Yesterday proved to be a very exciting day in the State of Arizona for D1 Football. Both Arizona and Arizona St. took on tough tests and won. The wildcats dominated #18 Oklahoma St. from start to finish while the Sun Devils blasted Illinois. Both teams looked unstoppable on offense for the majority of the game. Both teams are lead by coaches who aren’t thought of as high character guys by most fans. Todd Graham has installed his up-tempo offense and it’s putting up the numbers. Also, in Tucson, Rich Rodriguez has his offense firing on all cylinders.
Whenever you hang 59 points on a Big 12 opponent and STOP them on defense (Good Work Jeff Casteel) you should feel extremely happy about yourself.
Last year, both of these schools had tremendously disappointing seasons, but two games into the 2012 season makes it looks promising for both Arizona and Arizona St. Both schools seem to have found their answer at QB after an offseason of uncertainty. Mike Scott, Arizona, really played well last night completing 28 passes for 320 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Scott also accounted for 55 rushing yards and another score. Arizona St. found out Taylor Kelly can play. Kelly completed 18 passes for 249 yards with 1 touchdown. Kelly was very efficient last night only missing on 6 passes. In the Pac-12, the offense will get most of the hype, but both teams have solid defenses. It will be interesting to see going forward if both schools can maintain the offensive production along with the stout defense when conference play begins. I’ll be looking forward to seeing both schools play Oregon and USC. On November 23, 2012 one of these schools will claim “State Bragging Rights” for the year. Football really hasn’t been relevant in the state of Arizona for some time, but with these two offensive gurus the culture of football in Arizona might be changing.
-Justin Pacovsky
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