A last minute field goal by BYU ended the first game of the year for Arizona with a loss. It was a low scoring affair and at the end of the day the two point loss will only further push the idea that maybe the team doesn’t know how to close out the tight games under Rich Rodriguez. Not to mention it now looks that Anu Solomon is not going to be the starting quarterback for the Wildcats going into this game. Arizona has to answer a lot of questions against a Grambling State team that does not deserve to be overlooked.
Anu Solomon and the Quarterbacks
Anu Solomon did not have a good game against BYU. That is covering his game against the Cougars lightly. Solomon seemed to have the ball sail on him on more than one occasion when he was standing in the pocket and if you see the tape, it looks like he commits one of the biggest taboos at the quarterback position where he tries to push the ball to a spot rather than zip it to the spot. He’ll have a week to fix those issues as it looks like last year’s starter will be out with an injury. Brandon Dawkins and Khalil Tate are the other two quarterbacks that are on the roster currently and between the two the likely starter should be Dawkins. He was in the discussions of being the early season starter over Solomon or at least splitting time with him at the start of spring ball. If that injects the offense with any kind of juice it would likely bring up the questions as to whether or not Solomon gets the job back once healthy. But Rich Rod needs to solve the position for at least this week before thinking about the rest of the season.
Running Hard and Often
To say Nick Wilson had a game against BYU would be an understatement. Scoring the only two touchdowns for Arizona and breaking a 49-yard dash to take the lead in the last two minutes shows that Wilson is fully capable of continuing where he started last season. Grambling State however, is now going to start stacking the box heavy between the A and B gaps of Arizona, which was where Wilson found his best runs throughout the game. Wilson will have to start finding more success running outside and cutting up the field after taking stretches and tosses if he is going to have the same kind of success this week as he did last. If Grambling State doesn’t put seven or eight in the box on any given play, it is because they want to see how Arizona’s quarterback adjusts to the game.
Devante Kincade Could Be A Problem
A junior transfer from Ole Miss, Devante Kincade has shown that his move to Grambling State was just what the doctor ordered. He passed for 109 yards with two touchdowns and ran for 139 yards and another two touchdowns, with one of those runs being a 69-yard scamper into the endzone. His issue is that he still seems to throw the bad interception on rough decisions. He gave up the ball three times throwing it to the opponent before the score grew out of control, scoring over 70 points in their opener against Virginia Lynchburg. If Kincade can find his groove and prevent any kind of serious mistakes this could get ugly quick. Grambling State is not a team to take lightly, even though many look at this game as a wash before the teams even get on the field. If Rich Rodriguez and the defense give the Tigers an inch, watch Kincade take it for a mile.
Prediction: Arizona 24 – Grambling State 14
The game will take place at Arizona Stadium on September the 10th. Kickoff is at 7:45 PM and will be on the Pac-12 Network.