Here are three things to watch in Saturday’s Stanford-Arizona game at Arizona Stadium (8 p.m., Fox Sports 1), plus a score prediction and some pertinent preview links:
1. BACKFIELD MYSTERIES
It’s absolutely incredible that some degree of mystery has shrouded the Arizona backfield heading into every game this season. Who would start the opener at quarterback? When would Anu Solomon come back from injury? Would Brandon Dawkins be able to play against Utah and USC? Would Nick Wilson feel good enough in warmups to give it a go? Well, here we go again. Dawkins and Solomon are both back, and UA coach Rich Rodriguez said both of his “co-starters” would play. I don’t see it playing out that way. My best guess is that Dawkins will start, and Solomon will come in only if Dawkins gets hurt or struggles. Considering how well Dawkins was playing – and that Solomon hasn’t played since Week 1 – no other scenario makes sense. As for running back, it sure sounds like the coaching staff is prepping Samajie Grant to get the majority of the work. His elevation to co-starter status on the depth chart – despite playing only a handful of snaps at running back – speaks volumes. Look for Zach Green and Matt Morin to play complementary roles – perhaps in short-yardage situations, an area where Arizona has struggled.
2. MONITORING McCAFFREY
Stanford’s scuffling offense has squashed any hope Christian McCaffrey had of making a Heisman Trophy run. He missed some time because of injury. His numbers are down. But it would be a mistake to dismiss him as a threat – a mistake the Arizona defense won’t make. Just as veteran quarterbacks identify the middle linebacker, UA defenders will locate and zero in on the multidimensional McCaffrey. Which doesn’t necessarily mean they will stop him. McCaffrey has been the focal point of every defensive game plan since the beginning of last season, when he was the Heisman runner-up. Even amid his “struggles,” McCaffrey averaged 214.5 all-purpose yards in his first four games this season. He’s averaging 5.1 yards per carry and remains capable of breaking a big play in any number of ways; he has a rush of 41 yards, a reception of 56 yards and a kickoff return of 57 yards. Whatever Stanford accomplishes offensively – especially with inexperienced Keller Chryst making his first career start at quarterback – McCaffrey is likely to be intimately involved in it.
3. DIFFERENT LOOK ON D?
ESPN radio host Zach Clark posed an interesting question during my weekly appearance on AM-1490: If the Wildcats lack sufficient bulk up front, how can they hope to effectively stack the box against McCaffrey? Here’s my theory: The UA will break out the 3-4 defensive look it used in the UCLA game. I asked defensive coordinator Marcel Yates about it a few days afterward, and he said it was a situational thing – a way to “get bigger bodies in there” against heavier offensive sets. Arizona might have used it the next week at Utah, but Jake Matthews came down with vertigo and Cody Ippolito suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first quarter. Matthews is back, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Yates deployed him alongside fellow MLB Michael Barton to give the Wildcats a little more heft. There isn’t much depth behind them, but Arizona has to try something. Depth also is a concern on the defensive line, which will be without Sani Fuimaono (concussion). No battle is more critical to the outcome tonight than the one between Stanford’s offensive line and the UA’s defensive front.
FINAL SCORE: Arizona 24, Stanford 23
PREVIEW LINKS:
Wildcats tap hardworking Grant to spark run game
Greg Hansen: Is 'Stanford bad' still better than Arizona?
Stanford-Arizona Hot Sheet: On Holland’s history, Morin’s move, Pollack’s plight
