The Wildcats will be heading to Salt Lake City this weekend to do battle with the Utes, a team they have had a strange amount of success against over the past few years. Utah will be trying to climb their way back into the Pac-12 title talk after a loss to Cal just last week while Arizona continues to find closing out games to be a trial after a beating last week to UCLA. It will be a dog fight between the two programs to see if one can remain on top or if the other can climb back in to the rankings among the conference.
Keeping It Fast
The Utes have had issues with the Wildcats over the past few years and this week could be more of the same for Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. The biggest problem for Utah’s defense over the past four years has been corralling the running game that Arizona brings with them every year. In the last four matchups the Utes have surrendered 269 rushing yards per game and with a new quarterback under center the running game might be leaned on heavily for Arizona. The projected starter appears to be Tyrell Johnson as Nick Wilson continues his struggles with the ankle injury he sustained weeks prior. However, Johnson will likely have a tough time in his projected first start at running back as the player was a wide receiver not too long ago. The injury bug has forced many a player out of position for this Arizona team, and it continues now into the backfield. Look for Johnson to get the ball in very basic lineups and straight forwards running lanes, as it remains to be seen just how developed his backfield vision actually is.
Another Quarterback Down
Injuries are almost as common this year for the University of Arizona as the heat of the desert sun. The sun however didn’t force coach Rich Rodriguez to burn Khalil Tate’s redshirt status in last week’s game. Brandon Dawkins ended up injuring his ribs in the first half against UCLA and Zach Werlinger proved to be having difficulty under center during his small stint in relief. The signs are pointing to Tate being the starter going into this battle with a top 25 team in Utah and that will be quite an interesting battle. While Werlinger might be the safe bet to start, Tate’s effectiveness against UCLA in a losing effort showed he may have more to offer at the position than the other choices. Going only 5 of 9 passing with two touchdowns shows that he has at least enough accuracy to complete passes in the system if given the chance, plus his 15 carries for 79 yards showed he was not afraid to bust loose if given an alley. Those kinds of things are perfect for Rodriguez’s system and should put him in the game as the starter moving forward until the injury bug disappears.
Utah Struggling To Reach Pay Dirt
Last week the Utes had their National Playoff hopes dashed potentially after Cal gave them a loss in Berkeley. The main issue was that Utah couldn’t seem to find their way into the end zone after coming in so close on multiple occasions. The team was 3 for 6 scoring touchdowns in the red zone last week and that ended up being the difference with just one touchdown being all that Utah needed to get the win for themselves. A single stop at the goal line as time expired was what did the Utes in and it has been a problem in the past that when the field shrinks, Utah’s offense begins to run out of legitimate threats without using that extra ten yards or so for stretching the field. If Arizona allows Utah in the red zone they have to be willing to bend but not break. Eventually Utah will find a way to convert in that part of the field, but Arizona will have to keep the Utah players in front of them and make sure they solve that problem for another week.
The game will start at 7:00 PM on FOX Sports 1 from Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, UT on October the 8th.