No Pity for the Kitty

I have been savoring our victory over the mildcats the last few days, waiting to blog about it.  There was a fair amount of trash talking Wednesday before the game from our Tucson office.  Thanks to my colleague Craig for fighting the fight.  There was the taunt about no bowl or the toilet bowl for the Devils, to which the easy reply is that until it holds a rose in its teeth, a mildcat can never talk about bowls.  It's also fitting for North Nogales State to be going to the Alamo Bowl this year -- schools from Mexico know all too well about that place.

Probably the sweetest thing about the win was the redemption in the kicking game, both with Tom Weber re-gaining his foot from two years ago and us benefitting from two blocked PATs.  I admit, I was one of the fans calling for Weber to be benched, but as a wise old Devil pointed out to me recently, that's just kickers.  You can't do anything about it, other than hope they get their head squared away.  Well, Weber did, and he was money, going 5 for 5 including a 52 yarder to put the Devils up first, 3-0.  After suffering two losses because of PAT issues (Wisconsin, USC), it definitely felt nice to be on the receiving end.

All the more better that the UofA kicker was Alex Zendejas, whose father Max was enemy #1 in the 80s and who kicked the game winner last year in Tempe.  After he booted that winner, he ran around the field taunting the stadium and whipping up the mildcat supporters.  He really has no problem boasting.  So he deserved to lose that way.  And the second block was his fault, as it was too low and bounced off his own man before being deflected wide right.

I had higher expectations for ASU QB Brock Osweiler.  Yeah, he hasn't played much all season and is still young, but he started on the road at Oregon last year and had some decent playing time the last two years.  His youth and inexperience showed, painfully, as he went 3-15 in the first half.  Most of his throws were over his receivers' heads, and at least two or three should've been mildcat interceptions.  Still, he didn't lose the game, with no turnovers, and some clutch throws at the end, as in the second overtime.  I have always preferred Os over Threet -- better throwing arm downfield, and a quicker release.  I vote Os as the starter next year.

Definitely some high expectations for next season.  The only key player we lost to graduation this year was the kicker; otherwise, everyone's back.  The defense should be even more solid and the offense should be more experienced in the scheme.  The talent is clearly there.  The big question is if Erickson can mold the team into a winner.  I have not been terribly impressed with his tenure at Arizona State.  The program has seemed to go downhill since he took over.  If he hadn't won these last two to finish 6-6, especially a big win over UofA, he might have even been chopped (although I doubt the school could afford to fire him early).  I thought this coming year was his last, but apparently he has two years left.  He did recruit all of the talent we have now, so I'm not ready to dump him, but I'm certainly not ready to renew him, either.  The penalties and lack of discipline with the team is extremely frustrating.  Next season there's no excuses.  I'm predicting 8-4, in this crazy, unnecessary Pac-12.  I'll be there with my good buddy Featha.  Go Devils!