After every contest for the Territorial Cup the losing side is able to point to half a dozen moments that changed the course of the game. As this year's loser it is our turn to wallow in what could have been. It would be easy to blame the loss squarely on our kicker with the terrific pedigree and terrible leg. Indeed, minutes after he missed the second extra point in overtime our fellow Wildcat fans were creating Facebook pages like "100 people who can kick better than Alex Zendejas," "Betty White kicks better than Alex Zendejas" and "Alex Zendejas should never show his face in Tucson again."
Despite my disappointment in Zendejas I can't blame him for the loss. Since October I have been saying that he was going to lose a game for us. When he came on to kick the extra point at the end of regulation I stood up from my seat and hid behind the couch. Becky, who barely pays attention to Wildcat games, even understood that Zendejas' presence meant we were headed for OT. Of course he missed it, he has been missing them all season.
I blame Coach Stoops (rhymes with Poops, copyright Jeremy). We all know that he is not a good game day coach. His hysterics on the sideline are embarrassing. His timeouts that kill drives have been well documented on the ASD. His play selection can be head scratching. Most damning of all, he doesn't seem to have the guts to make daring calls. He rarely goes for punt blocks, on 4th and short he loves running straight up the middle and he didn't go for two to win this game.
How do you not go for two after scoring the touchdown in the second overtime? He knew, we knew and ASU knew that Zendejas was not going to make that kick. Sending him out there is accepting defeat. After the game Stoops even admits that he "wanted to go for two," adding "I should have gone with my gut and stuck with it." Does that quote mean that someone talked him out of the decision? Or does that mean that he is a gutless loser?
Obviously this one play did not lose us the game. The breaks did not go our way all night. We dropped a dozen interceptions. We fumbled twice. In particular, the Greg Nwoko fumble in the fourth quarter changed the game. We were driving to crush ASU's hopes on that play and the ball pops out. ASU fumbled on the one yard line in the 4th quarter and we never got to see a replay of the scrum for the ball. The field goal they kicked forced the Cats to make an extra point to win the game on their final drive. Antolin got stopped inches short on 4th and 1 with 6 minutes left after having a hole to run through. Granted we should have come up with a better play but he should also have made the yard.
The consequences of Arizona's 4th loss in a row will play out during the coming weeks. We may have lost our Alamo Bowl bid (some are predicting Washington will be invited) and will have to settle for the Holiday Bowl or the Sun Bowl depending on Stanford's BCS status. By the way, I think there is a good chance that Washington State beats Washington which would put Arizona back in the Alamo bowl. Having lost my annual bet with Chigee I will need to buy her beer. I also engaged in a second bet with my cousin Morgan and her husband Dave and I now owe them $50 and I have to wear an ugly mustard colored ASU shirt. I am planning on eating ribs the day I get it.
I know many of us stopped being as invested in this Wildcat football season after the beat down at Stanford. I for example told everyone that would listen that it was now basketball season. But I didn't think our football team would lose the rest of their games. They competed well at Oregon and should have won against ASU. I only hope they finish the season on a high note by getting a bowl victory. God knows we need something to shut up the ASU fans who will be caterwauling like idiots for next 12 months.
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