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Arizona Wildcats Football Has Come A Long Way Under Rich Rod

By Miguel Gonzalez

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Arizona Wildcats Football fans should be excited for this season no matter where they finish in the standings.

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My girlfriend and I went on a road trip this week and we had a talk about Arizona Wildcats Athletics. It was a fun debate about a lot of different sports played at the University of Arizona since following them is now part of my job. I feel fortunate that  I get to write about all the athletic programs at Arizona. We were also listening to a debate on ESPN Radio, the discussion was all about the hype surrounding Arizona Football’s great season last year and the broadcasters hope for a repeat performance this season which I believe is possible.

Let’s explore the upcoming season and just how far the Arizona Wildcats Football program has come in the Rich Rodriguez era. We are now entering the 4th season under Head Coach Rich Rodriguez as he prepares us that his team will ‘thrill‘ Wildcats fans.

Can anyone argue that last season was one of the most exciting seasons we have witnessed in quite a while? Let’s start with the Cal game; even my buddies and I thought that the game was over and stopped paying attention in the fourth quarter. That was possibly the best comeback win for the Wildcats last season if not the best in Wildcats Football history.

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Then after the Cal game, the Wildcats travelled to Eugene and upset No. 2 ranked Oregon Ducks. That was a heck of an upset to kick-start the season! Even the loss to USC was still an exciting game. The Wildcats scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, and if not for a missed field goal to end the game care of USC Coach Sardinians successful ‘icing the kicker’ attempt, we could have won that game too. I can’t bear to talk about missed field goals, that’s an entire article I can write later.  If you’re a Wildcats fan, trust me, we have plenty of material for that subject from several recent past seasons.

The question is, should we expect the same result this year as last year? I’m no fortune-teller but isn’t that why we’re more positive and excited to sit down to watch games this season ? The Wildcats football season is two-weeks away from kickoff and football fever is getting hotter. Almost all of the articles I’m reading are about if the Wildcats have a shot at the Pac-12 South title. My answer is, ‘Why not?’

Where ever we end up at the end of the season let’s soak in this ‘more hype than usual’ feeling about Wildcats Football. Yes, every year we get excited and we have hope to finish with a great year, it’s not happened very often. It’s understandable that Wildcats fans are upset and disappointed that we didn’t win it all last season and didn’t win the Fiesta Bowl game either. But since Rich Rod has come along, things have gotten better each year and you have to ask yourself, when was the last time you really ended a season being disappointed? 

It doesn’t take long for us to start talking about the ‘what-ifs.’ What if we did this or what if we did that, what if Anu was aware of how much time he had left, what if the defense saw the Statue of Liberty play being set up and was able to stop it? The sky’s the limit this season and next season with what Rich Rod can do with his new recruits!

If you haven’t noticed, it’s as if each year the Rich Rods Wildcats Football program signs a bigger name or player in recruitment terms. May I remind you that we are only going into year four for this respected coach of what we hope to be many years to come.

Let’s look back when we had that guy Mike Stoops as Arizona’s head coach. Which games were Stoops biggest wins? Were there a couple of upsets against some Top-25 teams during his time at Arizona? When we look back, we remember more big losses and disappointment than success.

There was a reason Athletic Director Greg Byrne decided to go in a different direction and hire a new coach. Nothing against Stoops but I was probably not the only person who wasn’t a fan of his as a coach or worse yet, his coaching style. Remember all those temper tantrums? Did the referees even take him seriously?

"That moment when you look at the clock and realize that it's 5 p.m. ⌚️"

The Rich Rod era brings us a coach who is transparent in his love of the school and his team. You’ve seen how much he loves being a part of Arizona Athletics. Where else do you see the head coach break dancing in the locker room or doing the nae-nae to help support his fellow Arizona Athletics gymnastics coach Tabitha Yim promote her program?

As if that wasn’t enough to fall in love with our coach, I must remind you that we are the reigning Pac-12 South and Territorial Cup Champions. I know I talk about those milestone wins a lot, but man if you live in Tucson, you can’t remember the last time our Cats held up a Pac-10 or Pac-12 Championship Trophy. As we all know, whatever our record ends up being when we play that important rivalry game against that school up north, it doesn’t matter, as long as at the end of the game the Wildcats are the ones holding up that coveted Territorial Cup!

As we get closer and closer to kickoff, let’s remind ourselves and each other often of just how far the Wildcats Football program has come. And even though we might not be making headlines and aren’t predicted to win the Pac-12 South once again by many, that doesn’t mean we won’t be able to affect the outcome or that we won’t be holding the Pac-12 South Title again come November. With Rich Rod as our leader we know that there will be plenty to celebrate this season!

Don’t forget to BEARDOWN and get let’s get ready for kickoff on September 3rd!!

Next: Arizona Wildcats Have Zero Commits for 2016: Time to Panic?

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