Game over: UA has a quarterback … and a Pac-10 road win
By Anthony Gimino
Arizona didn’t have TE Rob Gronkowski, DE Brooks Reed, OT Mike Diaz, OG Vaughn Dotsy and WR Bug Wright, lost RB Nic Grigsby on the first series, lost RB Keola Antolin in the first half, and was using a first-time starting quarterback … on the road in its Pac-10 opener.
So, yeah, nice win.
Arizona’s 37-32 victory at Oregon State — helped by a safety with 25 seconds left — showed that the Wildcats have a quarterback of the future (Nick Foles), has all kinds of depth at running back (welcome to the bigs, Greg Nwoko) and has the overall kind of depth that it didn’t even come close to having when Mike Stoops took over for the 2004 season.
Foles was 25 of 34 for 254 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed for a touchdown.
Enjoy the win.
* * *
New play of the game: Devin Ross’ interception!
* * *
Keenyn Crier: Play of the game? He scoops up a low snap and gets off a 62-yard punt to the OSU 3 with 3:03 left.
Just need a stop, defense.
* * *
Nick Foles has been great so far. Does he have one more big drive in him? UA needs to run out the clock — or close to it — as Oregon State closes to 35-32 with 4:09 left.
* * *
No way — no way — Sean Canfield got the first down. I don’t care if you can’t see the ball when his knee went down. There was no way it could have been close to the 39-yard line.
* * *
Nick Foles? I think we’ll keep him. He throws his third touchdown of the game — 13 yards to Terrell Turner –for a 35-25 lead with 8:08 to play. He is 25 of 32 for 254 yards, with no turnovers.
* * *
No complaints. The replay officials got the mark right at the 29 1/2-yard line, forcing fourth down for UA.
At least, Keenyn Crier comes back with the kind of booming punt he is capable of hitting.
* * *
Good call by Mike Riley to go for two. Bad call by the refs to let the two-point conversion stand. In any case, it’s 28-25 Arizona with 13:44 to go … and this could be heading to a fab finish.
Bad news: Arizona, under coach Mike Stoops, is 6-16 in games decided by eight points or less.
* * *
I wrote on TucsonCitizen.com this week about a story from Nick Foles’ high school days at Westlake High in Austin, Texas. Westlake offensive lineman Andy Theodosis, talking about Foles’ accuracy, said Foles sometimes messed around in practice and would fire footballs that would hit players who weren’t paying attention in the head — from 50 yards away.
We can see that accuracy today with some perfect fade passes, including one to Juron Criner that gave UA a 28-17 lead in the third quarter.
What the Cats need know is a defensive stop.
* * *
So, it’s Nick Booth who is next at running back.
* * *
When a quarterback is starting for the first time, the natural question you have is, “Will the game be too big for him?” Nick Foles is giving us an emphatic “no” on that one.
He’s cool and calm, feels the pressure in the pocket very well, and can scramble to buy time to make the throw. It all leads to another touchdown drive after a Trevin Wade interception, as UA goes up 21-17 with 6:21 to go in the third quarter.
Who’s next at RB?
* * *
Had internet issues. Sorry for not posting for a while.
* * *
Oregon State gets a 22-yard field goal on the last play of the first half for a 17-14 lead. Those were three points that UA kind of gave away, inasmuch as it couldn’t get one more first down to run out the clock at the end of the half and then junior Keenyn Crier made things worse with a 13-yard punt. The guy has a top 10 leg, but his consistency hasn’t improved since his freshman season.
To recap the first half:
Foles good.
Antolin could start for a lot of BCS teams.
How serious is Grigsby’s shoulder injury?
Can the defense, unlike last week, make a key stop in the second half?
* * *
Keola Antolin is back. So that’s good news.
* * *
Arizona is showing off its depth at running back. Neither of the Versus announcers knows how to say the last name of Greg Nwoko, but they might want to learn at halftime. Nic Grigsby left the game early with a shoulder injury and Keola Antolin (who is so superb at attacking the line of scrimmage) hobbled off on the last drive.
So in comes Nwoko, a big redshirt freshman who patiently picked his way for a 19-yard score on his first carry. Arizona tied the game at 14 with 3:39 left in the first half.
* * *
Arizona is missing junior DE Brooks Reed because of injury, but that’s no excuse for allowing two long touchdown drives to Oregon State. Granted, that fly sweep to James Rodgers is so hard to defend, but the Beavers are getting good chunks of yards on most every play. Oregon State leads 14-7 with 8:25 to go in the second quarter.
OSU has 163 yards and is averaging 5.8 per play.
* * *
A quick first quarter, with only three full possessions and a long TD drive by both teams. Oregon State wins in the “luck” category with a twice-tipped pass that ends up an 11-yard scoring pass from Sean Canfield to Damola Adeniji.
Arizona can’t complain too much; it had its chances to stop the Beavers at a few spots along that drive.
With how UA QB Nick Foles played on the first drive, and how fast the game is going, I wouldn’t expect to see Matt Scott in the first half, as coach Mike Stoops said we would.
* * *
How do you like Nick Foles now? Arizona’s new starting quarterback led a 14-play, 71-yard touchdown drive on UA’s first possession. The offense ran at a faster pace than last week, and nicely mixed the run and the pass, with the use of shotgun sets, a misdirection pitch and quick throws.
When it came time to make a clutch throw, Foles hit David Roberts for a 7-yard gain on third-and-7 from the OSU 39. And then on second-and-goal from the 2, he lofted a fade pass to the right corner that couldn’t have been placed better. Delashaun Dean came down with six points.
Knee-jerk reaction: I could like Foles at QB for another 30-some games.
* * *
Pregame: Pac-10 favorite USC lost its league opener at Washington. Cal, projected as No. 2 in the league in many polls, got destroyed at Oregon today, 42-3.
Can anyone figure out the Ducks? They look horrible in losing at Boise State and barely beat a below-average Purdue team. But this was a thorough deconstruction of the Bears today, which just might make USC at Oregon on Oct. 31 the Pac-10 Game of the Year.
Or not. Who knows?
Arizona and Oregon State: You could say it’s a must-win game for both teams … but that is almost redundant. In a Pac-10 that looks increasingly deep and balanced, every game is a must win.
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Tags: Devin Ross, Greg Nwoko, Nick Foles, Oregon State, Trevin Wade
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September 26th, 2009 at 4:02 PM
AG-I know that Foles is a pocket passer but he does seem more mobile that Tuitama. Do you agree?
September 26th, 2009 at 4:03 PM
It’s still very early but Foles looked pretty spot on during that opening drive.
September 26th, 2009 at 4:08 PM
vegasallen,
I would agree. Foles is plenty capable of handling rollouts (which he did on the first drive) and he’s not a sitting target in the pocket.
September 26th, 2009 at 4:10 PM
Very unlucky bounce there for the D. Would have been a sure pick if he didn’t tip that too.
September 26th, 2009 at 4:15 PM
What a fluke play…would have been an interception or at most 3 for OSU. Oh well. O is looking good so far, I trust the defense as long as we can keep them off the field and rested.
September 26th, 2009 at 4:28 PM
Hmm, I really don’t think the ball crossed on that last play. Then again, it’s pretty hard to stop a team on 3rd and inches which woulda been next anyways.
September 26th, 2009 at 4:52 PM
Okay – I’m frustrated with some of the play calling. The swing pass to Antolin on 3rd and 2, and now a running play and a reverse when it’s the two-minute offense. Timeouts burned and opportunities lost… thoughts?
September 26th, 2009 at 4:55 PM
Bad punt… It’s karma for the horrible play calling…
September 26th, 2009 at 4:55 PM
Awful attempt at a 2 minute drive and a 13 yard punt to top it off…not a great end to the half. Hopefully, the d can keep them to a fg or less.
September 26th, 2009 at 5:04 PM
Great play by Wade to keep them to a fg.
September 26th, 2009 at 5:19 PM
that was an important hold to end the half. the D looked like it was going to give up another 7 there, but 3 doesn’t hurt nearly as much.
not a great half, but the O looked a lot better. ‘cats should actually be winning considering that 2nd OSU TD was a lucky play for them. hopefully nick can keep putting points on the board and the D can step up an create a few turnovers
September 26th, 2009 at 5:40 PM
Way to go Wade!! This guy is definately a playmaker. Now the offense needs to respond and put up 7.
September 26th, 2009 at 5:48 PM
Hmm, let’s hope Nwoko is alright. Who do they have at rb now?
September 26th, 2009 at 5:51 PM
How ’bout a little Matt Scott at tailback? Foles has QB locked down for the next 3 years.
September 26th, 2009 at 5:56 PM
AG- As good as Foles has played, why do you think he wasn’t starting QB at the beginning of the season?
September 26th, 2009 at 6:03 PM
vegasallen,
A couple of things. No. 1, I think the coaching staff really liked the idea of a running quarterback and the problems that could create for defenses. No. 2, Foles clearly did not “wow” them in practice. This just might be a case of a guy performing better under the bright lights than in practice. You can see how his demeanor is really an asset in that regard.
September 26th, 2009 at 6:17 PM
doubt it’ll amount to much, but that 2pt conversion call is horrid! how can they see that replay and not call him down???
September 26th, 2009 at 6:17 PM
That is HORRIBLE officiating…there is NO WAY they couldn’t see that his knee was down. How could someone lunge farther if they were still in mid-air?
September 26th, 2009 at 6:22 PM
All i can say is, the refs, better give us this spot even after review! Ok, so maybe not but it would be funny.
September 26th, 2009 at 6:26 PM
can’t blame the refs if this one gets away, but it seems like we’ve had a few more go against us than they have. oh well. GREAT bounce back by crier to pin OSU deep after that 13 yarder at the end of the 1st half
September 26th, 2009 at 6:36 PM
Nice pump fake by Foles to get Turner open for the td.
September 26th, 2009 at 6:40 PM
wow. impressed with foles. there should be no questions now — hopefully we can go forward from here on out with the rest of the season and foles being the starting qb.
September 26th, 2009 at 6:40 PM
I will say that a certain amount of the success of the passing tonight is that Oregon State has been exposed. After all UNLV gave them all they could handle.
September 26th, 2009 at 6:41 PM
I can’t believe this spot on 4th down…there is no way he got there.
September 26th, 2009 at 6:47 PM
Another question for the refs, why would the clock start at the snap after a first down? He didn’t go out.
September 26th, 2009 at 6:47 PM
unbelievable that that spot was upheld…
September 26th, 2009 at 6:52 PM
32 points to osu??? what happened to this great defense we were supposed to have this year???
September 26th, 2009 at 6:55 PM
I really hope they don’t play prevent offense here…stay agressive because we NEED a couple first downs.
September 26th, 2009 at 6:56 PM
Absolutely terrible play call on 2nd down.
September 26th, 2009 at 6:57 PM
Horrible play calling on that last series.
September 26th, 2009 at 6:58 PM
classic! here goes another stoops-led choke for a loss in the beginning of the season. looks like A.G. hit it right on the head — stoops is 6-16 in games decided by 8 points or less.
September 26th, 2009 at 7:03 PM
Whew!!!!
September 26th, 2009 at 7:04 PM
Phew, sweating bullets there and Ross makes a huge play that should end it!
September 26th, 2009 at 7:05 PM
HUGE pick by DRoss! wow! as much as the D has given up, they have been aggressive and come thru in the clutch…game balls to ross and foles
September 26th, 2009 at 7:09 PM
and a game ball to crier!
September 26th, 2009 at 7:09 PM
Amazing punt to pin them with only 30 ticks left.
September 26th, 2009 at 7:12 PM
Weird, I coulda sworn that after a safety you punted. I guess thats just the NFL…
September 26th, 2009 at 7:14 PM
Tmoney: you have two options – punt or kick.
September 26th, 2009 at 7:17 PM
what happened to punting after a safety? guess i missed that rule change. anyway, great win. i picked the ‘cats to lose this one, but i am happy to be wrong. foles was the difference, i thought he would struggle in his first start, especially on the road, and he proved to be cool and accurate under pressure. with all the injuries that we endured, some really questionable calls by the officials, and a healthy dose of the rodgers bros, i think this has got to be one of the bigger wins stoops has gotten. lets hope this will build some momentum for the rest of the season! BEAR DOWN!!!
and thanks for all the great coverage, again, anthony
September 26th, 2009 at 7:20 PM
Iowa looks like it will win at Penn st.
September 26th, 2009 at 7:21 PM
you have the option. generally you punt cause you can get better coverage but they did the kick so they could do an on side…..
September 26th, 2009 at 7:24 PM
Great job Foles!
What the hell is with the replay official? Talk about a homer.
How hard can it be to scheme a defense to cover two guys?
Great job Cats despite some poor calls and bogus coaching decisions.
September 26th, 2009 at 7:25 PM
We have a quaterback indeed. I think Foles is already better than Willie. He’s a good decision maker. We have a quarterback…. now if we could just get our runningbacks and TE back.
September 26th, 2009 at 7:27 PM
Thanks for clearing that up. It seems to me that when teams punt the receiving team usually starts around the 35-40 tho but they did pull off a great onside kick.
Back to Zona, I’d say it was a pretty solid game. Much better than last week. Foles looked pretty good. He made some big plays and seemed to have good control of the offense. He did miss a couple throws but you can’t hit em all.
The defense made some huge plays to seal the win but still gave up a lot of yards. To be fair, it’s an awfully large task to shut down the Rodgers brothers. And a few calls by the refs didn’t help much. Hopefully, none of the injuries today will have any long lasting impact.
September 26th, 2009 at 7:28 PM
Outstanding job Foles! sooooo glad the qb controversy is over! someone get a seat cushion for scott at the end of the bench — it will be a long season. hopefully he will improve his passing when he passes out cups of gatorade to foles and the first team when they come off the field…
September 26th, 2009 at 7:32 PM
Zangerdanger: no need to be a jerk about Scott. He’s still a 19 year-old kid.
Nevertheless, great job by Foles.
September 26th, 2009 at 7:54 PM
Well unfortunately i have Direct TV, so i could not watch the game, but i listened to it on the radio. Sounded like a real barn burner, back and forth.
I have mentioned a statement coach Stoops used on several occasions.
” This years squad is the deepest he has ever had since arriving here.”
I stated, ” if that was the case he could not use injuries as an excuse for a loss, assuming the team is truly that deep in talent “.
It appears he was correct about his assessment. This team won tonight with players filling in on both sides of the ball for AZ. Quarterback, Running Back, Offensive Line, Defensive players.
Sounded like a great team effort, But what’s up with the officials? Sounded to me, at least listening to it, that a lot of easy/obvious calls, which a couple were even reviewed were blatantly blown by the Pac-10 officiating crew. They usual miss or blow a call occasionally during a game but the radio sounded like these were obvious calls which went Oregon States way tonight.
Go Cats !!!
September 26th, 2009 at 8:18 PM
I scoured the Internet for the proper ruling on Canfield’s spot in which he was allowed forward progress despite his knee being down on that crucial fourth-down play. Everything I’ve found is that the ball should have been marked where it was in relation to when Canfield’s knee touched the ground. The replay booth did not call for an automatic review and the official when announcing Mike Stoops challenged the ruling, said (paraphrasing): “Arizona is challenging where the ball was marked after the forward progress of the Oregon State player.” So I gather that in the NCAA, the ball is marked where it is in relation to when the play is called dead (meaning after his forward progress is stopped following the knee touching the ground). Arizona wound up winning but that play would have been scrutinized if OSU came back and won. This game had everything: Big plays, defensive stops, controversial calls and non-calls (a blatant pass interference on one of the OSU players was not called when Foles threw deep to Criner in the fourth quarter) and unfortunately for Arizona, a lot of injuries. This might rank as Stoops most satisfying win at Arizona given the circumstances.
September 26th, 2009 at 8:26 PM
frank: i’m just having a little fun — relax man. scott is just fine. im just happy we won.
September 26th, 2009 at 8:45 PM
I truly believe before this season is over, this team will need both quarterbacks. Tonight with Oregon State they were defensively geared better to stop the run rather than the pass, this played out well for Foles style of play, don’t get me wrong Foles performed admirably, sounded like he was cool, calm and collect, he changed the plays at the line of scrimmage when necessary and truly deserves to keep starting. The running game actually gained some nice yardage tonight also.
But having said that, i think as we get deeper into Pac-10 play other teams will be better suited defensively to stopping the pass and the run will be available. This could play into Scott’s style of play. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope Foles can play the way he did tonight every game, but just in case it’s nice knowing we have Scott and his style of quarterbacking to come in and keep the defenses at bay and off guard if necessary.
September 26th, 2009 at 8:47 PM
How is it before PAC 10 play, the receivers couldn’t catch a cold on the field and tonight’s game by Foles was flawless:
25-34, 254 yards, 0 interceptions and 3 TD’s thrown with 1 TD ran in
Did Stoops and Dykes held back on everything to include lose a sloppy game against Iowa or is Oregon St that bad?
The defense was hot! Trevin Wade has another INT and the PAC 10 refs were shady as usual.
Either way, I am happy we won a PAC 10 game on the road and ASU lost. UW gets a top 25 ranking for beating USC last week (??) and they get a reality check against Stanford. I can’t wait for next weekend and I hope we get healthy quick!
BEAR DOWN
September 26th, 2009 at 8:49 PM
Javier: That is one of the calls i was referring to in my post above. The radio announcers, Lamont Hunley and Brian Jeffries were adamant that was a bad call and replays showed jis knee was obviously down.
September 26th, 2009 at 8:51 PM
By the way, Foles couldn’t go wrong. I liked how he handed the ball off and had a command presence on the field. Even when he took a bad snap, he still managed to get positive yards.
I don’t think Oregon St was ready for our defense and had no clue. You can’t say they were expecting a running game especially how lousy we played in Iowa last week.
September 26th, 2009 at 9:30 PM
OldWest2: I just heard Brad Allis and John Schuster talk about it on the post-game show as well. If Oregon State comes back and wins that game, it would have been Oklahoma-Oregon (blown on-side kick non-call) all over again for Pac-10 refs and another Stoops coach. Where Canfield had the ball when his knee touched was just past the 40 yard line not the 39-yard line (where it was needed for a first down). That should have been Arizona’s ball. Stoops had all the right to be irate about that one.
September 26th, 2009 at 9:36 PM
By the way the link to the Allis-Schuster postgame show: CLICK HERE
September 26th, 2009 at 9:55 PM
Gotta love Sunshine Foles! Looking forward to meeting the Huskies in a couple of weeks.
September 26th, 2009 at 11:33 PM
David, Remember the Titans was on the other night and I just thought the exact same thing today about Foles. Eerie.
September 27th, 2009 at 2:44 AM
Yes, Mr. Gimino, Keenyn Crier has a Top 10 leg, give him a Top 10 Long Snapper or Top 50, and the 13 yard shanks will disappear. Crier should be given a Golden Glove Award for fielding so many bad snaps during his sophmore year and this year. BTW make the Long Snapper right handed. Out of 5 snaps of the ball to Crier, only one was waist level good, the others were shoe string level or grounders. Has anyone else noticed?
Hip, hip to Crier’s athleticism, making the long snapper scholarship eligible.
We have too many talented receivers to miss Rob Gronkowski (Has anyone did a study on the number of back injuries in the Wildcat weight room?) and the skill level that Nick Foles displayed will continue to reveal the overall offensive talent. The passing game was one dimensional with R. Gronk, now it’s multi-dimensional and it looks marvelous.
Hip, hip hurray to the Arizona Wildcats Football team on a coming of age victory. Hopefully they can do again, like 11 Wins & 1 Loss.
September 27th, 2009 at 2:51 AM
Alhough I absolutely loved Foles’ poise and demeanor throughout the entire game, I want to remind everyone that he was throwing against the country’s 109th ranked team in pass defense.
Let’s not anoint him savior quite yet, and let’s just bask in the glory of a tough win in a tough environment, led by a tough competitor in Foles.
September 27th, 2009 at 7:12 AM
Javier–
do we know the details of any of the injuries — more specically — grigsby’s injury?
September 27th, 2009 at 8:50 AM
I partially agree with you Frank the highes are never as high as you think and the lowes are never as low…….however there is no way scott wins that game or comes close to that performance. And i’d go out on a limb (which in hind sight is easy) and say if Foles started last week the game would have come down to a last minute/second play. I’m not saying we win or lose after iowa’s perfromance yesterday, but the game is decided by 3 points or less and comes down to a final drive/play.
September 27th, 2009 at 11:25 AM
Did anyone else notice that Vuna Tuihalamaka had 1 reception for 9 yards? I thought he was a linebacker? Are they trying him out at tight end? Seems interesting.
September 27th, 2009 at 12:32 PM
Drivera, you’re underestimating Foles. Had he played, and played as he did today, at Iowa, we would have romped.
Frank, I agree that we weren’t playing USC. Heck, not even UW. At the same time, Foles will only get better. Plus, we were on the road in a very hostile atmosphere. Plus we had about a zillion injuries, both on the line and with our main offensive weapons. He did a great job of handling the pressure, both of the big environment and the pressure in the pocket, and getting to the ball to the open man. Really like the way he can run to his left and throw right. That’s very hard to do, and yet Nick does it with authority.
This guy is going to be way better than Tui. I predict he’s going to be the first really good QB we’ve ever had at Arizona. Not necessarily all at once. We may have to be patient at times. We’re probably not gonna go to the Rose Bowl this year. But this is still huge. No decent QB would commit (for obvious reasons) when “run it up the middle” Tomey ran the show. Mac was a disaster. Finally, Stoops was able to land a real talent. Not recognize what he had, yes, but Foles hung in there until his chance came.
At the end of the game, I was standing in the middle of Wildcat House, talking out loud, to myself, incredulous, astonished, saying “We have a quarterback! We finally have a quarterback!”
September 28th, 2009 at 8:43 AM
The free kick after the safety can be either a punt or a kick from a tee, on the 20-yd line. It’s usually a punt, but, as drivera says, OSU opted for a teed kick because they needed the ball to touch the ground to execute the onside kick (so we couldn’t fair-catch it, which I remember seeing once in the Tomey-era). What I’d *really* like to see someday is for someone to execute a punt-style onside kick (maybe a drop-kick?!)
With the exception of the off-side call that was missed on the play, OSU’s onside kick was a beauty.