Last year we actually beat these guys handily on the road after IS threw the incredible pass to Chambers for a TD right before halftime. It was a gutsy suggestion byIS, and a great win for the Dawg's in the desert who ended their Pac Ten losing streak.
Arizona is a program on the rise who has been recruiting very well ever since Mike Stoops arrived on the scene. They had a breakthrough 29-27 win over OSU on the road, and an impressive 52-14 win over UCLA. It looked like the program was turning the corner than came mighty Washington who thumped them 38-14 at home. That was shocker!
This year we play on the road again as the Pac Ten tries to balance their schedule in the new era of the 12 game schedule. True Sophmore Willie Tuitama should develop into a pretty good QB before the end of the year. His main targets will be Mike Thomas, and Syndric Steptoe. At RB the Wildcats start over and could have some problems because of injuries and depth. UW will have a much better backfield, but Arizona has been building on heck of an offensive line that should be able to begin asserting itself. Daniel Borg who flirted with going to UW a few years ago is a rising star.
Defensively you could see all last year that they were building something special. They are deep all the way through and would have to rank among the best defenses in the conference going into 2006.
Arizona had the second best recruiting class in the Pac Ten on paper last year. Stoops seems to have the program headed in the right direction and it won't be long till they are bowling. Like Washington it is a work in progress, but Washington gets the nod in this one with an edge in experience at the skill positions. The Wildcats have to show me they can move the ball before I get excited about them.
Why Washington should win
We won here last year .
We have more experience in the skill positions.
We have better RB situation, even if Hasty sits out.
Our defense shut them down last year and is better this year.
Washington has the ability to score more points in a tight defensive struggle because Stanback can make plays.
Arizona hasn't proved that it can score enough points each week to win.
Why Arizona should win
They have more depth and talent.
They have a better offensive line.
They have one of the best defenses in the conference that is a year older.
Tuitama is ready to break out as a true sophmore and show the potential he displayed against OSU, and UCLA.
The weather in Arizona is still hot in late September making opponents wilt.
What do I think?
I think we match up well with these guys and we have a good chance for victory in the desert. Arizona had much better recruiting classes than us the last two years, but I think we have enough experience to get by them once again on their home turf.
The key as always is the UW OL, can they give IS and the skill guys the time to do their thing? If the OL has come along it is a realistic prediction that we will be 4-1 headed into play USC. Overly optimistic, perhaps, but all these games are winnable. We could have won at least six last year if the chips had fallen correctly, same thing with this season. We need to win the winnable games.
Washington 27 Arizona 17 (4-1)
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7 comments:
part of your final paragraph
Overly optimistic, perhaps, but all these games are winnable. We could have won at least six last year if the chips had fallen correctly, same thing with this season. We need to win the winnable games.
I couldn't agree more. I think it was UCLA I watched when I was back in the states last year. I'm sitting there thinking that we're actually going to win this one. Then it fell apart. Interception or missed pass, something like that...the rest of the game is foggy. The beer was good!
The game was foggy for me too. I was at a party where people were doing Karaoke out side and I kept sneaking into the house to watch the game.
A few people were watching with me at the end in disbelief as UCLA won in the last seconds.
I am a real proponent of the 4-1 start this season. A beginning like that will help recruting quite a bit, put UW back on the map a bit, and put us in good position to qualify for a bowl. However the schedule is murder in the middle.
Yeah, I just saw the headline of your game 6 post. I haven't read it, but I'm not sure I have to. I just hope your predictions come true and we're playing SC as a confident team.
I am hopeful we can do that....I am getting a little ahead of myself....players seem to be falling like tree's due to grades, we really can;t afford the losses, especially Flowers.
One of the perils of blogging. It's fun, but it's all archived.
It is archived....we will see what we look like coming out of camp. I like taking the optimistic view before the season starts, if you go in expecting to lose where exactly is the fun?
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