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Post-Game Recap: Arizona 19 Central Michigan 6

 

The outcome was: Satisfactory. A win is a win and Central Michigan was a formidable foe.  Matt Scott looked quick and connected on 19 of 30 passes and had 202 yards.  Our offense put up 448 total yards. The defense was what really surprised me though.  Our guys were big, fast, and flying to the ball.  Central Michigan struggled the whole game against our D and looked completely out of whack.  Lefevour's passing yards were the third fewest in 40 starts. 

The game wasn't all good news for Arizona.  We had trouble finishing drives.  Arizona was only 6 of 16 on 3rd down conversions for a paltry 37.5%.  Our squad lacked the "big play" and we blew our first shot at a score by fumbling away the ball on the Central Michigan 16 yard line.   What's up with Foles not seeing the field?  Stoops has been promising two quarterbacks in the opener for weeks and Foles doesn't sniff the field. Interesting.

The Offensive MVP was: Nic Grigsby.  Nic had 23 carries for 118 yards.  That's a 5.1 average for those of you at home.  He was big, aggressive and was hard to stop.  Grigsby will be such a key player for us throughout the year as we enter the Pac-10 defenses where we will need a big pounding back to step in and get the yards.   Grigsby broke off a 24 yard run in the 4th quarter to put him over 100 for the night.

The Defensive MVP was: Vuna Tuihalamaka. 10 tackles. 1 interception. Flying to the ball. Controlling the middle of the field.  This is the kind of guy you need to lead a top notch defense.  He was absolutely amazing on Saturday.  When you have one guy dominating at his position it allows the defensive coach to take chances elsewhere because he knows the middle will be secure.  This allowed our pass rush from the outside to put pressure on Lefevour without worry for a big play up the middle.

Northern Arizona Fear Factor: The Wildcats are already looking ahead to this weekend's game against Northern Arizona.   NAU will be opening their season up against the Wildcats on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in Tucson.  The Cats handled NAU 45-24 two years ago  and shouldn't have a problem with them this year.  I am looking forward to seeing Foles hit the field this weekend. 

Freshman Watch: Jake Fischer played last Saturday and racked up 2 solo tackles along with C.J. Parish who had 1 tackle.  Adam Hall didn't play.  I'll be looking for some more participation in what I hope to be a blowout next weekend.