Early losses to UCLA and Stanford did damage to the Wildcats’ chances of getting into the talk of a Rose Bowl berth. Now suddenly sitting in a three way tie for second place, the Wildcats think they may have a chance to get themselves back into the College Football Playoff discussion. Next challenge in line for Rich Rodriguez and his troupe are the Washington State Cougars.
Ideologies Of The Spread
Both the Cougars and the Wildcats run the spread offense. Both use it in much different ways. Washington State and coach Mike Leach admit to this when the former Texas Tech coach explained that “They (Arizona) spread you out to run the ball it and we spread you out to throw it”. So far this season that has been exactly what the Cougars have done all year to opponents as Luke Falk is having himself a year to remember in conference play. Already he’s thrown for over 2,300 yards with a 72% completion percentage, both of those lead the Pac 12 and even best Heisman trophy candidate Jared Goff of Cal. With a near 3-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio on the year Falk is proving to be one of the tougher outs in college football when trying to keep the Cougars from scoring. The Wildcats have a potential to have the best running back duo on the conference with Nick Wilson and the sudden bursting onto the scene of Jared Baker already amassing 683 and 470 rushing yards respectively. If Wilson can go for the team, look to see them do what they do best in the spread.
Injuries Again A Focus Point
With Nick Wilson a question mark as mentioned above, it is only one of a few Wildcats who are looking at being forced into street clothes for the game against the Cougars. DaVonte Neal is listed as questionable as well after already missing two games with a hamstring problem and fellow defensive back Tellas Jones unsure of his status after suffering a concussion in the last meeting against the Buffaloes in Colorado. The name that has almost been synonymous with the injury report this year since the start of the season is linebacker Scooby Wright who will more than likely be out for a few more games after this week as no real progress has been reported on the All-American’s knee issues. With a defense that has struggled so badly against the more advanced talent in the Pac 12 this year, it will be a question if the 90th best scoring defense in the country continues to put pressure on the Wildcat offense. At some point the 30 points per game that Arizona is surrendering per contest is going to hurt them beyond repair.
Mike Leach Beginning To Develop A Run Game
While the spread at Washington State is meant to open up passing lanes for Luke Falk, it is now starting to open up holes in the defensive front for the running backs to make their mark suddenly. While the numbers are certainly not gaudy by any stretch, the three straight 100-yard rushing games by the Cougars is a first under Leach during his brief tenure there thus far. One of those performances came against Oregon State and another against former Pac 12 dynasty in Oregon at Eugene. Both of those games were victories with the game against Oregon being an overtime thriller that could be in discussion for the conference game of the year. Falk is a vicious threat that can tear up even the most seasoned of defenses in college football, but now when you bring in the added concern of giving up first downs and opening up soft spots in the zone after play action fakes, it just makes the Washington State offense that much more of a threat.
The game will kick off at Arizona Stadium at 1:00 PM on October 24th. You can tune in to the Pac 12 Network to watch the game live.