A look at the Arizona Wildcats

Today the Beavers will take on a feisty opponent in the Arizona Wildcats. They have been a league doormat for several years now, but they are not going to roll over and die. In fact, they may take out your QB. They knocked two U of O quarterbacks last week including Kellen Clemens who is out for the season. Their defense is physical and good. I think most weeks they are more afraid of coach Stoops yelling at them then they are of their next opponent because the have stopped virtually everybody.


The Offense

The Wildcat offense isn't great. Their best running back, Mike Bell, is having a very average year. In fact, UA has some serious trouble running the ball. 3.2 yards per carry. Not exactly automatic. And only 1/3 of their first downs from the running game. Mike Bell is still a good RB and the Beavs will need to be on top of him and not give him a big run.

RUSHING YARDAGE............. 727
Yards gained rushing........ 971
Yards lost rushing.......... 244
Rushing Attempts............ 229
Average Per Rush............ 3.2
Average Per Game.......... 103.9
TDs Rushing................... 6

FIRST DOWNS................. 131
Rushing...................... 44
Passing...................... 70
Penalty...................... 17

The passing game has been better (probably out of necessity) but it's not world class either. The new true Freshman QB, Willie Tuitama, did do pretty well in his first action of the season, but a look at the stats show that he may not be THAT much better than Richard Kovalcheck. He had a lower completion percentage, had an interception, and only had 182 yards passing. And look at his longest pass play. 20 yards. So all of his stats are without really opening up the playbook.

PASSING........ GP. .Effic Att-Cmp-Int.. Pct. Yds. TD Lng Avg/G
---------------------------------------------------------------
Kovalcheck, R... 7. 113.94 215-123-11.. 57.2 1321. 10. 42 188.7
Tuitama, Willie. 1. 111.44.. 34-18-1... 52.9. 182.. 2. 20 182.0

The big problem is that their offensive line is sub-par. They give up a lot of sacks and don't run block very well. In fact, I can barely remember when Arizona had a good line. It's been a long time.

I think the Beavers have to stop the run and pressure the QB. Blitz early and often. A freshman QB will have trouble keeping his composure if he's worried about the hit he's about to take. Force them to pass and don't give them too much time to pass and we should be able to stop the Arizona offense quite effectively.


The Defense

This is what Coach Stoops does. Defense. His brother is the defensive coordinator and as a team they really excel here. They have a decent defensive line with super DE Copeland Bryan really pounding the other teams. He has only played in 5 games this season but already has 5 sacks, 6 tackles for loss, 22 tackles, and 4 pass breakups. He leads the team in sacks, TFL, and pass breakups. He must be blocked properly.

The secondary is strong with a super-Soph. at corner and two senior safeties to hold it down. They have only 5 interceptions, but hold their opponents to only 199 yards passing. They look good. Matt will have to be on his game/.

The only area they are a little suspect is at linebacker. It says something about your linebackers when a safety is leading the team in tackles by 18. Granted they have had a ton of injuries, but this isn't Penn St. so their depth is mainly young guys. They have a junior, a sophomore, and a RS freshman starting this weekend for them.

Arizona Opponents

RUSHING YARDAGE
Average Per Rush.............. 4.5
Average Per Game............ 180.3
TDs Rushing.................... 12
PASSING YARDAGE
Average Per Game............ 199.1
TDs Passing..................... 9
TOTAL OFFENSE
Average Per Game............ 379.4

The Beavers should be able to run on this team. The Wildcats have stopped people recently on the run, but every time we have met a team with a weaker rushing defense this season we have had good running days. They will key on the pass and try to get Matt Moore to make mistakes. That alone should allow Yvenson Bernard to get 100 yds rushing. The key will be not giving up bad turnovers to this defense. They may not be susceptible to the big play, but chip away at them and you can gain plenty of yards. And don't help their offense by giving up a bunch of turnovers behind the 50 yd line.


The Game

I expect a tough game. However, I expect a Beaver win. I'd like to see Matt Moore return to form and Yvenson Bernard continue to run well. I'd also like the Beaver defense to out duel the Arizona defense and show them that we can play. My prediction: Beavers win 31 - 14.