Opponent Q&A: Arizona

The no. 24 University of Utah heads to Tucson on Saturday to take on the 1-8 Arizona Wildcats at 12 PM MST. The Wildcats recorded their first win in two years last week, but they remain a program trying to find its footing. Our friend and GoAZcats Senior Editor, Matt Moreno, was kind enough to give Ute fans some in-depth insight into Arizona.

Any kind of win is positive, especially after going two years without one. Do you see any of that momentum being taken into the Utah game? Outsiders view it as a result of Cal’s Covid outbreak, but I’ve got to think it’s a big mental hurdle Arizona has passed, regardless.

You can’t disregard all the issues that Cal had going into that game last week, but you also can’t discount Arizona’s issues in the game either. I’m not sure any other opponent and any other circumstance would have led to a win that day, but Arizona had to work through some problems of its own with injury issues up and down the lineup. So, I won’t take anything away from the victory for the Wildcats. I’m not sold that any of the momentum from that game will carry over into this week’s game, however, it did remove a lot of the pressure on the players and coaches. One thing I’ve noticed this week is there is a bigger feeling of comfort around the team than before last week’s win. I do think that has some value when moving ahead this season. That win allowed the team to remove a big weight from its shoulders, and that should allow the Wildcats to play with a bit more freedom now. As much as they didn’t want to make it seem like the losing streak was impacting them, the players and coaches clearly are relieved to have it behind them now.

What are your early thoughts on the Jedd Fisch era?

He has done a lot of the right things off the field to drum up support, whether that be hiring alums to the coaching staff, building relationships with high school coaches, opening up practices to the public or even bringing back the classic uniforms that fans wanted to see. Recruiting is going much better than it has in the last few years, and he has the program on pace for its best class since 2017. However, the start on the field has been as rocky as anyone could imagine. His system on offense is complex. It has taken the players some time to adapt to it plus the team has had to deal with season-ending injuries to two quarterbacks. Even when we were able to get glimpses of what the offense would look like in the spring, it just seemed a bit too complicated to run at a college program. There have been some definite bumps, but his attitude is what will push him through. I’ve been impressed that he has remained as positive as he has up until this point. Some reporters around Tucson have started to refer to him as “Jedd Lasso” because of his seemingly endless amounts of positivity despite the difficult circumstances. He’s gone out on his own to help raise money for the program and is showing a level of dedication that has not been seen in my time covering the team. Fans simply want someone who wants to be the coach at Arizona, and that didn’t always feel like it was the case for Kevin Sumlin. Fisch feels like he is invested, and I think that will prove to be a big positive for him in the long run.

Arizona has the second best pass defense in the Pac-12 conference, so why have they struggled to win games?

The defense has not been the reason why the team has lost most of its games this year. The lack of offensive production has put the defense in a difficult spot. There is only so long you can be on the field as a defense before you begin to wear down. Some of the losses Arizona has had this season came in games where it was either leading entering the fourth quarter or was within at least one score only to see its defense simply run out of gas in the end. Still, there have been a couple things the defense has needed to improve through the first nine games. The rush defense has not been very good this season, and that is putting it nicely. That has certainly started to improve in recent games, but that has been a big problem throughout the season. Teams simply haven’t needed to pass the ball because they are running it so well against Arizona. The other element that has kept the defense from reaching its full potential has been the inability to prevent “explosive” plays. Teams have been able to hit on either big runs or pass plays down the field quite often against Arizona this year. Those plays seem to come at crucial moments, and it has allowed opponents to break games open. It felt like all the pieces finally completely came into place for the defense against Cal, and that is the performance that group is trying to build from as it was clearly the best it has played all year.

This somewhat ties into the last question, but if you were offensive coordinator, how would you attack the Wildcats’ defense? Who are the Arizona defenders to watch?

The first thing I would do is stay dedicated to the running game. Teams have proven that if there is a willingness to continue sticking with the ground game Arizona will eventually break down. The Wildcats are a bit banged up along the defensive line as well but still managed to have a solid performance against Cal. It will be a more difficult task to slow down the Utah rushing attack, so having anybody out for Saturday’s game would impact how effective the team is against the run. After that I would time up my deep shots. There are going to be some opportunities to hit on chunk plays, and if you time them right or get the type of look you want I would jump on it. The secondary has been hot and cold this year, and teams have been able to exploit that often. Two players up front who will be important for Arizona in Saturday’s game are defensive linemen Kyon Barrs and Trevon Mason. They combined for nine tackles, 4 1/2 tackles for loss and 2 1/2 sacks in the win over Cal. They were disruptive in the backfield and made a lot of impressive plays. They also both tend to raise their level of play against top opponents, especially Mason. In the secondary, safety Jaxen Turner has been making steady improvement throughout the season and had one of his best games last week against Cal. He led the team with eight tackles in addition to a pass breakup. He has a couple targeting calls that have gone against him and forced him to miss time, but when he’s disciplined he is a difference maker for Arizona.

How would you stop Arizona’s offense? And who are the offensive players to watch?

I’d first focus on making Arizona one dimensional by taking away the running game. Load up the box and force the Wildcats to have to take to the air. The running back group is Arizona’s most talented on the offensive side of the ball, and it is coming off a strong performance with the team having rushed for just over 200 yards against Cal. The Wildcats have not been nearly as strong of a passing team this year, so forcing them to take the air has usually meant positive results for opposing defenses. Arizona has also really struggled in the red zone this year, so I would just make sure my defense tightens things up inside the 20-yard line to continue that trend.

Quarterback Will Plummer is the last man standing at his position this season after season-ending injuries to the two other scholarship quarterbacks, South Florida transfer Jordan McCloud and Washington State transfer Gunner Cruz. Plummer was technically the co-starter entering the season, but he didn’t get an opportunity to play meaningful time until he was awarded the start against Northern Arizona in the third game of the season. He struggled in that game and ultimately it led to a loss against an FCS opponent, a low point for the team this season. He gutted out a performance last week after taking some big hits and needing his throwing hand stitched up. He’s capable of making plays with his feet so that is something to be aware of, but he also has been a bit turnover prone at times.

Jamarye Joiner is probably the other player on offense to know about most because of how much he is capable of doing for the Wildcats. He came to Arizona as a quarterback but ultimately only played one game at that position before being moved to receiver. When Arizona had all of its quarterback problems this season he was called back into action at his first position, and he actually had some success. He is the best runner at quarterback that the team has plus he threw a 73-yard touchdown pass against USC. Arizona will mix him into the game plan when he’s healthy, but he has battled through a leg injury in recent weeks. He played last week and is expected to be in better shape to contribute Saturday.

What’s your prediction and why?

This is a difficult game for Arizona. The win for the team last week was big, but this is a much greater challenge for the Wildcats. This team is just a little too banged up to go toe to toe with Utah in my opinion. The matchup isn’t a good one for Arizona, either. Utah’s strengths play into some of Arizona’s biggest weaknesses. Because of that I think the Utes will win this one 24-13 with Arizona working to hold onto the ball offensively as much as possible and muddy up the game a bit defensively to keep it as a low-scoring contest.