By Ian Sutliff
Oregon is set to face Arizona this Saturday in Tucson with both teams coming off blowout wins in their home stadiums. The Ducks come into this matchup ranked #12 in the nation and the unranked Wildcats will be looking for its first win against a ranked opponent since 2019 when it took down UCLA at home. On the other side, Oregon is looking to win in Arizona stadium for the first time since 2011. It should be noted that in those couple of losses in Tucson over the past decade, the Ducks have been ranked and have lost by an average of 27.5 points. This means that Oregon (4-1, 2-0) will need to play much more stout defense against Arizona (3-2, 1-1) this weekend if it wants to buck a losing trend in Tucson.
Oregon Offense:
After being routed in Georgia, there were questions and concerns about whether Bo Nix was really the guy. In week 1, the former Auburn quarterback threw two interceptions and failed to lead a single touchdown drive against a tough Georgia defense. Since then, Nix has gone on to throw 12 touchdown passes and just a single interception, while breaking personal records in passing and rushing yards in back-to-back weeks, respectively. A big reason why is that Nix’s connection with sophomore receiver Troy Franklin has been consistent since week 2. The Palo Alto native has hauled in 22 receptions over the past four weeks, which is nine more than the second closest receiver, Chase Cota. With all the hype surrounding the passing game, this could be Bucky Iriving’s breakout week. Arizona gives up the second most rushing yards per game in the Pac-12 and that fairs well for Iriving who is averaging a remarkable 8.7 YPC in conference play.
Oregon Defense:
The Ducks defense, led by Noah Sewell and Bennett Williams will be tested early and often by Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura this weekend. The Washington State transfer ranks sixth in division 1 in passing yards with 1,627. That’s a problem for an Oregon defense that allows almost 300 yards in the air per game, ranking dead last in its conference. Another issue is that while we all know that Christian Gonzalez and Trikweze Bridges will be going opposite of Jacob Cowing and Dorian Singer, there isn’t really a clear option to go 1 on 1 with Tetairoa McMillan. Jahlil Florence and Dontae Manning could get the assignment here and how well they execute will go a long way in determining the outcome of this one.
Arizona Offense:
Arizona quarterback De Laura brings over a high-powered offense from his time in Pullman. While the rushing game is usually efficient, the Wildcats love to throw the ball and the offense is overwhelmingly pass first. It’s something that has actually worked really well for Arizona who have scored 30+ points in four of its first five games so far and already topped its win total from last season. On top of that, the Wildcats have the two leading receivers in the Pac-12 in Cowing and Singer who are coming off a win against Colorado where they both had over 150 yards receiving. While de Laura has looked impressive so far, the factor that will determine if Arizona can knock off the Ducks is how well its quarterback can take care of the football. Arizona’s two losses have come when de Laura has thrown multiple interceptions, while the Wildcats have gone 3-0 in contests where he has turned the ball over fewer than two times.
Arizona Defense:
Since week 1, Arizona’s defense has looked wildly inconsistent. It held struggling teams like San Diego State and Colorado to just 20 points, but gave up 49 points to a Cal team whose previous season high 34-points came against UC Davis. That same Cal team has failed to top 20-points in its other three games. Arizona needs to figure itself out defensively when it comes to the run game and will need to rely heavily on senior linebacker Jerry Roberts (42 tackles). The sixth-year senior is fourth in the conference in tackles and will have to hope that his supporting cast of Christian Young (29 tackles), Hunter Echols (3.5 sacks), and Jalen Harris (26 tackles, 1.5 sacks) can help him limit Oregon’s recent surge in the running game.
Prediction:
Both teams will likely go into this game with very different strategies offensively. Arizona will continue to let loose and throw it while Oregon will try to run it until the Wildcats can prove they can stop the Noah Whittington-Irving combo. Arizona will keep this one close in the first half and maybe even towards the end of the third quarter, but expect Oregon to pull this one out with another convincing road victory. Nix throws for 250 yards and Irving rushes for over 100 as a late Steve Stephens interception puts this one away in Tuscon.
Oregon 41 – Arizona 25