The Star presents five storylines of interest as the Arizona Wildcats host No. 10 USC on Saturday at Arizona Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. The game will air on Pac-12 Networks.
Wildcats hoping to repeat history on 10th anniversary of upset over 10th-ranked Trojans
Can Arizona upset No. 10 USC on Saturday?
It’s been 10 years since the Wildcats defeated the Trojans. No one thought Arizona could win that day either.
USC had the same ranking and the same record (6-1, 4-1 Pac-12) when it came to Arizona Stadium on Oct. 27, 2012. The Trojans left Tucson on the wrong end of a 39-36 stunner that featured historic performances by members of both squads.
USC receiver Marqise Lee set records that day which still stand. His 345 receiving yards are the most in a game by a Pac-12 player. His 469 all-purpose yards — including 123 as a returner — are the most by a Pac-12 player in a conference game. (Reggie Bush’s 513 yards vs. Fresno State in 2005 are the most by a Pac-12 player in any game.)
USC's Marqise Lee set the Pac-12's single-game record for receiving yards and all-purpose yards against Arizona in 2012 — but the Wildcats won the game.
Lee had 16 receptions, tied for fourth most. He would finish that season with 118 catches for 1,721 yards — league records that Oregon State’s Brandin Cooks would topple the following season.
"It was unbelievable," former UA quarterback Matt Scott recalled of Lee’s performance during an appearance on "Spears and Ali" on ESPN Tucson this week. "I saw him take two slant routes to the house. It was just mind-boggling how fast he was."
Lee wasn’t the only receiver who put up monster numbers. Arizona’s Austin Hill had 10 catches for 259 yards. Only one Wildcat has had more receiving yards in a game; Jeremy McDaniel holds the UA records for receptions (14) and yards (283), set Nov. 2, 1996, vs. Cal.
"Marqise played a great game," Hill told ESPN Tucson. "We all knew that he was a baller over there. I didn’t know it was a shootout (between us) until after the game when people were telling me the stats."
Want more numbers? USC quarterback Matt Barkley threw for 493 yards and three touchdowns. Scott passed for 369 yards and three scores. He also rushed for a career-high 100 yards and a touchdown. His 469 yards of total offense were the fourth most by a Wildcat.
USC had 618 yards of offense. Arizona had 588.
"It was a shootout," Scott said. "We were down early and ended up coming back. It was back and forth after that. Just a crazy, hard-fought game."
The Wildcats trailed 28-13 early in the third quarter after Barkley connected with Lee for a 44-yard touchdown. Arizona then scored 26 consecutive points, including two Scott touchdown passes and one TD run. Ka’Deem Carey, who rushed for a game-high 119 yards, provided the other score.
Silas Redd’s 10-yard TD run — set up by Lee’s 72-yard kickoff return — and a two-point conversion made it a three-point game with 4:40 remaining.
USC got the ball back at its 13-yard yard line with 55 seconds left. The Trojans advanced to the UA 48. Barkley’s Hail Mary attempt fell incomplete, ending the game and sealing the upset.
Arizona has lost nine in a row to USC since then. Six were decided by eight or fewer points, including the past two meetings.
USC rebuilt its roster via the portal; UA coach Jedd Fisch has charted a different path
In the course of one busy offseason, USC transformed from "Tailback U" to "Transfer U."
Under first-year coach Lincoln Riley, the Trojans added more than 20 players through the NCAA transfer portal — many of them high-impact starters. The list includes quarterback Caleb Williams; running back Travis Dye; receivers Jordan Addison (the 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner), Brenden Rice and Mario Williams; linebackers Eric Gentry and Shane Lee; and cornerback Mekhi Blackmon.
Meanwhile, USC added only eight "traditional" recruits. Riley and his staff rebuilt the roster on the fly, and the results show how that strategy can work, at least in the short term. The 10th-ranked Trojans are 6-1. They went 4-8 last season.
"You couldn’t have done this (before)," observed UA offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll, a former USC assistant. "It’s the landscape. But it keeps it exciting. Your team could be a year way."
Bringing in more transfers than high school players doesn’t appear to be the long-term plan for the Trojans. They have 20 commits for the class of 2023, second most in the Pac-12 behind Oregon’s 22.
Arizona has utilized the portal under Jedd Fisch, but the second-year coach has been judicious about it. The Wildcats added nine transfers in the most recent cycle. They include some of Arizona’s best players: quarterback Jayden de Laura, receiver Jacob Cowing and defensive end Hunter Echols.
"We certainly believe — and I believe very strongly — that college football should be about high-school recruiting," said Fisch, whose program has 18 high school commitments for the 2023 class. "And then I believe you should find who you need to find in the portal because that's an opportunity that's now given to us. But I don't want to be a program — and we're not going to be a program — that is going to be ‘Portal U’ or ‘Transfer U.’
"I want to sign 20 to 25 high school kids every year. And then when you have a chance to get a Jayden de Laura, you go get him. When you have a chance to get a Jacob Cowing, you go get him."
Cornerback Ephesians Prysock is among the young Wildcats who are expected to see more playing time in the final five games of the season. Prysock is likely to start Saturday vs. USC.
Expect to see more fresh faces as Wildcats embrace youth movement
Arizona fans will get a glimpse of the future over the final five games of the current campaign.
More freshmen will get chances to play down the stretch. Coach Jedd Fisch said seven or eight could start against USC on Saturday.
How Fisch came up with that number is unclear and could suggest some lineup alterations, especially on defense.
Three freshmen who’ve been starting will continue to do so: receiver Tetairoa McMillan, guard Jonah Savaiinaea and linebacker Jacob Manu. If Arizona opens with two tight ends, Keyan Burnett would start. That would make four.
Ephesians Prysock is now listed as a co-starter at cornerback. If he gets the nod over Treydan Stukes, that would make five.
Where might the others come from? If Arizona were to use its third-down defensive package to begin the game against the pass-heavy Trojans, the number of freshman starters could reach seven. Defensive linemen Russell Davis II and Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei have been part of that configuration in recent games.
Other possibilities include tailback Jonah Coleman (who started vs. Washington in place of the injured Michael Wiley), defensive lineman Jacob Kongaika and cornerback Tacario Davis.
"I'm impressed with a lot of our young defensive talent," senior defensive end Hunter Echols said. "We have a lot of guys that are going to be able to contribute far after a lot of these older guys leave. I'm pretty impressed with our young corners, 23 (Davis) and 7 (Prysock). Those guys are just beasts, and they’ll be ready to excel when their time comes."
Prysock’s time appears to be imminent. The four-star recruit from Southern California, a one-time USC commit, has looked the part since spring. He has played 50 snaps so far, per Pro Football Focus, with 45 of those coming on special teams.
"He took a big step in the last couple of weeks," defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen said. "So we're going to try to get him in the game (to) help out in any way he can. We're counting on him to have a big role moving forward."
Prysock should have plenty of company as Arizona lays the foundation for its rebuild.
"When you can do that," Fisch said, "it gives you an opportunity to really develop your team and your culture."
USC defensive back Xamarion Gordon intercepts a pass intended for Rice wide receiver Bradley Rozner during their Sept. 3 game.
Pick or treat: USC excels at intercepting passes — and its QB seldom throws them
USC is so skilled in two particular areas that a new statistic is required to illustrate it:
Interception differential.
The Trojans entered this week tied for second nationally with 12 interceptions. (They fell into a tie for third after Louisiana-Lafayette picked off one pass vs. Southern Mississippi on Thursday night.) Meanwhile, USC is tied for first with only one interception thrown by its quarterbacks.
The Trojans stand alone with a plus-11 interception differential.
How is USC so good at both? We asked Arizona’s coaches for their analysis.
Regarding the Trojans’ defense, UA coach Jedd Fisch cited their speed, length and preference for zone defense, which allows defenders to keep their eyes on the quarterback.
Said offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll: "They’re doing a good job of disrupting the throwing lanes. Balls (are) getting tipped and batted. Guys are making great plays on those balls up in the air. And they've just done a good job with their coverage. They're sitting back in their zone. If you make mistakes, balls get floated or fluttered, they have great opportunities to pick the ball off. So we just gotta be really smart with where we're going with the ball."
Quarterback Caleb Williams has done that for USC. He has a 19-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Williams had a 21-4 ratio as a freshman at Oklahoma. By following Lincoln Riley to L.A., Williams avoided the learning curve most transfer quarterbacks must navigate.
"There's certainly a benefit that he's in his second year in the system," Fisch said. "So he knows where everybody's gonna be, knows where Coach Riley wants the ball to go.
"He's very accurate. For the most part, he makes good decisions. He throws the ball away when he needs to. The receivers get open, and he's able to find them. And then he's able to use his legs when needed.
"The final part is, they’ve been playing with the lead. When you play with the lead, there's really no reason to force the ball. There's no reason to push the ball down the field."
Rob Gronkowski talks to the media before honored at Thursday's Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl Kick-off Luncheon at Tucson Convention Center.
Gronk tries his first Eegee, and Tucson collectively cheers
Rob Gronkowski stunned many at Thursday's Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl Kickoff Luncheon when he admitted that he had never tried Eegee's before.
It didn't take long for Kym Adair to fix that.
The Arizona Bowl's executive director posted a photo later Thursday that showed Gronkowski slurping on one of the locally famous frozen drinks. No word on which flavor the former Arizona Wildcat and future Hall of Famer was drinking, though "Scary Berry" is the flavor of the month for October.
"He loved it," Adair tweeted.
Gronkowski's Eegee's revelation came Thursday, when he was the guest of honor and Dick Tomey Arizona Strong Award recipient at the sold-out Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl Kickoff Luncheon at the Tucson Convention Center.
During a "fireside chat," Adair asked Gronkowski about the NCAA's new Name, Image and Likeness rules. When she said Gronkowski likely would've had his own Eegee's flavor if he was playing college football now, the superstar tight end was momentarily confused. He asked Adair if Eegee's were small stuffed animals, and the crowd of 1,000 gasped.
Within minutes, Eegee's Twitter account — alerted by those in the audience — began "Operation: Get Gronk an Eegee."
Mission accomplished.
"Now," the Eegees Twitter account posted late Thursday, "we just need him to spike a party pak."
