The Washington football team faced a high-octane offense last week against conference-leading Stanford but managed to hold the Cardinal to their lowest scoring output, at 31 points, since week two, but also the highest mark the UW defense has allowed all season. Fatigue certainly played a role in some of the defensive breakdowns last week, as the UW defense was on the field for two-thirds of the game.
Now that the Huskies are back home, they will try to avoid losing their third straight game as they face off with an Arizona team that just lost to Washington State after playing two different quarterbacks, a common theme for the Wildcats this year.
Sophomore quarterback Anu Solomon, Arizona’s starter in all 14 games last season, was replaced in the third quarter last week by the more athletic redshirt senior Jerrard Randall, who, head coach Rich Rodriguez said, provided a spark to the offense. Though Solomon hasn’t thrown an interception this season and has proven to be much more pocket-savvy than Randall, who has completed only 62 percent of his passes this season, there are questions as to which quarterback will be starting Saturday in Seattle against the top-ranked defense in the Pac-12.
While Randall’s presence as a dual-threat quarterback could have an impact on the game, Arizona has run a balanced offense for the majority of the season, with over 2,000 yards both rushing and passing. Despite their three losses, they are averaging 41.8 points per game, good for the top spot in the Pac-12 and eighth in the nation.
The Wildcats average 6.5 yards per carry, led by sophomore running back Nick Wilson and Randall. Wilson conceded his goal-line carries to senior Jared Baker last week due to a nagging ankle injury, and Baker filled in nicely with three scores but finished with only 22 yards on 11 carries.
Regardless of who starts as quarterback and running back for the Wildcats, the UW’s front seven will have their hands full with powerful and experienced offensive linemen. Senior linebacker Travis Feeney and sophomore linebacker Keishawn Bierria will need to return to form after recent injuries to help the defensive line stand up to the Arizona offense.
Sophomore safety Budda Baker and the rest of the UW secondary will be busy as well. Baker demonstrated his athleticism against Stanford with a leaping interception late in the game. The Huskies, who have picked off eight passes this season, will try to intercept Solomon for the first time this season if he is the starter. Randall has thrown just one interception this season, but has only thrown 66 passes.
Arizona has five wide receivers with more than 20 catches and four of those receivers have two or more touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Cayleb Jones leads the team in catches and receiving yards, but two receivers have more touchdowns than he does. There is no go-to guy on the Arizona receiving corps, which makes it difficult to anticipate who the Wildcats will try to target in the passing game.
As if the Huskies’ injury woes on the defensive side weren’t cause for alarm, the balance Arizona has with their receivers will make it that much more challenging. But a healthy and revitalized UW defense could prove up to the task this Saturday.
Reach reporter Evan Franklin at sports@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @franklination13
