Arizona coach says team is moving past UCLA loss
Nov 7, 2012, 12:03 AM | Updated: 12:37 am
One step forward, two steps back.
Or two steps forward, one step back.
However you want to describe it, the Arizona Wildcats 2012 football season has been one filled with both great highs and low lows.
Following a 3-0 start that included a big home win over No. 18 Oklahoma State, the Wildcats, ranked 22nd in the nation, went to Oregon to face the Ducks and were summarily destroyed 49-0.
The team followed its first loss with two more, as Arizona dropped close games to Oregon State and Stanford, both of whom were ranked 18th in the country at the time they played the Wildcats.
Following a bye week, Rich Rodriguez’s squad knocked off both Washington and No. 9 USC, with the wins putting the team back in the top 25 before a big game against UCLA.
The Bruins dumped the ‘Cats by a score of 66-10 at the Rose Bowl in a game that saw quarterback Matt Scott leave with a concussion, with Arizona’s chances at a Pac-12 South title likely going with him.
So, where does Rodriguez’s team go from here? The only place they can.
“After a night like that it really hits you, and you want hurry up and work and get going,” Rodriguez told Arizona Sports 620’s Doug and Wolf Tuesday. “Kids bounce back easier than coaches. We have a 24-hour rule, but at the same time you’ve just got so many issues you’re dealing with and guys banged up.”
Rodriguez said his team, which has a 5-4 (2-4) record, actually rebounded from the latest loss a little quicker and easier than he would have hoped.
“I wanted them to still be ticked off, I was,” he said. “They know. We watched the film, we didn’t hide from it.”
