After a slow start for Mike Leach and the Washington State Cougars they began rallying around themselves and now begin a steady climb back into relevance among the Pac – 12 and the college football world. Shooting up to #25 in the polls this last week, the Cougars now look to avoid a slip at home against a struggling Arizona team. The Wildcats are looking to try and break their five game losing streak and perhaps play spoiler to another team’s rise in the Pac – 12.
No Word On Which Quarterback
Last week saw the return of both Brandon Dawkins and Anu Solomon. Both had been injured for a few weeks, Dawkins however having the shortest stint on the injury report this season. The two saw action at the quarterback position in the last game and neither saw any form of success. The two combined for an atrocious 5 of 18 with two turnovers. One was an interception thrown by Dawkins and the other was a fumble that Solomon lost on an early play in his return under center. The lack of success at that position has been the greatest mark against Arizona since the start of the season. Going into this game there is still no word on who will be the starter against Washington State but the logical answer based on last week’s performances would have to be Dawkins. He didn’t throw the ball well but still completed passes, something that Solomon failed to do in three attempts before being pulled. Dawkins also ran the ball well, going for 65 yards on 17 carries during the game. The QB that gives the Wildcats the best chance to win now is Dawkins, but it remains to be seen if he will play this game as the starter.
Falk Still Dominating Defenses
Right now the Cougars are holding their breath as to the current status of Luke Falk’s draft eligibility. Rumors are spinning that the junior would rather skip his senior year and declare for the NFL while his stock is high, and it is a very high stock as of right now. Just last week he threw for over 400 yards, marking the tenth time in his career that he has accomplished that feat. The Wildcats will have to do their best to limit Falk for right now as their defense has not been dominant against he pass this season. Their best player thus far this season has been Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles as the sophomore safety leads the team in tackles and has two interceptions to his credit. When a safety leads your team in tackles however, it usually means there is a lot of big plays getting to the second level. Arizona will have to limit those chances and let others dominate the tackling numbers other than Flannigan-Fowles, otherwise this could be another long game for Arizona.
Lacking Running Back Reserves
The lack of depth this season at many of the skill positions has made many wonder what Rich Rodriguez has been doing while planning for the future of the program. This year has seen multiple wide receivers changed out to being running backs due to injuries and removals from the team at the running back spot. This includes senior Samajie Grant who did decently but was marred with a run that ended up being a 24-yard loss. Putting a wide receiver at the running back position is tough because the desire to treat it like a punt return causes them to think they can run backwards to try and open up an alley. Instead they end up putting the offense in a tough spot to try and make up the loss on the previous play. It is likely that Arizona will have to go once again to the reserves to fill up that position in the backfield but the hope is that Grant will be more aware of his surroundings on a given play and just focus on running forward to at least get back to the original line of scrimmage.
The game will be played this Saturday the 5th at 1:00 PM. Tune in to the Pac – 12 Networks to watch the kickoff live from Pullman, WA.