Arizona
Arizona football’s talented passing game to test No. 12 Oregon
Arizona’s Jayden de Laura had the most effective passing video games at school historical past in opposition to one of many Pac-12’s worst groups final week.
Now he’ll attempt to duplicate the feat in opposition to a group that’s among the many league’s greatest.
Arizona hosts No. 12 Oregon in Tucson on Saturday evening in arguably the largest recreation of second-year coach Jedd Fisch’s tenure. The Wildcats (3-2, 1-1 Pac-12) are already midway to bowl eligibility one season after ending with a 1-11 report.
Oregon (4-1, 2-0) has received 4 straight video games since opening the season with a loss to Georgia.
“We’re anticipating Arizona’s very best, however identical to we’ve stated each week, we’re not taking part in Arizona, we’re taking part in Oregon,” Geese first-year coach Dan Lanning stated. “That’s our focus proper now. We bought to be one of the best model of us.”
Arizona has languished at or close to the underside of the Pac-12 the previous few years however has been rather more aggressive in Fisch’s second season. The Wildcats thumped Colorado 43-20 final weekend, a blowout that finally value Buffs coach Karl Dorrell his job.
De Laura had a monster recreation in opposition to Colorado’s porous protection, throwing for 484 yards and tying a college report with six passing touchdowns. The sophomore — who’s a switch from Washington State — has tailored shortly to his new program.
“I feel that he’s any person who will proceed to enhance every week,” Fisch stated. “It was neat to see how he performed and that undeniable fact that we’ve solely had him for 5 video games.”
Oregon has been on a roll since dropping to Georgia on Sept. 3. The Geese have scored not less than 41 factors in every of their 4 victories throughout their successful streak. Quarterback Bo Nix has thrown for 1,261 yards and 12 touchdowns this season.
“These away video games are robust. It’s opponent,” Nix stated. “It’s going to be good competitors, good ambiance. We’ve bought to go in there actually sharp and never do something that can harm your self.”
RUN BO RUN
Nix ran for a career-high 141 yards and two touchdowns in final weekend’s 45-27 win over Stanford. He additionally threw for 161 yards and two touchdowns.
His largest play was an 80-yard landing run within the third quarter.
“That run was enjoyable,” Lanning stated. “When he bought over there after, he was sucking wind on the sideline.”
GREAT RECEIVERS
Arizona’s offensive enchancment could be traced again to de Laura’s arrival, however he’s additionally bought a reasonably good pair of go catchers.
Receivers Jacob Cowing and Dorian Singer had massive video games within the win in opposition to Colorado. Cowing caught 12 passes for 180 yards and a landing whereas Singer caught 9 balls for 163 yards and a landing.
Singer had a few notably spectacular catches. One was a one-handed seize down the sideline for a giant achieve. The opposite was a troublesome 5-yard landing catch in visitors at the back of the top zone.
OREGON’S DEFENSE
Oregon’s go protection hasn’t been nice this season, giving up 282.2 yards per recreation, which ranks final within the Pac-12.
That quantity is inflated by a tough recreation in opposition to Georgia within the opener, however additionally they gave up 375 yards passing in opposition to Washington State two weeks in the past.
Now it’s time to attempt to decelerate de Laura, Cowing and Singer.
“There haven’t been quite a lot of groups which have actually slowed them down offensively,” Lanning stated. “They solely possibly harm themselves a few occasions, to be trustworthy. They’ve performed a extremely good job. They get the ball downfield, they take lengthy photographs, so this might be a extremely good problem.”
THE SERIES
Oregon’s bought a 28-17 lead within the all-time sequence and has received seven of the previous 10.
However the Geese haven’t been good after they’ve ventured into Tucson, dropping the previous two video games by a lopsided margin. The final time Oregon beat Arizona in Tucson was 2011.