Here are three things to watch in Saturday’s Arizona-Colorado game at Arizona Stadium (8 p.m., Fox Sports 1), plus a score prediction and some pertinent preview links:
1. ANU DIRECTION?
I don’t know what Rich Rodriguez is going to do with his quarterbacks. He seems insistent that playing both Brandon Dawkins and Anu Solomon is beneficial in some way. Or perhaps Rodriguez genuinely can’t pick between the two. Whatever the thought process, he’s long overdue in choosing one and sticking with him. I predicted last week that Solomon would start against Washington State; I obviously was wrong. But I’m doubling down on the veteran quarterback from Las Vegas. The time has come to see what the offense can do with Solomon in the lineup from the opening kickoff. He talked this week about regaining the confidence he lost while sitting out almost two months because of a knee injury. Giving him the starting assignment would provide an additional boost. Besides, what does Arizona have to lose? The offense can’t perform much worse than it has lately. As for Dawkins, his ceiling remains higher than Solomon’s; if given room to run, Dawkins can be devastating. But we’ve seen his floor the past two weeks, and it hasn’t been pretty.
2. AGGRESSIVE AGAIN
Although Colorado’s offense possesses big-play capabilities, I fully expect to see a return of the aggressive Arizona defense we all watched the first eight games. That aggression largely was absent at Washington State, which tore to shreds the UA’s rush-three, drop-eight game plan. With Michael Barton out of the lineup – and DeAndre’ Miller getting hurt early in the game – defensive coordinator Marcel Yates undoubtedly felt handicapped. But Barton (knee) is probable to play against the Buffaloes, and Miller didn’t appear on the injury report. So, aside from Cody Ippolito (knee; out for season), the Wildcats should, or at least could, have their entire linebacking corps. How much of a difference that makes remains to be seen. Regardless of personnel, Arizona has been unable to take the ball away during Pac-12 play. The Wildcat have forced only two turnovers in six conference games, which seems like a statistical impossibility. This week doesn’t seem like the time that trend will reverse; Colorado has just 12 giveaways in nine games and a plus-seven turnover margin.
3. AT LEAST COMPETE
In a sign of how far the program has fallen this season – and of how high Colorado has climbed – the hope tonight is that the Wildcats can play a competitive game. That’s something we haven’t seen since the Utah game on Oct. 8. You could argue that Stanford two weeks ago was competitive; it was 17-7 at halftime. But Arizona never got any closer, and it was 27-10 by the end of the third quarter. Maybe I’m naïve, delusional, sympathetic or too close to the situation, but I expect Arizona to show up, at the very least. The Wildcats would take no solace from a close loss, but this team needs to demonstrate that it at least has a pulse. I don’t believe Rodriguez’s job is any danger. But if Arizona were to suffer any more losses similar to Washington State, you never know. These last three games are as important for him as they are the program.
FINAL SCORE: Colorado 28, Arizona 20
PREVIEW LINKS:
2-7 Arizona Wildcats have more to play for than you’d think
Greg Hansen: Former Amphi teammates Krohn, Doolittle ready for Arizona-Colorado showdown
Arizona-Colorado Hot Sheet: On Samajie's RB progress, Denson's reliability, Matt Scott's empathy
