The Arizona Wildcats have had a bumpy road with the 2016 campaign already. Even with all the injuries, distractions and questions the team still stands tall at a 2 – 1 record going into Pac – 12 play this weekend. Their competition is not to be taken lightly however as they will face off against the ninth ranked team in the nation with the Washington Huskies. It will be a competitive game if both teams show up, but it is a question as to how much of Arizona will be there in uniform.
Injury Bug Continues To Bite
Anu Solomon is still listed as a questionable return this week after suffering an injury in practice after the first game of the season. DeAndre’ Miller is listed as out for the game against Washington and now there is an expectation that Nick Wilson will also miss this next game with an ankle injury. With the starting running back and quarterback out for this week’s contest, the uphill climb is already a steep one. Losing out on Miller at the linebacker position however may be the most critical blow this week as the defense for Arizona has already shown signs of serious weakness in the first three games. The main silver lining for the defense is that safety Tellas Jones will finally be able to return from his ankle injury that had him benched for some time. It will be interesting to see just how much progression Brandon Dawkins and J.J. Taylor will have going into this game after two stellar performances against Hawaii last week.
A Little Home Cooking
Rich Rodriguez has had a knack for knocking down playoff contenders a peg or two since he arrived in the desert with Arizona. Since taking the job four years ago, Rodriguez has led Arizona to a victory over at least 1 team in the top-10 of the polls each year. While those numbers suggest that maybe the trend might continue, it only gets better for Arizona because of the home field advantage in the game. Since 2005 the team has seven wins in twelve games against top-10 teams. If the gameplan and the home crowd can get loud at the start it could be a very heated scene for the Huskies to handle. For Washington’s offense it could lead to some bad penalties, which would hurt their six-game streak of scoring at least 40 points per contest. Stifling forward momentum will be a huge part of the opening quarter, and the crowd will likely play as big a role in that as the eleven players suiting up for the Wildcats.
Defense Must Force Short Drives
Last week against Hawaii the Arizona defense had a lot of trouble getting off the field and giving up a lot of possession time to their opponents. Drives that took over ten plays would almost routinely end with a touchdown last week, and that is something that Marcel Yates needs to get fixed. The first year defensive coordinator from Boise State must get his defense some time to breath and that only comes when the whole unit is off the field. While forcing punts on quick drives would be a welcome sight, turnovers would be a better solution in a perfect world for the Wildcats. Sophomore quarterback Jake Browning can be made to make mistakes if the defense just gets him moving in the pocket and forcing him to check to his third or fourth read. Eventually the young player may panic and throw up a ball just waiting to get picked. If Arizona can get their undersized line into the backfield and chasing down the signal caller for Washington, it could lead to a huge upset in the Pac – 12.
The game kicks off this Saturday at Arizona Stadium on the Pac – 12 Network at 7:30 PM.