Team hopes not to be own worst enemy again in home opener
On the heels of a "frustrating" 27-24 season-opening loss at Utah on Friday, the Arizona football team turns its attention to Saturday's home opener against NAU.
Arizona head coach Mike Stoops said in his press conference yesterday that the Wildcats (0-1) must cut down on self-imposed mistakes, a key factor in the Utah game.
"What was frustrating about the turnovers, (is) they're not forced turnovers," Stoops said. "It wasn't like someone hit our quarterback."
The Wildcats committed four turnovers on two fumbles and two interceptions. Utah's Eric Weddle returned one of those interceptions for a touchdown in the third quarter.
"You can accept some turnovers because people make great plays, but those were unforced turnovers," he said.
Stoops said the turnovers were the difference in the 27-24 contest.
"Third (down) and four, we drop a ball on the 30-yard line with 3 1/2 minutes to go in the game to give us a first down," he said. "Offensively, those are things we aren't good enough to overcome and win, and we almost did against a very good team.
"We stopped ourselves the majority of the night."
Defensive strengths, weaknesses showed in Salt Lake City
A season ago, Arizona held a prolific Utah offense to a season-low 326 yards.
Friday, the Utes went 120 yards better, including 226 rushing yards on 38 attempts.
"We gave up (446) yards, no sacks ... not being able to stop them late in the game, no pressure on the quarterback," Stoops said. "I don't think we played well as a defensive line."
The D-line took another hit when senior end Copeland Bryan went down with an injured ankle.
Stoops said Bryan will miss a few weeks, joining redshirt freshman linebacker Ronnie Palmer on the injured list.
Senior linebacker Randy Sims has been recovering from a high ankle sprain and missed the Utah game. He will be available Saturday if needed, Stoops said.
Sophomore Dane Krogstad played at middle linebacker in Sims' absence and shined with 15 tackles, nine solo.
Krogstad said his transition to middle linebacker was a crash course.
"Ronnie and Randy have been a great help," he said. "I didn't even know the plays or drops.
"I spent some extra time with (linebacker) coach (Tim) Kish during the week, and it worked out well."
Krogstad spent last season at outside linebacker, where he racked up 48 total tackles. He said moving to the middle posed a different feel to the game.
"Playing in the middle, your head smashes someone every time," he said. "When you're on the outside, you can kind of move around."
Impressive debut for frosh wideout
Mike Thomas, the latest addition to the Arizona receiving corps, failed to disappoint in his first collegiate outing.
Thomas was on the receiving end of seven passes for a team-high 92 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown strike from redshirt sophomore quarterback Richard Kovalcheck.
Stoops said Thomas' performance Friday did not come as a surprise.
"He practiced well all through camp, he made plays in camp - why wouldn't he make them in the game?" Stoops said. "That's my message to our players ... you play as you practice."