Here are three things to watch in the Arizona Wildcats’ game vs. No. 15 Washington State at Arizona Stadium (Saturday, 6:30 p.m., Pac-12 Networks), plus a score prediction and some pertinent preview links:
1. FIGURING OUT FALK
The Wildcats can’t let Cougars quarterback Luke Falk operate as if he’s running a 7-on-7 drill. Heck, he probably doesn’t complete 91.4 percent of his passes in most 7-on-7 sessions. It was as if Falk were throwing against air in last year’s 69-7 wipeout. Arizona neither pressured him nor covered his receivers. Either the Cats’ game plan didn’t work, they didn’t have the athletes to execute it or both. The personnel has changed in critical ways entering Arizona’s final meeting with Falk (barring Round 4 in the Pac-12 Championship Game). Newcomers such as Tony Fields II, Colin Schooler and Kylan Wilborn have brought a playmaking element to the UA defense that was lacking for most of last season. Fields and Wilborn, both banged up in the Cal game, are probable to play tonight; so is Dereck Boles, Arizona’s most productive defensive tackle. The Wildcats need to come at Falk in waves, and they need to cause him to hesitate just long enough so the rush can get there. Although he hasn’t looked it against them, Falk is mortal. Like every other quarterback, he doesn’t like getting hit.
2. CONTAINING KHALIL
On the other side of the ball, Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate will face a quick, sound, penetrating defense. The Cougars will try to copy what the Golden Bears did in the second half last week, when they limited Tate to 14 rushing yards. The question then becomes: Can Tate beat Washington State in other ways? You can’t help but be impressed with his passing so far. In each of the past three games, Tate has connected on at least 66.7 percent of his throws and has posted an efficiency rating no worse than 190.25. (Tate’s season rating of 175.91 would rank fourth in the nation if he had enough attempts to qualify.) Interestingly, Tate has yet to attempt more than 15 passes in a game. Rich Rodriguez has tried to keep the game plan as simple as possible for him as he adjusts to being a college starter. If Tate’s attempts climb into the low 20s – by design or happenstance – can he maintain his completion rate? And if he does, what recourse will opposing defensive coordinators have then?
3. BREAKOUT X2?
I’ve got my eye on two Wildcats tonight, one on each side of the ball. On offense it’s J.J. Taylor, who’s likely to start if Nick Wilson (ankle; questionable) can’t go. Taylor was on his way to his best performance of 2017 before getting ejected for targeting last week. (That call remained a point of contention among my Twitter followers for days on end. You can reach the conference’s explanation of the ruling here.) Taylor appears to be all the way back from the broken ankle that truncated his freshman season. If the Cougars pay undue attention to Tate, Taylor is more than capable of making them pay. On defense it’s DeAndre’ Miller. Miller has played in three games since returning from a foot injury and left Berkeley without a sack to his credit. But he was awarded one after the fact for a takedown of Ross Bowers in overtime. Miller has been close to making several plays; he’s just been a half-step off at times. Now back for almost a month, Miller should be rust-free. And he could have an expanded role if Wilborn is limited.
FINAL SCORE: Arizona 35, Washington State 34
