Arizona Football: 3 Takeaways from Rich Rod’s postgame press conference

Takeaway No. 2 – Let’s be Realistic

Coach Rodriguez could join some fans in the negative pool. He could join others on the positive hill at any cost. Rodriguez chooses neither, he prefers to be realistic, “I’m not a — pessimist or optimist, I am a realist; this is how it is. Some of the problems didn’t occur overnight and can’t get fixed overnight, and they are on my watch.”

Let’s be real.

The team has lost four games in a row. Whether or not the team was close to winning save a few errors or not, the Cats record is 2-5. Arizona was given the fifth-hardest strength of schedule in the Pac-12 as we reported earlier. Most of us thought that the Cats could win at least a couple of the first five, including the team, it just hasn’t happened thus far.

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The team has lost key players to injury, like their senior center and senior middle linebacker. One protects Arizona’s quarterback, and one sacks the opponents quarterbacks, Arizona has less experienced players in these positions, as a freshman Center, for example.

The team has a well-needed bye week coming up this week. So the Cats get two weeks to adjust, get well, and start fresh for the second half of the season. Last season they had similar injuries and did rise in the second half of the season, they never got a bye week.

No one wants to lose. It’s everyone in the program’s responsibility to win. If you could have seen the players faces coming into the locker room on Saturday, and the mood with parents afterward, it would have broken your heart.

Some bright notes on the team, Wildcats punter/kicker Josh Pollack is ranked No. 4 in the Pac-12 in field goal percentages. Arizona defender Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles is third in the conference in solo tackles with 36. Dane Cruikshank, who seems to be the only Wildcat on defense who can catch up with a breakaway runningback almost at the goal line, has accumulated 30 tackles so far this season in seven games.

Also, you heard this player’s name over and over again; Jace Whittaker. Whittaker was a top-two cornerback in the NCAA after the Utah game. Whittaker had five pass breakups and four tackles in 36-23 loss at Utah. He remains at No. 1 in the Pac-12 tied with Colorado Buffalo Ahkello Witherspoon with ten passes defended and the two are tied for second nationally. Even with this success, Jace offered this sentiment that he felt he needed to get off of his chest:

Thankfully, according to Rich Rod, his senior leadership is doing a fabulous job, they never give up. I asked Sani Fuimaono what the defense was going to work on in the next two weeks, “Everything,” said the senior leader.

These student-athletes give it all they have seven days a week. They want you to enjoy cheering for them. They want you to feel good about them. They want all their hard work to pay off. Most of all, they want to win and have their fans be proud of them.

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When fans start calling for the coaches head, publicly attempt players by tagging them while demeaning them, and scrutinizing the program it hurts. It hurts everyone involved who work tirelessly to bring the best product they can under the circumstances.

Parents of these athletes hurt the most. It’s not that they feel there is no blame to be placed on their sons, it’s the way some fans treat their sons. It’s as if these student athletes aren’t doing everything they can to be successful. “They work so hard for the fans,” one parent told ZZ in confidence.

We can tell you, from what we have seen behind the curtain, the players do care, they care a lot! They want to win, and sometimes things are out of their control.

Running back Zach Green (Freshman) was asked about the broken play on the four-and-one play near the goal line and what happened. His answer was plain and simple, “My job is to carry a fake-out — Coach Rod is always trying to make a statement, we trust him with the offense, he’s one of the best coaches in college football I think, so he knows what he is doing.”

So let’s all try to be realistic. This same coach and his same training techniques his staff uses today brought Arizona a Pac-12 division Championship and several bowl game wins. His players believe in him, and he believes in his players. Sani Fuimaono stated just that; he feels they have a lot of work to do these next two weeks and try to put four quarters together.

This season is what it is, so why complain? Know that the team feels the same way and they are trying to do what they can to salvage the season.