The Star presents five storylines of interest as the Arizona Wildcats host No. 12 Oregon on Saturday at Arizona Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. The game will air on Pac-12 Networks.
Bo knows running: QB Nix has proved to be a legit dual threat for the Ducks
The secret ingredient to Oregon’s rushing attack, which is currently the best in the Pac-12?
It just might be quarterback Bo Nix.
The transfer from Auburn has the most rushing yards of any QB in the conference – a total buoyed by a career-best 141-yard performance last week at Stanford. It included a Khalil Tate-esque 80-yard touchdown run.
So it isn’t just the 12th-ranked Ducks’ productive running backs and elite offensive line that Arizona’s defense has to contend with Saturday at Arizona Stadium. It’s also the first true dual-threat quarterback the Wildcats have faced this season.
"An 80-yard scramble. That's a long scramble. His athleticism is showing up," UA coach Jedd Fisch said. "One of the biggest things that we've talked about is that if you get about 40 or 50 yards (per game) from your quarterback ... that’s how you end up being a top-10 rushing team."
Oregon entered this week ranked 10th in the nation in rushing at 228.8 yards per game. Nix is contributing 52.2. He also has scored five touchdowns.
"We knew how athletic Bo is," Oregon coach Dan Lanning told reporters. "He's really talented. He's probably as fast a quarterback as there is out there. The guy runs really well and made some really good decisions there on Saturday. ... So no surprise for anybody in our building."
Lanning coached against Nix three times as the defensive coordinator at Georgia from 2019-21. Kenny Dillingham, the Ducks’ offensive coordinator and QB coach, coached Nix in 2019, when he was named SEC Freshman of the Year.
That relationship undoubtedly has helped Nix reinvent himself in Eugene. Through five games, he’s on track to post career marks in completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdown-to-interception ratio and efficiency rating.
Not having to face SEC defenses every week surely helps as well. Nix posted a season-low 85.2 rating and threw two interceptions in Oregon’s season-opening loss vs. Georgia. Since then, he has thrown 12 touchdown passes and only one pick.
Nix, who’s listed at 6-2, 213 pounds, has been exceptional in one particular are — a sack avoidance. Pro Football Focus tracks the percentage of pressures that are turned into sacks. Nix ranks first in the Pac-12 and fourth in the country in that category at 3.2%. Among quarterbacks with at least 130 dropbacks, Nix ranks first nationally.
Only four other quarterbacks in the Pac-12 are under 10%: Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. (4.8), Oregon State’s Chance Nolan (5.7), UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson (8.9) and Utah’s Cameron Rising (9.4). Arizona’s Jayden de Laura is next at 11.3%.
Oregon’s offensive line might be the best in the league. Among quarterbacks with at least 130 dropbacks, Nix has been pressured the least (31 times). But he’s also a big reason the Ducks have surrendered only one sack.
"One of those things that come into protecting the quarterback is the quarterback’s athleticism, the quarterback’s ability to get the ball out of his hands and the quarterback’s ability to move," Fisch said. "He's all of those things."
So how can the Wildcats prevent Nix from doing to them what he did to the Cardinal?
"The key is to tackle," Fisch said. "If he’s out of the pocket, we gotta tackle him. If he's in the pocket, we gotta pressure him.
"If they’re handing the ball off or if they're having some quarterback runs, we can't let those turn into explosives. It has to be a game of tackling this week, and it starts with tackling the quarterback."
Arizona running back Michael Wiley steps over Colorado cornerback Nikko Reed during the third quarter of last week’s game, a Wildcats win.
‘Just a ballplayer’: How Arizona RB Michael Wiley puts his instincts to good use
Some football players can see things others don’t. Arizona tailback Michael Wiley is one of those players.
"Mike Wiley is just a ballplayer," Wildcats coach Jedd Fisch said. "There's some things that Mike does sometimes that I'm like, ‘Hey, what just happened there?’ And he's like, ‘Well, I saw this or I saw that.’ That's what really good players can do."
Wiley put his instincts and improvisational skills to good use in the first quarter of Arizona’s 43-20 victory over Colorado last week. On the opening possession, the Wildcats faced third-and-7 from the Buffaloes’ 8-yard line. Wiley released out of the backfield. He had a one-on-one matchup with linebacker Mister Williams.
Wiley broke to the right, away from Williams and into open space. Jayden de Laura found him for an easy touchdown.
It appeared that Wiley had run an "option route," a common assignment for a running back coming out of the backfield. That wasn’t the case.
"He was not necessarily designed to run that route," Fisch said. "He was more a checkdown on the left side of the tackle box. But he just saw the space occur right in front of him and he said, ‘If I go right right here, I'm gonna be wide open right in front of Jayden’s vision. But if I hang out down here on the left, that ‘Will’ linebacker can attach to me.’
"He just made a big-time play. Jayden saw it right away, gave it to him and (Wiley) walked into the end zone."
Wiley scored another touchdown on a similar-looking play later in the game. The fourth-year junior has 10 TDs in his past 10 games, dating to last season.
Wiley ranks ninth in the Pac-12 in rushing with 287 yards and is tied for second among running backs with 14 receptions. He ranks third on the Wildcats in scrimmage yards (399) and second in touchdowns (five).
Even when defenders know where he’s going, Wiley has been harder to tackle this season. He’s averaging 3.78 yards after contact per rushing attempt, according to Pro Football Focus, up from 2.28 last season. Wiley also has matched his career high in missed tackles forced (rushing and receiving) of 29 set last season — with about half as many touches.
Arizona safety Isaiah Taylor takes a moment in the end zone before last week’s game against Colorado.
UA safety Isaiah Taylor prepared ‘the whole season’ for his spotlight moment
Isaiah Taylor was ready when his moment came – exactly what you’d expect from the son of a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
Taylor — whose father is Jason Taylor, one of the NFL’s all-time greatest pass rushers — was pressed into duty in the second quarter of Arizona’s game at Cal when starting free safety Jaxen Turner got hurt. Taylor finished that game with a team- and career-high nine tackles.
He made his first career start last week against Cal with Turner still sidelined. Taylor recorded a team-best 82.9 tackling grade, per Pro Football Focus, and allowed only one reception in four targets.
"We have a next-man-up mentality," said Taylor, a redshirt freshman from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. "You never know who's gonna go down at what point or when you’re needed to come in and step up. I've been preparing the whole season."
Turner (shoulder) is expected to return for Saturday’s game against Oregon. But Taylor clearly has made an impression on first-year defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen and will compete to start next season, when Arizona could have two openings at safety. Turner, a fourth-year junior, has one more year of eligibility but conceivably could enter the NFL draft. Christian Young’s eligibility will expire at the end of the season.
"Since the time I've been here they've been big mentors for me – just teaching me little things I can work on, especially after practice, during practice," Taylor said. "Just watching them is something I do, and it's something I have learned from."
Taylor patterns his game after 10-year NFL veteran Tyrann Mathieu. Taylor had another role model in his own household. Although Jason Taylor retired from playing when Isaiah Taylor was a kid, Isaiah still was "able to see how much work it actually takes to be at that top level."
Jason Taylor is working as a defensive analyst for former Oregon coach Mario Cristobal at Miami. The Hurricanes had a bye last week, enabling Jason to fly to Tucson to see Isaiah play – a rare opportunity for the two to connect during football season.
"He was able to come up and come see me, which is awesome," Taylor said. "The time difference is the main (challenge) while we're both in football. When I get out, it's almost 10 o'clock over there. So it's hard to communicate. But we do try to talk as much (as possible) before bed."
Wildcats turn to freshmen to bolster DL rotation
Arizona debuted a new defensive package last week against Colorado.
In obvious passing situations, the Wildcats took out their defensive tackles and inserted freshmen Russell Davis II and Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei. Those two teamed with defensive ends Hunter Echols and Jalen Harris to get after quarterback Owen McCown.
Davis, a breakout performer in training camp, played 12 snaps, his most since Week 1, when he played 31 while Echols was sidelined with an upper-body injury. Uiagalelei played a career-high 14 snaps.
Pro Football Focus credited each player with one QB pressure; the Wildcats had a season-high 25. Davis also drew a holding penalty.
"We don't want to have the same four defensive linemen play every snap," UA coach Jedd Fisch said. "It's a physical game. Guys are trying to wear on you.
"We needed to make a decision that we were going to play freshmen in the rotation. Our depth was coming from two freshmen. When you're using your true freshman (for) depth, you have to (be) willing to live with some of the things that can happen."
Davis and Uiagalelei have tons of playmaking potential, but they’re bound to make mistakes; Uiagalelei, for example, got completely fooled on a zone-read keeper in the fourth quarter vs. Colorado. The freshmen also have had minimal time in the strength program after enrolling in June.
It took time for those players to earn the trust of defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen, who finally came around last week. Nansen knew he had to find a way to expand the rotation.
"The game of football is not perfect," Nansen said. "Sometimes they learn from their mistakes. To put them in that game situation helps.
"People think (you learn) being on the sidelines and watching film. (But) you don't really get to experience what you need to do in order to perform at the highest level."
Arizona is passing more this season — and scoring a lot more
Is the Arizona offense out of balance? It depends on how you look at it. It’s also hard to knock the results.
The Wildcats officially have 211 passing attempts and 157 rushing attempts. Adjusting for sacks, those figures are 220 and 148. That means Arizona has passed the ball 60% of the time.
(That figure does not account for QB scrambles, which would bump the percentage even higher.)
The Wildcats threw the ball 55% of the time last season (after adjusting for sacks). So they’re passing it more in 2022. With a new quarterback and a new set of receivers, they’re scoring a lot more. Arizona has nearly doubled its points per game, going from 17.2 to 32.0.
"We really believe in our system of offense, which is: We're going to try to attack teams as often and in as many different ways as possible," UA coach Jedd Fisch said. "We're not going to get wrapped up in numbers. We need to just find a way to be able to be balanced enough to get the ball in our playmakers’ hands.
"I remember years ago Mike Leach made a comment one time about balance. He said balance isn’t run/pass; it’s how many touches your best players get. I think that there's a lot of value (in that). I think that statement rings true."
Five players have more than 30 offensive touches through five games: tailback Michael Wiley (65), tailback Jonah Coleman (41), receiver Jacob Cowing (41), tailback DJ Williams (34) and receiver Dorian Singer (32). Tight end Tanner McLachlan has 17, and receiver Tetairoa McMillan has 16.
Brennan Carroll, Arizona’s run-game coordinator, was asked if he had an ideal number of rushing plays per game.
"It's a great question," he said. "It's the one that ends with ‘W.’ Whatever the number is, it really doesn't matter to me."
