Arizona football now looks ahead to a matchup in Boulder with Colorado after snapping its two-game losing streak with a big win over Oregon State Saturday afternoon.
“It was a good win, I thought our guys responded well to a long week,” Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez said. “They practiced pretty well with a hot day and being uncomfortable; our guys handled everything pretty well.”
Arizona dominated Oregon State 44-7 in a game where the Wildcats seemed to make everything click.
“It was nice to get back and have that good feeling again,” Rodriguez said. “Guys had a good attitude certainly all week. They had a good attitude yesterday and now we’re moved on to a big challenge up at Colorado.”
The Buffaloes currently sit at 3-3 with a 0-2 Pac-12 Conference record. Colorado was most recently handled by ASU 48-23. The Buff’s three wins this season are already an improvement from last year’s 2-10 mark.
“They’re more athletic on both sides of the ball. They play extremely hard and their staff does a good job,” Rodriguez said. “They’ve won a couple games but they’ve also been really close against some really good teams, especially at home. So our guys will understand that and we know what the challenge is.”
The Buffaloes traveled to Tucson last season where the Wildcats came out with a 38-20 victory.
Rodriguez made some changes in the lineup against Oregon State with redshirt junior safety Paul Magloire Jr. moving up to linebacker.
“Paul’s a competitive guy and great kid,” Rodriguez said. “He’s still learning but he learned what little bit we’ve put on him pretty well.”
Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Layth Friekh stepped into the left tackle position as Freddie Tagaloa moved to left guard.
“I think our best five, just judging by Saturday, may be with Freddie at left guard and Layth at tackle,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez also commented about the current situation at USC involving the firing of head coach Steve Sarkisian.
“I certainly feel for him and his health and well-being,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve gotten to know him over the last couple of years and really like him. I think he needs to get himself straightened out.
Rodriguez talked about the pressures of being a head coach, especially at the collegiate level.
“It’s a very public profession. It’s different when you’re sitting in his seat. I’ve been doing it for a long time but it is different when you’re sitting in his seat. There’s a lot of pressure involved and you have to rely on your staff and on your players and everybody else to help in these kind of times.”
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