Dear Mr. Football: How unlikely is it that the Wood brothers — Carter, a senior center, and Trevor, a sophomore tight end — were both lost for the season with training-camp injuries?
A: It’s not a genetic thing, for sure. Their father, David Wood, was Mr. Iron Man in his Arizona career, 1980-84. Get this: David Wood was on the field for 744 of the UA opponents’ 768 plays in 1984. Wood was a first-team All-Pac-10 defensive end.
He started his final 32 games at Arizona, never missing a game with an injury. His old UA position coach, Bobby April, said that in Wood’s five seasons at Arizona, he missed just four practices.
More impressive, Wood is the senior vice-president of Outfront Media, his employer of almost 30 years, a position that was built around the association with UA alumnus Arte Moreno, owner of the Los Angeles Angels.
People are also reading…
Dear Mr. Football: What’s the difference between football in San Antonio and football in Tucson?
A: Bexar County, home of UTSA, has a population of 1.8 million. By my count, Bexar County has 38 players on Power 5 conference teams. Pima County, home of UA football and 1 million people, has six players on Power 5 conference rosters.
Texas is uber football territory. Of the greater San Antonio area’s 38 Power 5 players, 21 are starters, including Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong, TCU standout tailback Aaron Green, Texas A&M star receiver Josh Reynolds and Oklahoma starting QB Trevor Knight. (And, of course, UA tight end Josh Kern).
The San Antonio area is so football-rich that it has starters at Texas, Oklahoma State, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt.
By comparison, Tucson’s six Power 5 players are backup Florida guard Andrew Mike of Sabino, starting Stanford linebacker Blake Martinez, and four Arizona Wildcats: punter Drew Riggleman of Sahuaro, cornerback Cam Denson of Salpointe Catholic, linebacker Jake Mathews of Ironwood Ridge and safety Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles of Mountain View.
Dear Mr. Football: What is the longest streak in play tonight?
A: Jon Alquist, who is as close to a sports historian as anyone in modern UA history, will be missing his first home opener since 1976. Alquist, a track-and-field devotee, spent the last two weeks in China at the world track and field championships. He will also miss Friday’s UA Sports Hall of Fame ceremony at the Westin La Paloma; Alquist is a member of the selection committee. The longest opening-day streak in the press box is now believed to belong to Tom Duddleston, a former UA sports information director who is now part of the stat crew. His streak dates to 1975.
Dear Mr. Football: Does UTSA really have a more difficult nonconference schedule than Arizona?
A: It does, and it will continue to play stronger out-of-conference opponents than Arizona.
The Roadrunners follow Thursday’s Arizona opener with games against Kansas State and Oklahoma State. They begin a home-and-home with Texas A&M and Arizona State next year, then launch a series with Baylor.
There is a serious difference in the mission of Arizona and UTSA. The Wildcats need to win and to make money. UTSA, in its fifth year of football, needs to make money.
Dear Mr. Football: Can an ol’ football coach like UTSA coach Larry Coker, now 67, learn some new tricks?
A: Coker said his team needs to play faster. No kidding. Last year, UTSA snapped 796 plays. By comparison, Arizona led the nation with 1,139 plays. The Roadrunners dawdled so much that they limited Arizona to 76 plays in a loss at the Alamodome. (Arizona later ran 106 plays against Cal and Boise State.)
But here’s a catch: Even though Arizona led the nation with 1,139 plays, it ranked 25th in scoring at 34.5 points per game. Baylor ran one fewer play than the Wildcats (1,138) but averaged 48.6 points.
Rich Rodriguez’s tempo and system have been established. The next step is to increase scoring.
Dear Mr. Football: ASU athletic director Ray Anderson this week referred to Sun Devil Stadium as “an iconic venue.” Is that true?
A: Sun Devil Stadium has been in use since 1957. It is more old than iconic. For the past 15 years, it has been, as Arizona Stadium, in disrepair and aging poorly.
An iconic stadium is the Rose Bowl or the Los Angeles Coliseum. Arizona Stadium, which turns 87 this year, has been spruced up about as well as can be without a $100 million makeover. New red banners on outside walls were hung this week. The video board is the seventh largest in college football. The North End Zone is big time.
But I suspect on opening night 2028, when it turns 100, it will include all chair-back seating, a reduced capacity that leads to an impressive string of sellouts, new restroom and concessions facilities and a popular South End Zone club that sells beer and will be a big hit.
But iconic? That’s no more likely than at Sun Devil Stadium.
Dear Mr. Football: Who is the smartest guy on Arizona’s roster?
A: You couldn’t go wrong nominating backup center David Catalano, a CDO grad who spent four years at San Jose State, earning a degree in the school’s business management honors program.
Catalano started at SJSU under current Colorado head coach Mike McIntyre. When I asked what it was like to go through a coaching change, Catalano said “the organizational inertia was such that the players didn’t want a change. Everyone wanted the old way.”
You might say that the word “inertia” applies to Arizona football only in its delay in scheduling a home opener with greater fan appeal.
Dear Mr. Football: What would Scooby Wright name a dog?
A: He has a dog. He named it Riggins. Perfect.
Scooby has a lot of John Riggins in his football style. Riggins, Hall of Fame running back, whose signature touchdown run won Super Bowl XVII for the Redskins, was nothing if not tough and determined. Scooby also could’ve named his dog RichRod, who is also a Riggins-esque tough guy who won’t give an inch.
This UA team, RichRod’s fourth at Arizona, is in better position to show more of that toughness this season. Its core of Pac-12-capable players has probably doubled from RichRod’s first season at Arizona, 2012.
To win eight or nine games this season, or even 10, the Wildcats won’t be able to give an inch, either. There is no wiggle room. Showing no mercy against UTSA should reflect that.
Arizona 47, UTSA 13.
