Game 11: No. 15 Arizona (8-2, 5-2) at No. 20 Utah (7-3, 4-3)
Game Notes: Arizona | Utah | Pac-12
Date: Saturday, Nov. 22
Time: 1:30 p.m. (MST)
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Stadium: Rice-Eccles Stadium (45,807)
Surface: FieldTurf
Television: ESPN
All-Time Series: Utah leads, 20-17-2
In Salt Lake City: Utah leads, 10-8
Last Meeting: Arizona 35, Utah 24 (Oct. 19, 2013 at Tucson)
Streak: UA has won last two meetings
Television: ESPN
Play-by-Play: Mark Jones
Analyst: Rod Gilmore
Sideline: Jessica Mendoza
Watch Online: Watch ESPN
Radio: Arizona IMG Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Brian Jeffries
Analyst: Lamont Lovett
Sideline: Dana Cooper
Flagship Stations: 1290 AM, 107.5 FM
Statewide Affiliates: Click here
Listen on TuneIn: www.arizonawildcats.com
Satellite Radio (Utah call): XM (198), SIRIUS (102)
Hard Edge Notes & Numbers
» The Wildcats, ranked No. 15 in the Associated Press Top 25, are ranked for the seventh-straight week.
» Arizona has won eight games for the third-straight season (first time since 1973-75 it has done so).
» The last time UA won eight regular season games was during the 2009 season.
» LB Scooby Wright is a semifinalist for the Bednarik and Lumbardi awards. Wright is the only FBS player to rank among the top 25 in tackles, TFL, sacks and forced fumbles.
» Wright has a TFL in each of the 10 games this season (21.0 total).
» Arizona is No. 2 among all FBS teams with 273 first downs.
» UA is one of three teams to have seven players with 20 or more pass receptions this season.
» The Wildcats are 12-1 under Rodriguez when winning the turnover battle. They have outscored opponents 69-12 in points off turnovers this season.
» UA leads the Pac-12 for fewest tackles for loss allowed per game (4.60).
» UA has produced four all-purpose plays of 80+ yards this season, most in a single campaign since 2009.
» UA has 14 players with a pass reception, including 10 with a TD this season.
» Anu Solomon’s 25 passing TD are 10th-most in career history at Arizona.
Some Game Themes: We head down the home stretch of the regular season with a clash of two top-20 Pac-12 South squads jockeying for positioning in the bowl pecking order … For the visitors, a slight chance remains to win the South Division, but along with needing to win their own games, the Wildcats must rely on additional outcomes … Push those concerns aside because Saturday’s showdown in Salt Lake City should be a good one … These two teams have played a ton of nail-biters and found ways to win more times than not … Arizona has twice won on the final play of the game in conference play, while six of Utah’s seven league tilts have been decided by six points or less … Utah’s formula for victory all season has been simple: protect the football, play stout defense and play excellent special teams. It’s the latter which will concern UA coaches the most. The Utes feature a premier punter (Tom Hackett), a proven kicker (Andy Phillips) and one of the nation’s most electrifying returners (Kaelin Clay) … It’s harder to put a finger on Arizona’s method for success, but it can be summed up as “60 Minutes of Arizona” … The offenses are led by two contrasting quarterbacks. Veteran Travis Wilson doesn’t throw for a ton of yards, but he doesn’t force plays. Arizona freshman Anu Solomon has thrown for twice as many yards and is willing to take shots to his bevy of receiving targets. Neither prefers to run the ball, but both can hurt you with their legs when lanes open up … Protecting each quarterback will be paramount to stay ahead of the chains as both teams have the ability to create pressure, though no one in the country has more sacks than Utah … Utes running back Devontae Booker is 1,000-yard rusher, and the Cats counter with a freshman Nick Wilson closing in on the benchmark … Defensively, two of the league’s outstanding playmakers will square off. Arizona sophomore linebacker Scooby Wright has turned in a breakout season, while Utah senior Nate Orchard is putting the finishing touchdowns on an impressive career … Utah has suffered some key injuries, and so too has Arizona. But each finds a way to persevere … The Wildcats enjoyed success on the road earlier this season and they would like to return to those winning ways in a hostile environment, which has seen the Utes drop two games this season … It will be cold – at least by Arizona standards – but expect the Wildcats to embrace the conditions. They seem to enjoy getting comfortable in uncomfortable situations … It’s been a wild season of Pac-12 football, and these two teams have been front and center of that wackiness. So sit back and enjoy this one.
Last Week: Once again, it can all be summed up as “60 Minutes of Arizona”. The Wildcats were toast and the Huskies just needed to take a knee. Instead, Tra’Mayne Bondurant forced Deontae Cooper to fumble, and Derrick Turituri recovered the ball at the Washington 45-yardline with 1:23 remaining in the fourth. Seven plays and 15 yards later, Casey Skowron drilled a 47-yard field goal as time expired, propelling Arizona to a 27-26 victory over Washington … Skowron was the hero in more ways than one. He flipped momentum with an 18-yard touchdown scamper on a fake field goal (clean, direct snap from Jose Romero) when the Wildcats were trailing 17-7 in the late stages of the first half. A minute later, after a costly Husky turnover, Nick Wilson punched in an 8-yard touchdown run to give the home side a 21-17 lead at the break … But it was all Washington in the second half. After a field goal early in the third quarter, the Huskies took the lead on Dwight Washington’s second touchdown of the game and led 26-21 entering the fourth … Skowron, who accounted for 15 points in the game, kicked a 35-yard field goal early in the fourth to bring the Cats within two, which proved to be a critical margin … But things were bleak. A potential go-ahead scoring drive late in the fourth was thwarted when a miscommunication between Anu Solomon and Trey Griffey led to an interception in the endzone – the third turnover of the second half for the Wildcats’ offense … But the defense, despite surrendering 504 yards of offense and 25 first downs in the contest, answered the bell by forcing its third turnover of the game and setting up the game-winning kick in the final moments … Interestingly, it was the poor execution by Washington’s kicking game that made the winning kick possible. Cameron Van Winkle hit the upright on a field goal try in the first quarter, and an errant snap on an extra point saw another point lost on Washington’s (the running back) third-quarter touchdown … Washington sparked the Huskies with 148 rushing yards and two touchdowns, but interestingly the ball was not in his hands when trying to run out the clock late, even if a taking a knee could have been another option … Arizona’s Nick Wilson gained 104 yards rushing with two scores of his own to highlight Arizona’s offense attack which mustered only 375 yards of offense … It was the seventh-straight victory for the home team in the series.
Cats in the Polls: Arizona is ranked No. 15 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 Poll, the seventh-straight week the Wildcats have been ranked. After upsetting then-No. 2 Oregon in Eugene, Ore., on Oct. 2, Arizona vaulted from unranked to No. 10 the following week, marking the largest jump in the poll’s history since it expanded to 25 teams back in 1989. Since, Arizona has bounced around depending upon weekly results. The Wildcats are No. 13 in this week’s Amway USA Today Coaches’ Poll. Arizona has also been ranked in each of the first three College Football Playoff Committee Rankings, released each Tuesday.
Last Year: Arizona started strong, faltered a bit in the third quarter, rallied back and eventually held off a pesky Utah squad for a 35-24 victory at Arizona Stadium on Oct. 19, 2013. Junior running back Ka’Deem Carey set the tone with bookend highlights while setting a school record with 40 carries in a workhorse effort. Carey took his first touch of the game 30 yards and punctuated a 236-yard day with a 44-yard burst to paydirt for the final score with 90 seconds left that all but put the Utes away. Quarterback B.J. Denker complemented Carey with 51 markers and a pair of rushing touchdowns of his own, while he added 168 yards and a score without an interception in the passing game. The Arizona defense was up for a stern test and it didn’t back down against a Utah unit that averaged 470 yards of offense per game. The Wildcats held them to their lowest total of the season to date (329 yards), and by and large made the big plays when needed. Linebacker Marquis Flowers registered a 14-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter that helped hand the Wildcats a 20-7 halftime lead. The Utes appeared to gather some momentum when they scored 14 quick points in the third quarter to claim a one-point lead. Johnny Jackson muffed a punt at UA’s own 17-yard to aid a short-field score, then Utah backup quarterback Adam Schulz hit Sean Fitzgerald on a 55-yard flea-flicker on the first play of the next drive. The Utes looked to keep their foot on the gas pedal on their next possession, but on third-and-two from the UA 45-yardline, Sione Tuihalamaka stuffed Kelvin York for a four-yard loss to force a punt and send Uncle ‘Mo back to the Wildcats’ sideline for the fourth quarter. In the final frame, Denker found Nate Phillips on a switch route deep down the sideline for a 36-yard conversion on third-and-three. A few plays later, Denker connected with Phillips again on third down, this time for a seven-yard touchdown to regain the lead and spark a 15-3 run for the Wildcats to end the game. The win delighted the Family Weekend crowd of 50,871 and marked Arizona’s 575th all-time victory.
Scooby on Semifinalist Lists: Arizona sophomore linebacker Scooby Wright is a semifinalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award and the Chuck Bednarik Award. He can also be a write-in candidate for the Butkus Award, given annually to the nation’s top linebacker. Wright is the only FBS player to rank in the top 25 in each of these four categories: tackles, tackles for loss, sacks and forced fumbles. He has registered 117 tackles this season, 21.0 for loss, 12.0 sacks and forced five fumbles. He has a sack in six of the last seven games played and a tackles for loss in every contest this year.
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