The Utes are taking on the Arizona Wildcats this weekend in Salt Lake City, so to prepare for this Pac-12 match The Daily Utah Chronicle spoke with Saul Bookman, the sports editor for The Daily Wildcat, to find out what’s going on in Tucson.
Q: The Wildcats have suffered losses in both of their Pac-12 games. What’s the state of the team?
SB: It is fragile, but still optimistic. They have been riddled with injuries similar to last season, this time on the offensive side of the ball at the running back, quarterback and offensive line positions. I think this team is on the brink of either heading south for the rest of the season or figuring out some type of breakthrough to get them to another bowl game. I fear it is the former.
Q: What have they learned from the losses against Washington and UCLA?
SB: That their talent level still has a long way to go. I think we are seeing the poor recruiting classes finally start to come back and bite Rich Rodriguez, because his style is no longer unique. Seemingly everyone is running a spread system, and he no longer is able to recruit average players in hopes of making them great through his scheme. It is a huge reason why changes were made in the offseason to help refocus on getting more talent and not relying on nobodies that come out of nowhere to surprise.
Q: What has been going right for Arizona? What particularly went right in Arizona’s two lone wins?
SB: It helps when you are playing an FCS team in Grambling State and a team like Hawaii, who couldn’t cover their own shadow. The Hawaii game was their best performance on both sides of the ball, but if we talk Grambling, there is a large percentage of people who believe that had their starting quarterback not gone out with an injury, UA would have lost to an FCS school. That game in itself highlighted the drastic difference in athleticism and, in some regard, talent level that UA is lacking.
Q: Who/what should Utah be worried about on Arizona’s offense?
SB: Possible starting quarterback Khalil Tate. There are two reasons for this, first because there isn’t a lot of film on Tate, so it makes it hard to game plan for him. They will add more to his playbook as well so if you are strictly going off of the UCLA game, well, this game could look completely different. The second reason is because of Tate’s athletic ability. He really reminds me of a young Daunte Culpepper in his ability to throw and run. He is physical and doesn’t shy away from contact. His throwing ability has very nice touch as well so UA fans are excited to see what he amy be able to do against the Utes.
Q: Who/what should Utah be worried about on Arizona’s defense?
SB: Scheme. That is pretty much it! Talent wise this team is not very deep nor very skilled. They play hard, but players that were expected to step up and have good years have faded and been replaced by younger inexperienced players for the future. As far as I can tell it seems like the coaching staff knows what it has and is trying to develop for the future.
Q: Is there anyone in particular the Wildcats will be keeping their eye on from Utah?
SB: Pretty much every receiver that Utah has. Tim Patrick should have a field day against this secondary, it seems just about every receiver does. Whether it be missed tackles, poor coverage, or huge cushions off the line, this Arizona defense gives opposing receivers plenty of opportunities to shine. If it isn’t, Patrick it could very well be the running game led by Zack Moss, Armand Shane and Troy McCormick. Against Washington, the Wildcats gave up over 300 yards rushing, but did improve the next week against UCLA. I’d be curious to see if they can carry it over or not.
Q: What does a win/loss do for the Wildcats?
SB: A win could completely change their season, especially with an unpredictable USC team coming to Tucson next week. It may provide a ray of confidence to an already fragile team that is dying for a quality win. A loss just furthers the slide and may make it near impossible to expect anything less than a one or two win conference season.
Q: Who do you think will win? And why?
SB: I think the Wildcats will play tough at first, but fall apart sometime in the second or third quarter. UA doesn’t have the staying power to be able to fall behind and expect a comeback, so if it wants to stay in the game, it better do so by jumping out to a huge lead. The lack of a running game will hurt the ‘Cats, and it will ultimately force Khalil Tate to throw the ball, which is an unknown at this point. I think Utah will have their best offensive production of the season and win easily, 37-13 Utes.
@kbrenneisen