Notes and takeaways from Arizona Wildcats coach Rich Rodriguez鈥檚 weekly Monday news conference at the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility:
* Rodriguez expects freshman safety Scottie Young Jr. to be available this week at Oregon after he sat out last week鈥檚 game vs. Oregon State. Young was not listed on the injury report but was limited in practice, Rodriguez said. He returned the previous week against USC after missing time because of a knee injury. Young dressed for the OSU game, spent part of it riding a stationary back and could have played if necessary, Rodriguez said.
*聽When a reporter suggested that QB Braxton Burmeister left Arizona at the alter twice, Rodriguez paused. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 an interesting way to phrase it,鈥 he said. Arizona recruited Burmeister for most of his high school career, but he flipped to Oregon late in the process. He has been forced to play this year because of an injury to starter Justin Herbert, who could be back Saturday. I鈥檒l have more on the QB situations for both teams later today.
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*聽Rodriguez credited Rod Smith and B.J. Denker for fostering Khalil Tate鈥檚 development. Rodriguez said he and Smith have something of a good cop/bad cop routine going when it comes to coaching the quarterbacks. Rodriguez is typically the bad cop.
*聽Rodriguez knew his team would be better this season 鈥 especially if it stayed healthy 鈥 but wasn鈥檛 sure how much of an impact the freshmen could have. They have exceeded expectations, and Tate鈥檚 emergence has accelerated the rebuilding process.
*聽Speaking of the freshman class, Rodriguez said it鈥檚 the biggest and most impactful one he鈥檚 ever had. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if I鈥檝e ever had this many play this much and be this significant,鈥 he said.
*聽Rodriguez likes the way Arizona鈥檚 top three tailbacks complement one another. J.J. Taylor is the 鈥渙pen-field guy,鈥 Zach Green is the short-yardage specialist and Nick Wilson has both power and speed. All three are accomplished blockers as well.
*聽Rodriguez reiterated that he thought the first half Oregon State was the best Arizona had played all season, on both sides of the ball. The Wildcats led 28-0 at halftime.
*聽Rodriguez said Shawn Poindexter didn鈥檛 realize he couldn鈥檛 block a player out of bounds. Poindexter was penalized for that against Oregon State. The whistle had not yet blown on the play.
*聽Rodriguez was dumbfounded that center Nathan Eldridge got flagged for a low block. 鈥淏asically, he was doing his job,鈥 Rodriguez said. Arizona has submitted that play to the league for clarification.
*聽Rodriguez said Tate got tricked by Oregon State鈥檚 Shawn Wilson on the pass that Wilson ended up intercepting. Wilson showed a man-coverage look before backing off into a zone.
*听厂别苍颈辞谤 Marcus Griffin was part of the rotation at defensive tackle vs. OSU. 鈥淗e has earned it,鈥 Rodriguez said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 practiced really well.鈥
*聽Rodriguez said freshman defensive end My-King Johnson is among the players who鈥檝e stood out on the scout team. Johnson is redshirting this season but could be a factor as a pass rusher next year with more experience and time in the weight room.
*聽Rodriguez expects Autzen Stadium to provide a challenging environment. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e got a great crowd,鈥 Rodriguez said, 鈥渁nd they鈥檙e right on top of you.鈥 Rodriguez said the Wildcats might practice with the sprinklers on, as they did a few years ago before a game at Utah, to get used to working in wet conditions.
*聽Rodriguez said he didn鈥檛 expect anyone from the Pac-12 to make the College Football Playoff because the conference has so many good teams. He turned out to right. With two losses apiece, USC, Washington and Washington State are all but eliminated from the four-team playoff.
*聽Rodriguez also advocates a six- or eight-team playoff but said that the current controversy and conversation about the four-team CFP are good for the sport.
