Utah welcomes No. 15 Arizona to Rice-Eccles Stadium Saturday for Top 20 match-up. The Deseret News caught up with Daniel Berk, who covers the Wildcats for the Arizona Daily Star, to get some insight on Arizona.
Most Utah games have gone right down to the final whistle. How has Arizona performed in crunch time this year?
Arizona has been similar to Utah. The majority of the UA's games have come down to the fourth quarter. The Wildcats have mostly been really good in those situations. They, of course, had the Hail Mary to beat Cal and then the last-second field goal to beat Washington last weekend. Their only close late loss was to USC when they missed a last-second field goal. But Arizona has been dramatically better in the second half of games this year than the first and have been really good at making halftime adjustments. This is a team that seems to thrive in those crunch-time situations.
Utah's strength this season has been its ability to get to the quarterback. How effective is the Arizona offensive line? What will Arizona do offensively to try to limit the Utah pass rush?
Arizona's offensive line has largely been really good this year. The only exception was against UCLA. The team's starting left tackle, Mickey Baucus, who has made 48 straight starts, was injured early in that game and didn't play after the second drive. Without him, the line struggled and couldn't get the run game established. Other than that, the O-line has been steady. There are three seniors up front, along with a junior and a redshirt freshman. They lack some size at center and left guard, but it hasn't been a huge issue. In recent weeks, the UA has been bringing in WR Austin Hill and lining him up as a tight end. He's a solid blocker for a wide receiver and has helped against teams like Utah, who can get to the quarterback.
Utah runs a very rush heavy offense, how well does the Wildcat defense defend the run? What are the biggest weaknesses and strengths of the Arizona defense?
Arizona's numbers against the rush aren't great. The Wildcats give up a 100-yard rusher most weeks. Teams are running for 158.8 yards per game. The Wildcats have been able to clamp down in the red zone and keep teams from finishing drives, but stopping the run has definitely been a problem. Like Utah, Arizona can get to the quarterback in passing situations. Linebacker Scooby Wright leads that charge with 12 sacks. The secondary has been drastically improved the last few games and has probably become a strength. Senior cornerback Jonathan McKnight has been steady and safeties Will Parks and Jared Tevis, who will play close to the line of scrimmage at times, have made a lot of plays.
The Utes defense has been good most of the season, but it has struggled against the spread. What is the key to stopping Anu Solomon and the Arizona offense? Who, besides Solomon, are the key Wildcat offensive players?
The key to stopping Arizona's offense is stopping the run game. When Arizona can establish the run, that's when the Wildcats are at their best. When teams stop the run, Solomon often struggles to get the passing game going and the UA really sputters on offense. If Utah can limit Nick Wilson on the ground — and even Solomon — it will make things a lot tougher on the Wildcats. Other than Solomon, the true freshman Wilson, who had 104 yards and two touchdowns last week against Washington, is a guy to watch. Receiver Cayleb Jones, a transfer from Texas, is the UA's most dangerous weapon at that position. Sophomore Samajie Grant is also a guy to keep an eye on.
What does Arizona have to do to get the victory Saturday?
Run the ball on offense and stop the run on defense. It will change the game if the Wildcats can pound out yards on the ground and limit (Devontae) Booker for Utah. Solomon also has to be sharp. He hasn't been at his best the past three games and has seen his production drastically tail off. His completion percentage has dipped considerably and he made a couple of really bad decisions last week against the Huskies. But if Solomon is sharp and Wilson is effective on the ground, Arizona has a chance to snag a road win. But both of those things will be incredibly hard against Utah's physical defense.