">It’s pretty clear to everyone that Noel Mazzone has been a disaster this year, and there seems to be no awareness of the game situation. 3rd-and-long? Let’s run the ball up the middle with a running back a foot and a half shorter than every defender! 4th-and-1? Let’s throw a bomb down the sideline into double coverage!</p>
<p id="W1Zg4J">Cool.</p>
<p id="EFFlJj">Marcel Yates has not been any better, and this is his third year with these guys, so his excuses are even more limited than Mazzone’s. But hey, the players like him so he’s still around! <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/football/2016/11/18/13683120/arizona-wildcats-football-marcel-yates-debts-boise-state-broncos-report-lawsuits-ncaa-investigation">Still not as bad as he was at running a car dealership though</a>.</p>
<p id="1e6IrH">Sumlin seems to at least be aware that the coaches need to do better.</p>
<p id="sBfNAe">“Everybody has to take ownership and responsibility, and that starts with me,” he said. “In situations like this, little things can turn into big things. Everybody has to look at themselves first and how they can do better including me and the coaches.”</p>
<p id="0KtN91">We’re more than halfway through the year now so the question is when will they actually look at themselves and make real adjustments?</p>
https://www.azdesertswarm.com/football/2018/10/13/17973104/grading-arizona-wildcats-loss-vs-utah-utes-recap-rhett-rodriguez-kevin-sumlin-analysis-thoughtsJason Bartel