Instant Analysis: Beavers 38-35

I don't know if the 3-3-5 can work in the PAC. I do know that that every PAC quarterback will complete virtually every throw that is not hurried. Watching the last touchdown pass last night before the throw I commented to the people I was watching with: we didn't blitz, game over, we lost. There were many turning points. I thought we were about to blow it open until the bobbled pass interception in the third quarter. OSU was clearly reeling at that point. I thought we were about to put them away again later just before the ball slipped out of Scott,s hand as he attempted to throw to a wide open Carey who might have scored on the play. This was a very hard loss for me to take. I'm trying to be positive. The guys do "fight like wildcats" this year. KaDeem Carey is way beyond impressive. I do think we've made a major upgrade in the coaching staff. Probably before the season few of us thought our team would be playing this good at this point. It just seems like being an Arizona football fan since 1975 there have been more bitter disapointments than monents of triumpth.

I too made the lomg drive and that of course tortured me with time to contemplate the loss. I hate losing, never did learn to like it.

However, let's step back and appreciate where we are- new staff, new systems, many new players in new positions, many freshmen and redshirts playing, and old dogs learning new tricks, like our senior QB.
Scott did pretty darned well; but we needed terrific.
Matt had some excellent plays, but at times his lack of "game time" over these years shows. More on that in a minute. But to answer a question in here, yes, he is banged up. He has a nasty hip-pointer, which is a very painful deep bone bruise, and they take time to heal. We aren't running him because we're protecting him, yet we need his arm.
Gary cites a late pick as the turning point, but there was another that to me was more insidious: about 8:00 left, we're ahead 28-24 and we're driving. We have a third-and-two. Matt tries to pass, the ball flips out backward, and he has a wrestling match to retain the ball. If we had made that damned first down, we were going to be at their 25, and we were rolling. We would have scored again, and up 35-24, that would have changed what OSU could do with 6:00 left.
Now- getting back to our disappointments: many of us picked this game as a loss, some picked a win, but none of us said we'd win 50-0. OSU is a very good team- they beat Wisconsin, they will win enough to go to a bowl. We can't be too "down" on our team, which we knew would have trouble this year. If we do that, we're guilty of a "double-trashing" foul! :)
Second, Riley is one of the best and smartest. He gets the most of his troops, and he's had 12 years to get in this position, as opposed to our staff, which has had......spring, fall, and four games. So anyone getting suicidal should put away the razor blades....or go ahead for that matter, to spare the rest of us your keyboard-pounding.
We lost the game by not getting pressure on Mannion- we will suffer until we do. The 3-3-5 is not at fault, in fact the 3-3-5 brings blitz packages that most other defenses can't. We just don't have the sophistication YET to run them.
We lost the game by surrendering tempo. Riley slowed down the game- huddle, took their time, wouldn't let the ball in play, controlled time-of-possession, as well as calling a very brainy game.
We lost the game by allowing big plays in the passing game and by not stuffing the run. Again, we at times had the wrong people or substitute people on the field. We had to reach way down the depth chart to get people out there at times.

On the good side, we competed and we hit all the way. Some of the babies stepped way up. When Jake Fischer is gone, Sir Thomas Jackson will be there, and he is more athletic. There are many examples.

So, on to Stanford. They can be beaten, but they're going to be tough and hard-nosed. We're going to have to heal fast and be ready to go.

It's Pac-12 football, and despite any skepticism, this is a very good conference.

Two turning points that I just didn't have the energy to include in the article was first, the Scott interception that was first deflected by and then caught by Hoyer (the one where Morrison also got his hands on the tipped ball before losing it), and the Matt Scott pass to himself that slipped from his grasp. In both instances, Arizona had stopped Oregon State on defense and then was showing promise in an offensive drive of their own. In each instance, Arizona held a 4-point lead and had they scored a TD to go up 11 it felt like that would be the final blow to Oregon State.

As for the 3-3-5, yes there's hope, but we're also seeing many of the concerns expressed over the summer about such a defense working in a big boy conference. I agree that the Pac-12 is incredibly good this season and with all the money pouring in now from the TV deal will likely remain 1-2 with the SEC for seasons to come. Hence, my worry. A combination of Casteel adding more of his "total" package over the next two seasons will help, as will recruiting players to fit the scheme. However, we've been down this road with other Arizona staffs and as we all know NOTHING is guaranteed.

I do respect what our players are doing, though. Last night we saw many guys stepping up and making plays in difficult situations. Guys I noticed were Capers, Jr., Onwuasor, and Bachman. There were plenty of others.