The Arizona football team rolls onto the Farm this Saturday to take on the No. 18 Stanford Cardinal in Palo Alto, do they have a chance to win?
ZonaZealots wanted to bring you some inside information on the Arizona football team’s next opponent, the Stanford Cardinal so we sat down with expert Hank Waddles (@GoMightyCard) from GoMightyCard.com and asked him some questions. ZZ’s own Brad Malone gives you his insights as well in the article, ‘Arizona Football: Arizona Vs. Stanford, Five Things You Should Know.’
We asked Hank some questions, and his response was extremely informative.
ZZ: What do you think the Cardinal have learned and gotten better at over the last couple of weeks? How did they recover and not let the upset bring them down?
Arizona Wildcats
HW: The easy answer to this question is that they learned who they really are, but I’m not sure that tells the whole story. The Northwestern game was difficult to watch, and in the immediate aftermath much of the discussion in the fanbase was about resetting expectations for the team. After watching the offense score only six points, fans wondered if perhaps the improvements seen towards the end of last season had been a mirage. After watching the same players score 41 points against USC and 42 at Oregon State, it’s hard to imagine that they ever struggled.
Coach David Shaw summed it up well recently: “Sometimes just play bad games.” Another important thing to consider is that fans are much more reactionary than players. We see disaster after a troubling loss, and even the most optimistic among us have difficulty staying positive, but the players are much more resilient. They have a better understanding of what went wrong, so it’s easier than we might expect for a team to regroup and look like a completely different team from one Saturday to the next.
But if there’s been one noticeable difference in this team, it’s been improved offensive line play over the past few weeks. The Cardinal went an astounding 16 games without having a hundred-yard rusher, but against Oregon State the team rushed for more than 300 yards, and Christian McCaffrey (more on him in a minute) had over 200 yards all by himself. The offensive line dominated the OSU front all night long, and it was beautiful to see.
ZZ: Who are the stars on the Stanford Cardinal?
Sep 25, 2015; Corvallis, OR, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey (5) runs the ball against the Oregon State Beavers at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports
HW: Stanford has the luxury of having Kevin Hogan back for his fourth season as starting quarterback, but without question the breakout star on this team is Christian McCaffrey. He was integrated into the offense slowly last season, but by the end of the year it was clear that he was the team’s most dynamic player, even as a true freshman.
His speed, elusiveness, and pass-catching ability out of the backfield were never questioned, but some wondered if he had the size and strength to run between the tackles as Stanford’s lead back.
All doubts have been erased this year as his carries have gone from 20 to 26 to 30 over the past three games. (He only carried the ball 12 times against Northwestern, which was part of the problem.) On Saturday you’ll see him get 17-22 conventional carries from the tailback position and another three to five out of the wildcat (I know that the rest of the football world stopped running the wildcat some time during the last decade, but it’s alive and well at Stanford), and he’ll probably catch a few passes as well.
When you combine all that with his duties returning kicks and punts, his yardage stacks up quickly. He had 303 all-purpose yards against Oregon State, and he leads all Power 5 players with 222.25 all-purpose yards per game. David Shaw dismissed any Heisman talk during his press conference this week (“It’s not even October!”), but the buzz surrounding McCaffrey is beginning to build.
ZZ: What is the average age of the players? Do the players typically stay in school all four years?
HW: One of the advantages that the program has is that its retention rate is extremely high. Four seniors took advantage of the NCAA’s graduate transfer and left this spring, but players almost never leave before graduating.
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Since the arrival of Jim Harbaugh eight years ago, the coaching staff has used the University’s academic reputation as an advantage rather than an excuse, and recruits have embraced the concept of the Forty-Year Decision when choosing Stanford. Almost every player cites the Stanford education as one of the draws that originally pulled them to the school, so few are willing to leave without first getting the degree they came for.
ZZ: What was the key to beating USC?
HW: Stanford was able to beat USC because the running game was working, and the defense was able to keep USC’s athletic wide receivers in front of them. When Stanford runs the ball well, two things happen. First, the opposing team’s offense is kept off the field, which is always a good thing. Second, it forces the opponent’s linebackers and safeties to think run first, making them susceptible to deep throws on play action plays.
Kevin Hogan’s greatest strength is his accuracy on the deep ball, and he has a stable of receivers and tight ends who are fleet enough to take advantage of those opportunities when they present themselves. Defensively, Stanford’s talented but young secondary stood up to the challenge presented by Cody Kessler and the USC offense.
ZZ: What should Wildcats fans know about the team? Any key injuries on the Cardinal we should know about?
Sep 19, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal kicker Conrad Ukropina (34) celebrates with Dallas Lloyd (29) after kicking a 46-yard field goal in the fourth quarter against the Southern California Trojans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Stanford defeated USC 41-31. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
HW: Stanford’s defensive line is paper thin. If there’s one thing Arizona fans should watch, it’s the overall health of those players. The Cardinal lost one starter during the Northwestern game, so when Brennan Scarlett and Aziz Shittu were pulled from the game during the first half last Friday night, panic rippled through the fan base like shockwaves.
Rumors flew all day Monday indicating that Scarlett was out for the season and that Shittu would miss a handful of games. Through some miracle, however, both players are now expected to play on Saturday.
ZZ: What will the Wildcats have troubles with playing against Stanford?
HW: I think Arizona will have trouble stopping Stanford’s running game. As mentioned above, the offensive line has been coming together nicely recently, and McCaffrey has established himself as the lead back (and potential Heisman candidate).
ZZ: Do you think Stanford is not worried about playing Arizona because of last week’s loss? Do you believe that the team is taking this game seriously?
HW: There’s a natural tendency for teams to stop and smell the roses after a big win the previous week, but I don’t think that will happen this year. Stanford fell victim to an upset themselves, remember, so I have doubt that that will be in the forefront of their minds during practice this week. Also, this is the first home game since the students arrived on campus, so emotions should be running a bit higher than usual.
ZZ: What do you think the score will be? Which players will need to shine on the Cardinal football team for them to beat Arizona?
HW: I’m going to predict a comfortable Stanford win. Let’s say Stanford 37, Arizona 16. If the offensive line gets the push that it was getting last week, this team will be difficult to beat.
We Hope our second half scoring, underestimated, and hungry Wildcats prove you wrong and beat the Cardinal.
Thanks again Hank, it’s been a real pleasure, let’s do this again soon!
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