5
Thoughts ...
2008 Las Vegas Bowl
Arizona 31 ... BYU 21
GAME REVIEW: Arizona wins first bowl
since 1998
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2008 CFN Las Vegas Bowl Preview
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Las Vegas Bowl
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1. For the Arizona
football program, there’s no underestimating the value of this win.
It wasn’t always pretty, but it was huge. By becoming bowl eligible
last month, the Wildcats finally got over the hump, while saving
head coach Mike Stoops’ job. By holding off BYU on Saturday night,
they’ve already taken another important step in the rebuilding
process. Now, instead of being 7-6, Arizona ends the season at 8-5.
And instead of taking a loss into the offseason, it’ll be carrying
some Las Vegas Bowl hardware. The difference between the two
situations is immense and sure to come up when Stoops locks horns
with Dennis Erickson on the recruiting trail next month.
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Richard Cirminiello
2) Given the way the
Mountain West Conference pushed around the Pac-10 this year, it was
surprising to see Arizona not only win, but dominate. BYU played
stupid football, but not listless football. The Wildcats were
legitimately stronger and faster than the Cougars, and there was
little doubt about the matter. Arizona proved to be superior in the
trenches, and equally better on the perimeter. BYU didn't act
disinterested in its fourth straight Las Vegas Bowl appearance;
Arizona, though, showed what a bowl game can do for a team (as was
the case with Colorado State in the New Mexico Bowl) by playing
inspired ball. All credit is due to coach Mike Stoops, whose victory
tonight does a lot to make this season a successful one. A loss--and
a subsequent 7-6 mark--would have kept a raincloud over the program,
despite its first bowl bid in a solid decade.-
Matthew
Zemek
3) Is there anything to be
said for having extra time off vs. being on a bit of a roll? BYU
hadn't played a game since getting blasted by Utah on November 22nd
and it hadn't won a game since November 15th. Meanwhile, Arizona had
to play do-or-die football against an arch-rival. Needing to be
fully focused and hyped up for Arizona State, the Wildcats had two
weeks to prepare for the regular-season finale, needing to either
win or see the Sun Devils play in the Las Vegas Bowl. That meant
that there was only a two-week lag for Arizona while BYU had to sit
and stew for a month. Sometimes the extra time off allowed a banged
up team to heal up and get a few key pieces back, and while it's
doing a disservice to Arizona to suggest that it won just because it
was in more of a groove, in this game, it seemed like it didn't
hurt. -
Pete
Fiutak
4) There’s a fraud alert out with BYU’s picture on it. The Cougars
have been generally unimpressive throughout the year, including in
the 31-21 loss to Arizona in the Las Vegas Bowl. Where’s the big win
or the statement moment that warranted the program being No. 17
entering this game? In four chances with teams now over .500, it
went 1-3, with all of the losses coming by double-digits. The
defense has gotten routinely exposed, and QB Max Hall is much better
on paper than he is on grass. Hall will keep putting up gaudy
numbers in 2009, but his arm strength is questionable and he’s
disappeared in big games. Although the record may say 10-3, that
doesn’t mean BYU didn’t underachieve in 2008.
-
Richard Cirminiello
5) BYU, after this sloppy piece of self-sabotage, can be considered
a Mountain time zone version of Michigan State. Much as the Spartans
compiled a nice record in 2008 but lost their money games (Ohio
State and Penn State) by a combined score of 94-25, BYU went 10-3,
but lost its biggest games (TCU, Utah, and now this bowl game
against Arizona) by an aggregate score of 111-52, which could
otherwise be viewed as three 37-17 drubbings.Add on this
thought-within-a-thought about BYU's evidently soft 10 wins: Maybe
TCU and Utah shouldn't be feeling too confident now that the team
they both crushed got exposed against Arizona.-
Matthew
Zemek