We will have in-game updates, analysis and other assorted tidbits for Arizona’s game against Stanford. Feel free to ask questions and express your elation — or outrage — in the comments section. Keep checking back often.
Back from postgame interviews. You saw the ending — the Nic Grigsby TD run. The fourth down stop in the final seconds. I’ll have postgame reaction later … like right here.
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Arizona holds on fourth down. Still alive. I have to go down to the field… be back after the game.
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Stunned silence at Arizona Stadiium. Greg Nwoko mishandles a handoff, fumbles and Stanford recovers at the UA 27. Won’t be too bad if the defense can hold the Cardinal to a field goal.
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Yep, my previous post was a jinx. Stanford has to punt for the first time. UA takes over at its 24.
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From the press box, you could kind of see this coming. Arizona had third-and-1 at the Stanford 43, with the field spread with receivers and Stanford had absolutely nobody behind its line. Sure enough, the offensive line opened a hole for RB Greg Nwoko, and there was no one there to bring him down. He goes untouched into the end zone, and Arizona trails 38-36 with 10:06 to play.
Just something to consider: Stanford has yet to punt.
Maybe that will be a jinx.
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Still a long way to go. Arizona holds Stanford, such as it is, to a 36-yard field goal attempt, which is wide left. The score stays 38-29 early in the fourth quarter. Anybody believing in a comeback?
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Another Stanford possession, another big Stanford pass play. This time, on a nice play-action fake, Andrew Luck hits Chris Owusu for a long pass and a 47-yard gain to the UA 2. The Cardinal has no goal-line issues because it can just give the ball to Toby Gerhart, and he does score on a 2-yard run. So, it’s now 38-29 with 3:23 to go in the third quarter … and those missed points after touchdowns are looming large for the Cats.
Stanford has five pass plays of at least 30 yards.
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Coach Mike Stoops picked a good time to turn into a gambler. Facing fourth-and-goal, staring at another potential goal-line failure (like last week), Nick Foles hit a slanting David Douglas for a 1-yard score. Within two points at 31-29 with 6:27 to go in the third quarter, Stoops “gambled” again, going for two. At this point of the game, I think that’s a reasonable decision … but it didn’t work out as a pass was incomplete.
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Answering my own question as to what the defense has … Stanford begins its second half on offense with a 40-yard catch-and-run by Ryan Whalen. He makes the catch after the best pump fake you’ll ever see. Cornerback Devin Ross bit on the quick out, and then Whalen went up the field to make the catch and be off to the races.
Stanford ends up with a field goal from 33 yards to make it 31-23 with 9:55 to play. So, we’re back where we started at halftime.
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Well, it’s something. Arizona, nicely running a no-huddle offense after halftime, was nearly unstoppable … until it hit the red zone, of course. UA had first-and-goal from the 8, but a pass was batted down, UA was called for a false start penalty, Nick Foles completed a 6-yard pass and then a third-down throw was incomplete.
UA settled for a 24-yard field goal to get within 28-23 with 12:43 to go in the third quarter. Now, what does the defense have …
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Nick Foles at halftime: 19 of 24 for 212 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
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Replay works! A called Stanford interception off a tipped pass is overturned on a replay review — the ball was ruled to have hit the ground — and Arizona keeps possession at the Cardinal 16 with 29 seconds to go before halftime. How big was it?
Arizona manages to punch the ball into the end on an 11-yard pass from Nick Foles to Terrell Turner to make it 28-20 with 18 seconds to go before halftime. The Cats get the ball to start the second half, so I now have regained some faith in UA’s ability to win this game, although defensive coordinator Mark Stoops has to come up with a new plan to stop Stanford at halftime.
The Cardinal has 313 yards at halftime. Arizona came into the game, allowing an average of 281 per game.
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It’s too early for this, but I have lost all faith in UA’s ability to win this game. Stanford, through great protection for QB Andrew Luck, and receivers running without coverage in the secondary, is destroying Arizona’s defense. An 80-yard drive, fueled by a 45-yard pass to tight end Konrad Reuland (yes, he was wide open), gives Stanford a 28-13 lead late in the first half.
To update: Stanford has completions of 30, 16, 23, 30, 22, 45 and 19 yards. The 19-yarder was the touchdown pass on the last drive to Chris Owusu.
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Starting MLB Vuna Tuihalamaka is injured with 5:44 to play, and he limps off the field. R.J. Young comes in as his replacement.
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Andrew Luck is picking apart the UA defense. So far, Stanford has completions of 30, 16, 23, 30 and 22 yards. The last completion was an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Whalen, who, apparently, UA forgot to cover. He was wide open in the end zone.
The Cardinal is up 21-13 … and that is even with two turnovers, one returned for a TD. Unless UA defensive coordinator Mark Stoops makes some adjustments, this is going to turn into a long game for the Cats. Stanford has 234 yards already, and there is 9:16 to go in the second quarter.
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Impressive drive for Stanford — eight plays, 82 yards. The Cardinal mixes two long pass plays — 23 and 30 yards — with the running of Toby Gerhart to take a 14-13 lead with 48 seconds left in the opening quarter. Gerhart has the key play: a 12-yard run on third-and-8 from the 14. He appeared to be headed out of bounds on the play, but UA couldn’t force him out and he tip-toed down the sideline to the 2.
Here’s a concern: Stanford, known as a blue-collar physical team that can wear down defenses, had possession in the first quarter for 10 minutes, 28 seconds.
This is also the first time UA has trailed at the end of the first quarter this season.
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Mostly good news. Nick Foles does nothing but continue to impress, rolling right and throwing off his back foot deep down the middle to David Douglas. He had plenty of zip on it, and Douglas came down with the pass amid two Stanford defenders, who knocked each other out of the play. Douglas was free to run into the end zone for a 13-7 lead with 4:40 to go in the opening quarter.
Now the bad news. Alex Zendejas, who already lost his kickoff job in this game, had the extra point blocked.
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Less than 10 minutes gone, and there is a third turnover in the game. Stanford has third-and-1 from its 49, but QB Andrew Luck fumbles the snap, and UA LB Sterling Lewis recovers.
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Uh-oh. Another controversial call from the officials. Juron Criner, after catching a short pass from Nick Foles at about the Stanford 25, was fighting for extra yardage, surrounded by at least four Stanford players. Maybe five. It is at this point that the play is often whistled dead by officials, but the play continued and the ball popped loose. Stanford recovered.
Replays showed the ball came free before Criner was down, but why wasn’t the play called dead? Coach Mike Stoops was well out on the field to talk the officials … but this is just another one that goes against the Cats.
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Stanford quickly ties the game after UA’s pick-6. Stanford redshirt freshman Andrew Luck, who is among the most promising of the young quarterbacks in the league, finds a wide-open TE Jim Dray over the middle for a 30-yard touchdown. That makes it 7-7 with 10:26 to go in the first quarter.
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There’s been a change with the kickoff man. Alex Zendejas, who struggled with that role last week at Washington, was poor on his first attempt today, getting the ball to the 15. So, John Bonano handled the second kickoff, and reached the goal line with his kick … although Chris Osuwu returned it past midfield.
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Arizona jumps on top — note the importance of that in the pregame notes below — with a 79-yard interception return by safety Robert Golden. Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, in perhaps a miscommunication with a receiver, threw the ball right to Golden, who had a pretty clear path to the end zone … except for the part where he had to jump over Luck, attempting to make a low tackle.
Arizona leads 7-0 with 12:31 to play.
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Defensive end Brooks Reed is not in the starting lineup. He has missed the past two games due to an ankle injury. Good news for the line is that Earl Mitchell, who missed the Washington game after being hit in the head by a door a day earlier, was back in the lineup.
PREGAME
Some things to watch in the UA-Stanford game:
1. The red zone: Arizona is one of the best teams in the country between the 20s. The problem is once UA gets close to the goal line, whether its on offense or defense.
The offense has gotten a lot of attention for its lack of production. The Cats have scored 13 touchdowns in 24 attempts in the rond zone, a 54 percent rate. What hasn’t gotten as much attention is that the defense has yet to stop anybody in the red zone, as the opponents have scored on all 13 of their red zone chances, including 11 touchdowns.
2. Get a lead. Even UA coach Mike Stoops said it: The Stanford offense is not equipped to play from behind. The Cardinal wants to pound defenses with the run and turn the game into a physical grind. If the Cardinal is behind by a significant amount, Stanford might have to abandon that plan and put more of the offense on redshirt freshman Andrew Luck.
3. UA’s defensive line needs to come up big. Stoops made an interesting point this week, saying one of the reasons Stanford tailback Tobt Gerhart is so successful is that the Cardinal, through its physical play up front and through its scheme, do a great job of preventing penetration. That allows Gerhart to build a full head of steam … and once he does that, he’s very tough to bring down.
