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AG's Wildcat Report - Dispatches on the Wildcats, from Anthony Gimino

Without playing, Arizona vaults into the AP Top 10

by on Oct. 03, 2010, under Sports

Not playing has its advantages.

The Arizona Wildcats, despite being idle Saturday, jumped five spots in the AP poll, landing at No. 9.

That’s a combination of other teams losing and at least one voter coming into the light.

Desmond Conner of the Hartford Courant, criticized in this space and elsewhere for leaving Arizona off his ballot last week, suddenly elevated the Wildcats to No. 13 this week.

Arizona (4-0) also moved ahead of idle Utah, which is a bit strange, but perhaps UA’s win over Iowa, which handled Penn State fairly easily on Saturday, looks even better this week than it did a week earlier.

The Wildcats also jumped in front of LSU (which barely beat reeling Tennessee in a bizarre ending), as well as Florida, Stanford and Wisconsin, which all lost.

Doug Lesmerises of the Cleveland Plain Dealer gives Arizona its highest rank, at No. 7.

Tom Murphy of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette gives Arizona its lowest rank, at No. 19.

This is the first time Arizona has been in the AP Top 10 during the season since the end of the 1998 season, when the Wildcats were fourth after beating Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl. They also were fourth in the 1999 preseason poll before losing badly at Penn State.

Saturday game against visiting Oregon State will be the first Arizona has played at home as a Top 10 team since the seventh-ranked Cats beat Arizona State 50-42 on Nov. 27, 1998.

(As a side note, last week we pointed out that eight voters had Iowa ahead of Arizona on their ballots. This week, that number was down to three.)

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  • Josh

    Desmond Conner was also called out here: http://twitter.com/BearDownArizona/status/25808322324 and likely came to a realization here: http://twitter.com/desmondconner/status/25995803401

    • Anthony Gimino

      Josh,
      Thanks for the links. I can only assume Mr. Conner was talking about me when he tweeted this:

      @uatweets Hey I voted for your team today- think you and your weak homer columnist will be able to sleep through the night over MY vote lol!

      So he gets called out for having a ballot that makes no sense — for basically not doing his job — and his only defense is name-calling and resorting to the “hey, it really doesn’t matter” card.

      A simple, “I goofed and will fix it” would have sufficed.

  • wildcatfight83
    • wildcatfight83

      I guess my point is that if you are a “homer” then so are the authors of pollspeak as well as Ted Miller of espn.   His attitude is pretty telling…  the AP has guidelines that he just didn’t follow because of laziness.

      • Anthony Gimino

        Wildcatfight83,
         
        Thanks for the other links. I had the AP football vote for the state of Arizona a couple of years ago, and I took it very seriously … is it so wrong to ask other voters to do the same?

        • wildcatfight83

          Not at all.  It should be expected from a professional.

  • http://none JimBodkins

    4 games guys – not 12, and weren’t two of the 4 Bob’s College?

    I am impressed, but its early. I’m holding a positive thought and pulling for them. But there is a reason that many many years ago the fight song’s lyrics were altered to … Fall down Arizona, fall down red and blue …

    This may be the 9th best team in the country. It may be just a great start to a 10-2 season. (I’m not sure how many games are played this year). It would be amazing either way.

    My (fairly worthless) advice is … just enjoy the games and consider this a strong start. Lets not become hysterical methane breathers. After seeing the Iowa bleacher video – I am just glad not to be an Iowa fan.

    The team is doing good stuff and I am having fun – and I dont even have tickets. :)
    (unedited)

    • wildcatfight83

      The only thing is that rankings, even in week 5, matter.  The system is set up where the Harris Poll and the USA Today Poll determine which teams get to go to which bowls. (Yes, the AP doesn’t count.  But they are all related.  Perception is perception.)
      Sure, Arizona may not finish well.  But if we do finish 10-2 (and don’t qualify for the Rose) then national perception could be the difference between an Alamo trip and a BCS-at-large trip.

  • wildcatfight83

    Desmond Conner’s complete lack of professionalism is completely astounding:
    @gaddmatt I’d also be carefully Matty not to pinch AP voters, could affect how UA —

    ——
    He’s also now claiming that he didn’t “believe” in Arizona:
    @gaddmatt not the public just you. Didn’t get caught napping just don’t believe in Arizona yet. Lose Saturday ? Make sure your device is on
    Why he would then vote for Arizona #13 is just bizarre then?  Though, not voting for Arizona and voting Iowa #15 does violate AP guidelines….

    • wildcatfight83

      gaddmatt also appears to be an ASU fan.  I’m just truly stunned that a professional journalist would sink this low when he is called on his vote.

      • blueleaf11

        Yeah gaddmatt is a Sundevil… he even mentioned that he hates Arizona, probably in response to being called a “homer” by that east-coast biased joke of a journalist.

  • Carlos J. M.

    I like the way these guys will swear up and down while on the air that they are not biased.  Heck, they’ll even joke about it like we out here were the ones who misread them and not the other way around.  They’ll chuckle and shake their head as if to say, Here they go again, those baseless Arizona Wildcat cheerleaders…Yet this is what we get…

    After Arizona won the Iowa game in every way possible, vs. a then 9th ranked Hawkeye team, mind you, Iowa’s ranked ahead of Arizona by 8 pollsters, and 3 this week, even after the Hawkeyes proved their mettle and moreso ours by thrashing Joe Pa’s NittanyLions?

    Five weeks in and we have this Desmond Connecticutee, from the home state of the Eastern-biased to Sell Punks (those with a Durham zip code especially have these Bristolites – and a certain some body on the payroll from St. Petersburg , FL – working it real hard, blushing heartily and sweating profusely) Network, no less, finally casting a vote for the Cats? 

    ESPN’s Dan Patrick fails to mention newly minted 9th ranked Arizona as an upcoming tough foe for the Ducks on his program just this week, a day or so ago?

    No, I believe it’s abundantly clear who’s who and what’s what.

    But you can you imagine the mood, the atmosphere, the look on their face should Arizona continue to take care of business, continue to take care of itself, continue to win?  And in the process have these guys eat their own words and self-destruct?  Wouldn’t that be something?

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  • Shotgun Slade

    I’m sorry, guys… I know I’m supposed to be optimistic… I’m supposed to be stoked – like the rest of you are. But truth is, I don’t really feel that we’re a #9 team.

    Last week I felt that we were overrated at #14! Now, #24, or whatever it was… was okay. Rankings are seriously stupid in my estimation. They’re just a week-to-week feel-good kinda thing…

    Sure wish these  rankings would go away and leave me alone…  :^(

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