Like most probably expected, head coach Mike Stoops had little explanation for his team’s performance in its 42-17 loss to Stanford on Saturday.
“”I thought it was pretty accurate the other night. We just didn’t play well enough to win,”” Stoops said. “”We just got outplayed and out-executed across the board, and that was frustrating.””
While Arizona (7-2, 4-2 Pacific 10 Conference) has plenty to be proud of so far this season, the 60 minutes of football against the Cardinal were very concerning.
The 510 yards that Stanford totaled against the hapless Wildcats would indicate that Arizona wasn’t prepared, but according to Stoops that wasn’t the case.
“”We knew it would be a tough matchup but overall we had a good week. We just couldn’t get the things done,”” Stoops said. “”Too many dropped balls, mistakes, getting hit early wasn’t good, giving up a big play early wasn’t good.””
To his credit, Stoops did not blame solely the players for mistakes on the field. He suggested the entire program was responsible for the loss and needs to move forward from it.
“”It was a community effort. Coaches, players everybody kind of contributed to the loss,”” Stoops said. “”We need to bounce back, and we have before.””
On the bright side, Arizona escaped Saturday’s game without a major injury. However, the physical nature of the Cardinal left a few Wildcats nicked up.
Running back Nic Grigsby and wide receiver Juron Criner both missed snaps due to separate ankle injuries. Quarterback Nick Foles, despite being hit frequently, is said to be OK as well.
One injury note that surfaced shortly before the game was that Matt Scott’s wrist injury is much worse than coaches let on after the UCLA game. It turns out that Scott was hit on the wrist several times against the Bruins and has been wearing a brace since. He didn’t even dress for the Stanford game and isn’t expected to dress for this weekend’s matchup with USC either.
Stoops said Scott, who filled in for Foles by beating Washington and UCLA, is listed as week-to-week.
Sending an APB for Trevin Wade
You might recall seeing Arizona cornerback Trevin Wade dominating Pac-10 receivers on a weekly basis in 2009, and you might even remember him being named to several preseason All-Pac-10 and All-American teams this summer as well.
Unfortunately, Wade hasn’t lived up to the hype this year, and Stoops isn’t quite sure why.
“”It just hasn’t been a typical year for him,”” Stoops said. “”I don’t know. He hasn’t played like he’s capable of. He has to keep working at it. Sometimes you get in a slump and it’s hard to get out of. You have to work your way out of it and practice your way out of it. He just hasn’t had the production we’re used to seeing from him.””
Stoops appropriately said afterward that the poor performance of the secondary isn’t Wade’s fault, but he said his technique needs improvement.
Freshman cornerback Shaquille Richardson will get a look at possibly starting should Wade continue to falter.
