Here are three things to watch in the Arizona Wildcats’ game vs. Cal at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley (Saturday, 5 p.m., Pac-12 Networks), plus a score prediction and some pertinent preview links:
1. TAKING ON TATE
The Cal defense made Luke Falk look like a punk last week. The Golden Bears sacked Falk nine times and intercepted him five times. How insane are those numbers? Heading into the game, Washington State had surrendered an average of 3.8 sacks per game and Falk had thrown two total picks. First-year Cal coach Justin Wilcox credited his staff for putting together a plan that kept Falk guessing all night. Khalil Tate presents an entirely different challenge. Arizona’s run-pass ratio is basically the inverse of Washington State’s. Tate has been extremely effective as a passer, but it’s his running that has flummoxed Colorado and UCLA the past two weeks. Cal undoubtedly will pack the box to try to force Arizona to pass, but that hasn’t stopped the Wildcats yet. The Bears’ best bet is to get Tate into the occasional third-and-long situation – force him to read the full field with the run reduced to a last resort. It’d be fascinating to see how Tate would handle that.
2. PACE OF PLAY
Tempo will play a huge role in this game. Although Arizona hasn’t always played at the frenetic pace we have become accustomed to under Rich Rodriguez, the Wildcats still would like to turn this game into a track meet. The team that has scored first has won every game involving Arizona this season, and the Wildcats would just as soon keep it that way – get the lead, maintain it and force Cal to play catch-up. The Bears, meanwhile, want to win ugly. They want to force turnovers, rattle Tate and keep him off the field. It’s not in Cal’s best interest to get into a shootout. The Bears rank at or near the bottom in the Pac-12 in total offense and scoring; the Wildcats rank at or near the top. Given all of the above, I fully expect Cal to run a ball-control attack. The Bears have had at least 32 rushing attempts in five of seven games. The Cats are more vulnerable against the run than the pass.
3. FIRST CHANGE
Fun fact: Arizona has started the same five players in the secondary all season. That streak is unlikely to continue in Berkeley. Free safety Scottie Young Jr. is listed as doubtful because of a knee injury that we’ve heard could keep him out multiple weeks. We’ve also heard that fellow freshman Troy Young (no relation) will be the new addition to the lineup, with Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles shifting from “Bandit” to free safety. A couple of things to note here: (1) The coaches were as high on Troy Young as they were Scottie Young during training camp. Troy Young’s path to playing time just happened to be blocked by Flannigan-Fowles. And (2) Flannigan-Fowles has proved effective as a deep safety when put in that position this season; it might in fact be his best spot should he make it in the NFL. I don’t expect much of a drop-off, if any, with this reconfigured secondary. And if Troy Young should struggles, Arizona has an excellent fallback option in the perpetually underappreciated Kwesi Mashack.
FINAL SCORE: Arizona 31, CAL 24
PREVIEW LINKS:
