Born and raised in Tucson, I've always been a die-hard fan. I remember watching a shellacking at the hands of UCLA and crying my eyes out in frustration when I was in high school in the late 80s. Or cussing out the tv during the Gonzaga game with Walton that was back and forth. Grateful now that we won that one. We had company over and i was already embarrassing myself in the other room.
Nowadays, I don't let the highs get as high or the lows get as low. I still watch the whole game and don't rage quit ... Ok I did that with Buffalo last year, but that was partly due to sky high expectations.
Still that's part of it, we expect more out of our Cats, but did anyone expect an upset. Once it got out to a two-there score lead, I started watching the game by the series.
First off can we say that WSU is really good? They've been doing this on everyone. They keep the pocket clean. Minshew was masterful. He's mobile enough to elude pressure and buy time. He's poised and patient in the pocket. If you blitz, he still beats you. Only Cal had really been able to hold him by disguising pressure and coverages. You could see us trying to do that, but we are not well versed in that yet. Their receivers one how to find open spots in our zones and we're on the same page with Minshew. Our guys were guarding turf as Huard put it. It's a learning experience.
On offense, we saw some really good Tate. He continues to grow. Some of those throws on the run were amazing. Saw some explosiveness and a little bit more willingness to run. You can see the physical dropoff when RR comes in. Did ok, but not great rushing.
We had 6 fumbles. How much of that is playing in 28 degree weather? It's hard to simulate those conditions to practice the feel and reaction when your muscles are a little tighter / feel is a little more numb and you get hit. Ball security is a must. I'm sure the coaches stress that ... 4 turnovers, one on the goalline and one leading to points on the kickoff. Other fumble face then a very short field. 2 helped to kill drives. Even without those miscues, we were outclassed. Their offense is a machine.
Anyway ... I had my hopes that we'd pull off another upset. But in the end, it comes down to The Territorial Cup. The way I see it, it was going to be that way all along. Put this game behind us. Learn by doing whether in success or failure.
I think we match up with ASU pretty well. Tate is healthy and getting more consistent. It worries me that ASU has made an adjustment to move N'Keal all over the place making it tough for opposing D-Coordinators to game plan bracket coverage for him. Benjamin is a pretty darn good back too.
All this talk of not deserving a bowl game ... I would want to go to a bowl game, no matter how irrelevant and even if we were bound to lose because it means an additional 3-4 weeks of practice and development. In the grand scheme of things as a program, we need that.
Nowadays, I don't let the highs get as high or the lows get as low. I still watch the whole game and don't rage quit ... Ok I did that with Buffalo last year, but that was partly due to sky high expectations.
Still that's part of it, we expect more out of our Cats, but did anyone expect an upset. Once it got out to a two-there score lead, I started watching the game by the series.
First off can we say that WSU is really good? They've been doing this on everyone. They keep the pocket clean. Minshew was masterful. He's mobile enough to elude pressure and buy time. He's poised and patient in the pocket. If you blitz, he still beats you. Only Cal had really been able to hold him by disguising pressure and coverages. You could see us trying to do that, but we are not well versed in that yet. Their receivers one how to find open spots in our zones and we're on the same page with Minshew. Our guys were guarding turf as Huard put it. It's a learning experience.
On offense, we saw some really good Tate. He continues to grow. Some of those throws on the run were amazing. Saw some explosiveness and a little bit more willingness to run. You can see the physical dropoff when RR comes in. Did ok, but not great rushing.
We had 6 fumbles. How much of that is playing in 28 degree weather? It's hard to simulate those conditions to practice the feel and reaction when your muscles are a little tighter / feel is a little more numb and you get hit. Ball security is a must. I'm sure the coaches stress that ... 4 turnovers, one on the goalline and one leading to points on the kickoff. Other fumble face then a very short field. 2 helped to kill drives. Even without those miscues, we were outclassed. Their offense is a machine.
Anyway ... I had my hopes that we'd pull off another upset. But in the end, it comes down to The Territorial Cup. The way I see it, it was going to be that way all along. Put this game behind us. Learn by doing whether in success or failure.
I think we match up with ASU pretty well. Tate is healthy and getting more consistent. It worries me that ASU has made an adjustment to move N'Keal all over the place making it tough for opposing D-Coordinators to game plan bracket coverage for him. Benjamin is a pretty darn good back too.
All this talk of not deserving a bowl game ... I would want to go to a bowl game, no matter how irrelevant and even if we were bound to lose because it means an additional 3-4 weeks of practice and development. In the grand scheme of things as a program, we need that.
