Larry Brown Sports

Rich Rodriguez has enjoyed a very good start to his career as the head coach at Arizona. His Wildcats are already 3-0 on the year, including a convincing 59-38 win over then-ranked Oklahoma State. The secret? Stepping up the Popsicle game.

Rodriguez recently told USA TODAY Sports that one part of the Arizona culture he changed when taking over had to do with the type of Popsicles that are given to the team.

“I don’t want to give out average Popsicles,” he said. “We give out them bomb Popsicles. You know, the ones as a kid you love to have?”

The Popsicles he was referring to are one of the most patriotic frozen treats you can buy. If you never had a red, white and blue rocket pop as a kid, you either had some sort of bizarre food allergy, had parents that wouldn’t allow you to eat sugar or simply had a twisted, twisted childhood.

“These things are the mac daddy of Popsicles,” Rodriguez continued. “We’re giving out BCS-level, playoff-bound rocket Popsicles. And if they come out with a better one, we’re going to get a better Popsicle. But the rockets are pretty good.”

The rocket pops have been timeless for who knows how long, so I doubt they’re going to come out with a better one while Rich Rod is the coach as Arizona. What they could do is get Popsicles with their logo branded into them like Sonic did with these burgers. Then the Wildcats would really be cooking.

H/T Dr. Saturday

Rich Rodriguez reportedly is returning to coaching after taking the year off.

CBS college football reporter Bruce Feldman tweeted Monday that we should “Expect Rich Rodriguez to be named the next Arizona head coach in the next 48 hours according to sources.”

Bruce Feldman is a credible reporter who generally has accurate information. His report is even more credible because Rodriguez has been an analyst for CBS Sports, suggesting he has inside information.

Rodriguez was once considered one of the best coaches in America after having six straight good seasons at West Virginia. He went 57-18 from 2002-2007, including a 32-5 record his final three years. But Rodriguez left Morgantown for Michigan and became a complete disaster.

Not only were Rich Rod’s defenses brutal, but his spread offense preference led to Ryan Mallett transferring to Arkansas. Rodriguez also got into trouble for breaking practice rules.

Rodriguez will have considerable more leeway at Arizona to break rules, and their academic restrictions are much more lenient. Additionally, the expectations from the fan base and administration is much less compared to Michigan. All around, this would be a much better fit for Rodriguez than Ann Arbor. We’ll see if the report comes true.

UCLA’s poor play in the first half against Arizona wasn’t entertaining anyone, so they decided to brawl to liven things up. After a streaker dressed as a referee ran onto the field and interrupted the game, a few UCLA and Arizona players began shoving. Bruins receiver Taylor Embree swung at Wildcat Shaquille Richardson, who retaliated. Benches cleared and the coaches had to seperate everyone. Here is a video of the fight (via @cjzero):

Both Embree and Richardson were ejected. Remember, Richardson was once a member of the UCLA team before being kicked off the squad for an alleged theft last summer. He never played a game for the Bruins, but it looks like he went to a more successful program.

Here’s a look at the guy who dressed up as a referee and ran onto the field, interrupting play:

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As far as losing rivalry games are concerned, it doesn’t get much worse than the manner in which Arizona fell to Arizona State in the Territorial Cup Thursday night. Zona was down 20-14 when Nick Foles hit David Douglas for a game-tying touchdown with less than 30 seconds left. All Arizona had to do was kick the extra point to win the game. In heart breaking fashion, they had the kicked blocked. The game went on to overtime and Arizona appeared poised to tie up the game in the second OT when they lined up for another extra point. Alex Zendejas’ kick was blocked for the second time by James Brooks and they wound up losing the game.

I can’t fathom much worse of a way to lose a game than that one, especially in a rivalry game. Arizona went from 7-1 to start the year to losing four straight and finishing 7-5. The win made Arizona State 6-6 and barely bowl eligible. Luck really was on their side in this one.

Well, I guess it was more of Dennis Dixon’s knee ruining the season, with Arizona taking advantage while he was out. What really pisses me off is that Arizona sucks at football, and nobody on campus cares about their football team, so their wins go to waste. Think about it — if you’re only going to go like 5-7 or something on the year, why bother knocking off a good team and ruining their season? If you’re going to pull an upset, at least make it to a good bowl or something — make it worthwhile. Unfortunately, Arizona doesn’t do that, so their upset wins are virtually meaningless. Big wins by the Wildcats don’t change their program; they’re not jumping off points for future success. They just are wastes and it sucks.

I’m going to take this a step further and say that Oregon should still be in the national title game if Dixon comes back healthy and they finish with just two losses. You cannot possibly tell me that there is another team in the country more dangerous than Oregon when Dixon is bouncing around on the field. They are a nearly unstoppable offense gaining 7-8 yards per play, it seems. The game was on its way to 15-0 and an Oregon blowout to start. Dixon gets hurt, enter a rusty Leaf, and it’s over. I can easily let this loss slide. Sure, Oregon’s defense is sketchy, but I’d like to see any team in the nation try to stop that offense when it’s healthy. Good luck with that. That’s why when January comes around, I’d still want to see Oregon in the title game, putting up a 40 spot.

(photo courtesy Wily Low)