Arizona returned home early Sunday morning and now it's on to Oregon State and the finish to the season. The USC game was of course a big topic of Monday's weekly press conference and here is a rundown of what Rich Rodriguez spoke about as he met with the media.
* Rich Rodriguez said the team had a good practice Sunday night and he feels the team "bounced back mentally" and knows how important the rest of the games will be. He said he wasn't sure that the energy was there to start the game against USC. He didn't see the energy he wanted until the team started making its comeback.
Rodriguez mentions that every game will be a "learning experience" for what is a young team he has on his hands.
* Rodriguez said sometimes players have to let the game come to them and he doesn't believe Tate is someone who likes to do that because he wants to win so badly. Like with the other members of the team the UA head coach wants it to be a "lesson" for the sophomore quarterback.
* Rodriguez said he felt the punt that got blocked had a chance to get punted away if it wasn't "fumbled around a little bit" but he said the team will go back and figure out who punts the best this week before coming to a determination of who will get the job for the game Saturday against Oregon State.
* The UA head coach said Oregon State is playing with confidence after the coaching change and notes how many close games the team has had. He wants his players to play with confidence but he mentions that he wants to see the team practice with confidence as well.
* Rodriguez was asked about Khalil Tate being the first Pac-12 quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards in a season and how that might impact his Heisman candidacy and the UA head coach said he feels there are probably players who have shown more for longer that will be in the discussion more. Rodriguez said he doesn't "worry about that" with Tate and the Heisman talk and said he feels it's the "furthest thing from his mind" in regards to the UA quarterback.
* Rodriguez was asked about USC and having a chance and thinking about how the Wildcats had a chance. He said he doesn't think about things that way when he's reviewing film but he also said he realized that there were some strong plays from USC as well with Ronald Jones and some of the defensive players doing some impressive things. He said he realized his team has things to work on but he didn't want to discredit what USC did in the game as well.
* Arizona has another late start this week and Rodriguez said he could complain about it but the TV outlets are going to dictate what happens. Rodriguez said the exposure of being on ESPN is something he would trade to have a day game once in a while. He isn't pleased that the team hasn't had one day game all season long. He says he feels bad for the fans as much as he does for his own team and players. He brings up the idea that the reviews in the third quarter took so long and said it's "crazy."
* Scottie Young Jr. played for the first time in a couple weeks coming off a knee injury and Rodriguez said he didn't think the freshman safety had "a little rust" to his game and that he wasn't completely healthy still. The same for running back Nick Wilson who Rodriguez said he felt the team could use and it did but he expects Wilson to be back fully this week and be ready to go for Saturday's game with Oregon State.
* Receiver DeVaughn Cooper played more than he has all season and Rodriguez said the hardest part about getting him more involved is that it would mean taking someone off the field and right now there is hesitation to do so. It will be interesting to see if he can get on the field more but Rodriguez likes what he's seen from Cooper as of late.
* Rich Rodriguez said the team had a good practice Sunday night and he feels the team "bounced back mentally" and knows how important the rest of the games will be. He said he wasn't sure that the energy was there to start the game against USC. He didn't see the energy he wanted until the team started making its comeback.
Rodriguez mentions that every game will be a "learning experience" for what is a young team he has on his hands.
* Rodriguez said sometimes players have to let the game come to them and he doesn't believe Tate is someone who likes to do that because he wants to win so badly. Like with the other members of the team the UA head coach wants it to be a "lesson" for the sophomore quarterback.
* Rodriguez said he felt the punt that got blocked had a chance to get punted away if it wasn't "fumbled around a little bit" but he said the team will go back and figure out who punts the best this week before coming to a determination of who will get the job for the game Saturday against Oregon State.
* The UA head coach said Oregon State is playing with confidence after the coaching change and notes how many close games the team has had. He wants his players to play with confidence but he mentions that he wants to see the team practice with confidence as well.
* Rodriguez was asked about Khalil Tate being the first Pac-12 quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards in a season and how that might impact his Heisman candidacy and the UA head coach said he feels there are probably players who have shown more for longer that will be in the discussion more. Rodriguez said he doesn't "worry about that" with Tate and the Heisman talk and said he feels it's the "furthest thing from his mind" in regards to the UA quarterback.
* Rodriguez was asked about USC and having a chance and thinking about how the Wildcats had a chance. He said he doesn't think about things that way when he's reviewing film but he also said he realized that there were some strong plays from USC as well with Ronald Jones and some of the defensive players doing some impressive things. He said he realized his team has things to work on but he didn't want to discredit what USC did in the game as well.
* Arizona has another late start this week and Rodriguez said he could complain about it but the TV outlets are going to dictate what happens. Rodriguez said the exposure of being on ESPN is something he would trade to have a day game once in a while. He isn't pleased that the team hasn't had one day game all season long. He says he feels bad for the fans as much as he does for his own team and players. He brings up the idea that the reviews in the third quarter took so long and said it's "crazy."
* Scottie Young Jr. played for the first time in a couple weeks coming off a knee injury and Rodriguez said he didn't think the freshman safety had "a little rust" to his game and that he wasn't completely healthy still. The same for running back Nick Wilson who Rodriguez said he felt the team could use and it did but he expects Wilson to be back fully this week and be ready to go for Saturday's game with Oregon State.
* Receiver DeVaughn Cooper played more than he has all season and Rodriguez said the hardest part about getting him more involved is that it would mean taking someone off the field and right now there is hesitation to do so. It will be interesting to see if he can get on the field more but Rodriguez likes what he's seen from Cooper as of late.
