What to watch for when the Arizona Wildcats host Texas Tech

Here are three things to watch in the Arizona Wildcats’ game vs. Texas Tech at Arizona Stadium (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., ESPN), plus a score prediction and some pertinent preview links:

1. THE REAL KHALIL

Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate ran the ball only two times against NAU last week. How big a deal was that? Since he became the starting quarterback in October 2017, Tate had rushed fewer than four times in a game only once – last year against Utah, when he was hobbling around on a sprained ankle and exited in the first quarter. In only one other career appearance has Tate rushed fewer times than that – in mop-up duty against Stanford in 2016. What should we take from this? Absolutely nothing. Tate didn’t need to run for the offense to move the ball against the Lumberjacks, and he wisely wasn’t called upon to do so very often. Tate did show off his mobility on a pair of spinning escapes toward the left sideline. There’s little doubt we’ll see more scrambles and designed runs against a Texas Tech defense that hasn’t been tested in that manner yet. Tate’s escapability and improvisational skills could be critical on third down in what’s expected to be a tight, back-and-forth game.

2. TACKLING … IN … SPACE

This one applies to both sides. Wildcats cornerback Lorenzo Burns described the Red Raiders’ passing attack as follows: “They're quick. A lot of tempo. Quick screens. Tall, lanky receivers.” In general, Texas Tech quarterback Alan Bowman doesn’t hold onto the ball for long; he gets into the hands of his playmakers. The Red Raiders also operate at a frenetic pace; they had run the second-most plays in the nation entering the weekend. Put those two elements together, and the risk of missed tackles escalates. Texas Tech’s defense, meantime, hasn’t faced an offense that features as much speed as Arizona’s. There was a stat floating around in the offseason that the Wildcats forced the most solo tackles of any Power Five school in 2018. That’s exactly what “spread” offenses are supposed to do. “I think we've tackled well in space,” Texas Tech coach Matt Wells told Lubbock reporters this week. “I'm excited to coach our guys and watch them doing that because this will be the biggest test we've had so far.”

3. YATES’ FATE

It’s fair to say that UA defensive coordinator Marcel Yates is coaching for his job. Yates’ players are well are of this, and they will fight for their coach. They can help one another Saturday night. If Yates has held anything back schematically, now is the time to unveil those looks. He used a dime defense at times against NAU, and he seemed to figure out a better way to deploy his front-six personnel when using three down linemen (Kylan Wilborn, JB Brown, Jalen Harris) and three linebackers (Colin Schooler, Tony Fields II, Anthony Pandy). We haven’t seen many (any?) blitzes from the secondary. It’s a dangerous ploy against Texas Tech, but sometimes you have to take risks to reap rewards. On the personnel side, who’s going to step up and be a defensive hero? Any of the players we just listed are viable candidates. Harris has played better than his stats show. Brown as an inside rusher hasn’t been as effective as expected, but he hasn’t done it for a full game yet either. Schooler is due for a monster game. Like Tate, Schooler wasn’t asked to do much vs. NAU. He needs to be a presence against the Red Raiders.