The Battle of the Kitties

[iamthepreacher]

I’m confused as to why Arizona is favored so much in this game. Arizona is breaking in 5 new offensive lineman against BYU. I don’t care if Tate is the second coming of Michael Vick…if your O Line is a disaster, your offense will be a disaster. Combine that with the fact that Sumlin’s offense is all about the pass, but their QB is all about the run. BYU (like every team that plays AZ this season) is going to commit a LB to shadow Tate for every play. Teams are going to stack the box and make him try to beat them through the air. And combine that with the fact that AZ plays ZERO defense. I have a feeling that it’s going to be a long season in Tucson. There are just too many red flags on that team for me to take them too seriously.

Obviously BYU has its own issues. They were awful last year. But I have a feeling that AZ is going to make BYU look much better than they actually are. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think this game will be close…50/50 in the battle of the kitties. The Cactus Zoobs vs the Original Zoobs.

[CincyUte]

I can’t think of a single thing BYU has going for them.  AZ should win easily.

[ProudUte]

I understand what you are saying.  But, two things:

1. Many who know what they are talking about (not me), say that Arizona will compete for the South championship.  They know somehting I don’t.

2. BYU wasn’t just bad last year.  They were totally pathetic.  They gave UMass their first road win against an FBS team ever.  I understand that the new offensive coaching staff came in and were stunned how soft these guys were.  They have been working since February trying to toughen them up.  The faces haven’t changed much, but we will see if the new offensive staff have done what they set out to do.

 

[UteFanatic]

BYU’s defense was absolutely atrocious last year and they lost their best players.  Even if their offense is better due to coaching changes, they did absolutely nothing in the offseason to address their defensive woes.

I think AZ wins going away.  Something like 31-10 is my guess.

All the concerns you provided about AZ are accurate, but overall they are just way more talented than BYU.

[PlainsUte]

5 new guys does not necessarily mean a “disaster” on the OL

There’s a pretty big talent gap, and the Arizona is playing at home.

It will be interesting to see of the new ohfensive staff has whipped TDS into shape, but some of that comes from the head coach who has not changed.

14 point spread sounds about right but there are a lot of unknowns on both sides.  Could be a game where TDS keeps it close for a half but Az pulls away in the second half.   Either that or an end-to-end blow out.

[Utah]

In a lot of people’s eyes (not mine), Arizona is picked to win the south division. BYU isn’t picked to win 6 games. So, it’s a 10+ win Arizona (with a heisman QB) vs a 5 win G5 school. 

The fact that it’s not more is showing respect to BYU.