Arizona Wildcats: First Look

USC (4-1, 2-1) is coming off the worst loss in the history of all things holy, but fortunately for us, there are still 7 games to play. The Trojans dropped to 7th in the USA Today Coaches poll, which comprises 1/3 of the BCS Standings, but can still make up for it by winning the rest of its games. It all starts this Saturday though, what I'm calling Redemption Saturday for USC, as the the Trojans host the University of Arizona Wildcats (2-4, 1-2). The Wildcats are also coming off a loss, 31-16 to Oregon State, and have had an up and down season so far. Their slow start can be attributed to their tough road schedule. Arizona has lost all three of its road games at BYU (20-7), Cal (45-27), and last week at Oregon State (31-16). There aren't many teams in the country that can escape from those 3 places without defeat. At home the Wildcats defeated Northern Arizona (45-24), lost a nail-biter to New Mexico (29-27), and then beat Washington State (48-20). They are certainly battle tested on the road this year, so I don't think the Coliseum will have much of an impact on them. They also know that they can come in and compete against USC after playing us tough last year, remember they also beat Cal last year. USC would have finished 2nd in the Pac-10 after losing to fucla if Cal hadn't lost that game.

The Trojans will face another pass heavy offense. Arizona is 14th nationally with 306.83 passing yards per game, but ranks 111th with only 86 rushing yards per game. This was expected after the hiring of new offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes, who helped Mike Leach turn Texas Tech into a offensive juggernaut. Defensively, the Wildcats return 10 starters to what was already a pretty solid defense last year. Last season, Arizona led the Pac-10 in turnover margin and surrendered less than 20 points per game. Head coach Mike Stoops is a defensive guy so you can expect his teams to get after it defensive. He also has the luxury of having a true shut-down defender in cornerback Antoine Cason. We'll take a closer look at the Wildcats' offense tomorrow...

Fight On! Beat the Wildcats!