Simple things need to be corrected for Arizona Wildcats
Sep 12, 2016, 1:30 PM | Updated: 2:42 pm
Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez stares down Cody Ippolito (57) after Ippolito was ejected from the NCAA college football game, during the second half against Grambling State, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016, in Tucson, Ariz. Arizona defeated Grambling State 31-21. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
After two games, the issues that need to be corrected for the Arizona Wildcats are some of the more manageable ones, according to Wildcats head coach Rich Rodriguez.
Rodriguez told Arizona Sports 98.7 FM’s Doug and Wolf on Monday that it’s mostly the simplest of things offensively.
“It’s not like it’s some of the things that we have been working on since Day 1 that are there and we are just missing it just a little bit,” Rodriguez said. “I think our guys recognize it when it happens that, ‘Gosh that was a touchdown or that was a missed opportunity.’ But it’s too late and you don’t have do-overs. As I said we have to play with more confidence as they grow with the scheme. But we can’t wait and we have to play with more confidence starting right now.”
On Saturday during the Wildcats’ 31-21 win over Grambling State, Arizona watched as Grambling took a 21-3 halftime lead.
Rodriguez said that there wasn’t really much of a halftime motivational locker room speech that resulted in the Wildcats scoring 28 unanswered points in the second half. Instead, he said there were just minor adjustments, not so much as changing the defensive schemes.
“We just told our guys that, ‘Listen we can’t play passively,’” Rodriguez said. “You have to play more aggressively and more confidence. Sometimes you have new guys and new schemes at halftime but I think it was a strong lessons learned.”
It’s a lesson learned that Rodriguez hopes will carry the Wildcats into their game with Hawaii this week. He said the Rainbow Warriors will be an aggressive team defensively and an active team.
“They will cause some issues and force you to pitch and catch and they do a great job at disguising it,” he said. “They will show some of the spread and some of the things we had problems with and we have to get better.”
Nevertheless, despite the 1-1 record, Rodriguez is pleased with where the Wildcats are, especially with their Pac-12 opener a few weeks away.
“The thing I like well is the effort and the ability to correct some things,” he said. “They are listening and they are adjusting and they are trying hard. The things that we have to get better at is the simple things that we did at the beginning of camp and we shouldn’t be making those mistakes. Where we should be making the right step or having the eyes in the right spot. Those are the things that go back to Day 1 that are frustrating for all of us and that we shouldn’t be doing anymore.”
