Alamo Bowl game blog: Cats lose mistake-filled game
by Anthony Gimino on Dec. 29, 2010, under Sports
Oklahoma State recovers the ball after Bug Wright muffed the catch on the first punt of the game. Photo by Matt Strasen-US PRESSWIRE
It’s over. Oklahoma State wins 36-10. Give credit to the Cowboys, but Arizona has no shortage of turnovers, penalties, etc. to regret for the next nine months.
See you Sept. 3 against NAU.
And then comes a game at — gulp — Oklahoma State.
Related: Mike Stoops on letting first half expire: ‘I thought it was fourth-and-25′
Related: Arizona football: Sometimes, stats do lie
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Now, that’s fitting. Nick Foles hits Richard Morrison with a 44-yard touchdown pass with 4:13 left … but it’s called back by a holding penalty on guard Conan Amituanai.
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It’s almost over. Oklahoma State scores again on a 44-yard field goal with 5:53 to go, taking a 36-10 lead. If the Cowboys add a touchdown, the Wildcats will lose another bowl game by 33 points.
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It was fourth-and-13 from the OSU 17 … but why is Mike Stoops trying to kick field goals? Alex Zendejas misses from 34 yards.
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Headed to the fourth quarter. Arizona down by 23 points. Three touchdowns, two two-point conversions and an extra point.
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Pretty much figures. Arizona gets a defensive stop on fourth-and-1 from its 48, but linebacker Derek Earls is flagged for a face mask penalty. OSU converts that into points with a 50-yard field goal from Dan Bailey, the winner of the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best kicker.
OSU leads 33-10 with 3:20 to go in the third quarter.
I’ll keep watching because I have to … what about the rest of you?
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A third interception for Nick Foles. An unhappy Texas homecoming for the kid from Austin.
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Oklahoma State responds to Arizona’s piddly field goal with an easy touchdown drive, capped by a 3-yard pass to Justin Blackmon, to take a 30-10 lead with 5:16 to play in the third quarter.
Arizona coach Mike Stoops has opted for field goal attempts of 47 yards (no good) and 42 yards (good) when facing fourth-and-5 situations. This game — which clearly was going to need 30-plus points to win — called for touchdowns not field goal attempts.
But Stoops has never really been a gambling coach. He should have been in this game.
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It’s good! Alex Zendejas kicks a 42-yard field goal with 9:01 to play in the third quarter. The Arizona defense has done a nice job since halfway through the first quarter, but the UA offense hasn’t been able to do much damage and, as it has all season, is struggling when it gets anywhere close to the goal line.
The Cats trail 23-10.
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Arizona has committed three false start penalties on third down.
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No dice for Arizona on what I would say was a critical opening drive of the second half. It didn’t help that the Cats were called for a false start on third-and-3. Nick Foles can’t connect on third-and-8 … and now OSU has the ball after a punt.
Can the Arizona defense can up with a big play?
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Tweets George Schroeder, the sports columnist at the Eugene Register-Guard: Arizona is one big discombobulated mess.
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Arizona trails 23-7 at halftime, and it could have been worse.
Let’s see …
Arizona:
–Lost the ball on a muffed punt after the first drive of the game, leading to an Oklahoma State touchdown.
–Misfired on a fourth-down pass on its first drive of the game.
–Allowed a 71-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Justin Blackmon on a busted coverage in the secondary.
–Threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown.
–Threw an interception at the Oklahoma State 2-yard line.
–Missed a 47-yard field goal.
–Got nothing after reaching the OSU 39-yard line in the final minute, even failing to call a timeout to set up a fourth-down Hail Mary throw.
Anything else?
As coach Mike Stoops said in the halftime interview, the Wildcats need to take the opening kickoff and get a touchdown. The game isn’t out of reach … yet.
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A 47-yard field goal attempt from Alex Zendejas goes — predictably — wide right. On fourth-and-6 from the 30, I think I would have gone for it with 2:26 left in the first half. No, I know I would have gone for it.
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The hopelessly optimistic view with six minutes to go in the half: An Arizona touchdown and a two-point conversion here makes it a one-score game.
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There goes another Arizona opportunity. Nick Foles is picked off for the second time, with this interception coming at the OSU 2-yard line. It is Foles’ first game this season with more than one interception.
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Tweets Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com: When does the Arizona plane land in San Antonio? They’re going to be late for the bowl game.
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Arizona’s second turnover leads directly to six points for Oklahoma State. Safety Markelle Martin picks off a Nick Foles pass near the sideline and races untouched 62 yards into the end zone.
It’s beginning to look ugly, even though Dan Bailey — the Lou Groza Award winner as the nation’s top kicker — misses the extra points. OSU leads 23-7 with 12:33 to play before halftime.
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Dan Bailey makes a 40-yard field goal with six seconds left in the first quarter to extend Oklahoma State’s lead to 17-7.
ESPN making a big deal — and with good reason — about potential missed interceptions for Arizona. Safety Anthony Wilcox had a good chance on that last drive, but couldn’t get his hands around the football.
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OSU sacks Nick Foles on third down, as the defensive lineman gets past replacement center Kyle Quinn.
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No more Bug Wright on punt returns. David Douglas is back on returns after Arizona forces a three-and-out.
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Big-time catch from Juron Criner, who goes up and gets a third-down fade pass from the 5-yard line for the touchdown. That was a must-have drive from Arizona, which pulls within 14-7 with 5:41 to go in the first quarter.
And, oh yeah, Alex Zendejas makes the extra point, which always seems worth mentioning.
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Arizona running back Keola Antolin takes an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit. We’ll see how quickly he returns, if at all.
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Based on the showboating, Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon is ready for the NFL. He catches a 71-yard pass from Brandon Weeden, sprinting along the goal line before dipping into the end zone.
Blackmon beats cornerback Robert Golden, who might have thought he had safety help … which he did not.
It’s 14-0 … so Arizona has now been outscored 47-0 by Big 12 teams in the past two years. Good thing that big conference merger never went through last summer.
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Arizona goes for it on fourth-and-29 from the OSU 29 — good decision — but Nick Foles is off target on a first-down pass to Juron Criner … and the Cats turn it over to the Cowboys. Foles not sharp on the first drive — when sharp is exactly what Arizona needed.
Can someone tell him it’s the fourth quarter and there are two minutes left?
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A Travis Cobb sighting: The senior returns a kickoff 64 yards to the OSU 33-yard line. Hey, Arizona: No field goal attempt here, OK?
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Two mistakes so far: Arizona didn’t take the ball first, and the fumbled punt catch leads to a touchdown for Oklahoma State, which takes a 7-0 lead with 10:55 to go in the first quarter.
On the plus side, it only took Nebraska 1:15 to score last year in the Holiday Bowl.
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Earlier today, I wrote that having Bug Wright return punts was worth the risk, considering his game-breaking ability in the open field. Turns out, I am already wrong. Wright, coming off a suspension, shows more problems catching the ball. He fumbles the opening punt and Oklahoma State recovers.
Tweets former Arizona softball ace Taryne Mowatt: NOOOOOO!
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Nice third-down tackle on OSU receiver Justin Blackmon by true freshman cornerback Shaquille Richardson.
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Tweet from former Wildcat Rob Gronkowski: Turn this Baylor/Ilinois game off! its over!! Put on AZ!!
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Arizona wins the coin toss and chose to kick off. I think they should have taken the ball first.
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ESPN has pushed kickoff back to 7:27 p.m. Tucson time. Now, the question is: Will the Texas Bowl between Baylor and Illinois end by then? If not, you can catch the beginning on ESPN3.com.
PREGAME
The Arizona Wildcats go for redemption tonight in the Alamo Bowl, taking on an explosive Oklahoma State team in San Antonio’s Alamo Dome.
Arizona is the designated home team and is wearing its blue helmets, blue jerseys and white pants. As noted by TucsonCitizen.com Sports Network partner Scott Terrell, the Wildcats are 5-0 when wearing this uniform combination.
While we wait for kickoff, here is some of our preview content to keep you busy …
More from the TucsonCitizen.com Sports Network:
Alamo Bowl matchup: Motivation, matchups and making a prediction
Class of 2006 makes its final stand at Alamo Bowl
Arizona football: Top 10 plays of the year
Foles happy to return to Alamodome (with video)
Javier Morales: Keys to victory: Make Oklahoma State pass 100 times
Javier Morales: Route 66 is way to Alamo Bowl point total
Scott Terrell: Texas two step: Arizona vs. Oklahoma State preview, with uniform stats
