Here's a look at Saturday's lineups and key matchups — and a prediction from Star reporter Justin Spears.
Arizona (3-2) at No. 9 USC (5-0)
Arizona wide receiver Jacob Cowing (2) outruns USC defensive back Max Williams (4) in the fourth quarter of their Pac-12 football game at Arizona Stadium on Oct. 29, 2022.
When: Saturday
Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM
Arizona Wildcats
Record: 3-2 (1-1 Pac-12)
WHEN ARIZONA IS ON OFFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
XWR | 4 | Tetairoa McMillan | 6-5 | 210 | So.
FWR | 2 | Jacob Cowing | 5-11 | 175 | Sr.
LT | 77 | Jordan Morgan | 6-5 | 325 | Sr.
LG | 72 | Wendell Moe | 6-2 | 340 | R-Fr.
C | 75 | Josh Baker | 6-3 | 305 | Jr.
RG | 65 | Leif Magnuson | 6-5 | 315 | R-So.
RT | 71 | Jonah Savaiinaea | 6-5 | 330 | So.
TE | 84 | Tanner McLachlan | 6-5 | 245 | R-Sr.
ZWR | 5 | Montana Lemonious-Craig | 6-2 | 200 | Jr.
QB | 11 | Noah Fifita | 5-11 | 194 | R-Fr.
RB | 3 | Jonah Coleman | 5-9 | 223 | So.
WHEN ARIZONA IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
KAT | 90 | Isaiah Ward | 6-5 | 225 | R-Fr.
DT | 92 | Tyler Manoa | 6-5 | 315 | Sr.
NT | 45 | Bill Norton | 6-6 | 325 | Sr.
DE | 11 | Taylor Upshaw | 6-5 | 270 | Grad.
WLB | 59 | Jacob Manu | 5-11 | 225 | So.
MLB | 10 | Justin Flowe | 6-2 | 225 | R-So.
STAR | 2 | Treydan Stukes | 6-2 | 195 | Jr.
CB | 7 | Ephesians Prysock | 6-4 | 190 | So.
CB | 23 | Tacario Davis | 6-4 | 195 | So.
BS | 43 | Dalton Johnson | 5-11 | 200 | R-So.
FS | 9 | Gunner Maldonado | 6-0 | 195 | Jr.
2023 schedule
September
2 | N. ARIZONA | W, 38-3
9 | at Mississippi State | L, 31-24 (OT)
16 | UTEP | W, 31-10
23 | at Stanford | W, 21-20
30 | No. 7 WASHINGTON | L, 31-24
October
7 | at No. 9 USC | 7:30 p.m.
14 | at No. 13 Washington State | TBD
28 | No. 15 OREGON STATE | TBD
November
4 | UCLA | TBD
11 | at Colorado | TBD
18 | No. 18 UTAH | TBD
25 | at ASU | TBD
Home games in Bold
2023 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]
de Laura | 87-125-5 | 1,069 | 9 | 55
Fifita | 35-47-1 | 301 | 3 | 33
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | Per carry | Per game]
Coleman | 32 | 220 | 0 | 6.9 | 44.0
Wiley | 40 | 176 | 1 | 4.4 | 44.0
Williams | 33 | 164 | 1 | 5.0 | 32.8
de Laura | 20 | 131 | 3 | 6.6 | 32.8
Luke | 14 | 63 | 0 | 4.5 | 12.6
RECEIVING
[Name | Receptions | Yards | TDs | Per catch | Per game]
McMillan | 27 | 386 | 5 | 14.3 | 77.2
Cowing | 37 | 308 | 4 | 8.32 | 61.6
McLachlan | 16 | 214 | 1 | 13.4 | 42.8
Coleman | 12 | 154 | 1 | 12.9 | 30.8
Wiley | 15 | 132 | 0 | 8.8 | 33.0
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
Manu | 50 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0
Johnson | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3
Flowe | 29 | .5 | 0 | 0 | 0
Maldonado | 23 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1
Prysock | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
USC Trojans
Record: 5-0 (3-0 Pac-12)
WHEN USC IS ON OFFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
WR | 2 | Brenden Rice | 6-3 | 210 | Sr.
WR | 4 | Mario Williams | 5-9 | 175 | Jr.
LT | 79 | Jonah Monheim | 6-5 | 295 | R-So.
LG | 70 | Emmanuel Pregnon | 6-5 | 315 | Jr.
C | 57 | Justin Dedich | 6-2 | 295 | R-Sr.
RG | 52 | Jarrett Kingston | 6-4 | 305 | R-Sr.
RT | 71 | Michael Tarquin | 6-4 | 305 | R-Sr.
TE | 87 | Lake McRee | 6-5 | 230 | R-Fr.
WR | 15 | Dorian Singer | 6-0 | 180 | Jr.
QB | 13 | Caleb Williams | 6-1 | 215 | Jr.
RB | 6 | Austin Jones | 5-10 | 200 | R-Sr..
WHEN USC IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
RUSH | 10 | Jamil Muhammad | 6-1 | 250| R-Sr.
DT | 99 | Jack Sullivan | 6-5 | 275 | R-Sr.
NT | 90 | Bear Alexander | 6-3 | 300 | So.
DE | 51 | Solomon Byrd | 6-3 | 250 | R-Sr.
WLB | 25 | Tackett Curtis | 6-2 | 225 | Fr.
MLB | 13 | Mason Cobb | 6-0 | 235 | Sr.
STAR | 19 | Jaylin Smith | 5-11 | 180 | Jr.
CB | 22 | Ceyair Wright | 6-0 | 180 | R-So.
CB | 1 | Domani Jackson | 6-1 | 190 | So.
BS | 7 | Calen Bullock | 6-3 | 190 | Jr.
FS | 4 | Max Williams | 5-9 | 185 | R-Sr.
2023 schedule
August
26 | SAN JOSE STATE | W, 56-28
September
2 | NEVADA | W, 66-14
9 | STANFORD | W, 56-10
23 | at Arizona State | W, 42-28
30 | at Colorado | W, 48-41
October
7 | ARIZONA | 7:30 p.m.
14 | at No. 10 Notre Dame | 4:30 p.m.
21 | No. 18 UTAH | TBD
28 | at California | TBD
November
4 | No. 9 WASHINGTON | TBD
11 | at No. 8 OREGON | TBD
18 | UCLA | TBD
Home games in Bold
2023 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long
Williams | 105-141-1 | 1,603 | 21 | 76
Moss| 23-32-0 | 309 | 1 | 71
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | Per carry | Per game]
Lloyd | 52 | 433 | 3 | 8.3 | 86.6
Jones | 20 | 148 | 3 | 7.4 | 29.6
Joyner | 14 | 113 | 1 | 8.1 | 37.7
Williams | 26 | 83 | 3 | 3.2 | 16.6
RECEIVING
[Name | Receptions | Yards | TDs | Per catch | Per game]
Washington | 18 | 395 | 5 | 21.9 | 79.0
Rice | 17 | 338 | 7 | 19.9 | 67.6
Robinson | 8 | 186 | 1 | 23.3 | 46.5
Williams | 15 | 180 | 1 | 12.0 | 36.0
Branch | 13 | 178 | 2 | 13.7 | 44.5
Singer | 12 | 157 | 3 | 13.1 | 31.4
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
Smith | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1
Bullock| 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Muhammad | 18 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 2
Byrd | 17 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 3
Curtis | 17 | 2.0 | 0 | 1 | 0
Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan gives a salute as the sideline celebrates his touchdown late against Washington last year.
Head to Head
Tetairoa McMillan vs. Christian Roland-Wallace
Often in the spring or preseason training camp leading up to the 2022 season, "T-Mac" versus "C-Ro" was a common battle. When McMillan was a true freshman and came to Arizona as the program's highest-rated signee in the modern recruiting era, he was paired up with Roland-Wallace, who "pushed me to be a better player every day," McMillan said last summer. The McMillan version Roland-Wallace is about to face is a more polished, all-around and physically improved pass-catcher who has an extended route tree in his second season. McMillan is tied for second in the Pac-12 with five touchdowns this season.
Arizona defensive analyst Brett Arce comes out to congratulate then-UA cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace (4) after he stopped a USC pass play in the first quarter of the Wildcats matchup with the Trojans on Oct. 29, 2022 at Arizona Stadium.
Roland-Wallace was a mainstay in Arizona's defense for four seasons and logged 169 tackles, two forced fumbles and two interceptions. The Kevin Sumlin-era recruit led the Wildcats in tackles (58) last season. Roland-Wallace was one of three Wildcats, along with wide receiver Dorian Singer and defensive tackle Kyon Barrs, to transfer to USC after last season. As a backup cornerback and nickelback, Roland-Wallace's snaps have gradually increased and "he's really starting to take off," said USC head coach Lincoln Riley. Last week, Roland-Wallace had six tackles and an interception in 94 snaps in USC's seven-point win at Colorado.
USC quarterback Caleb Williams scrambles away from the pressure by Arizona safety DJ Warnell Jr. in the second quarter of the 2022 matchup between the Trojans and Wildcats at Arizona Stadium.
Dalton Johnson vs. Caleb Williams
Johnson and USC defensive end Solomon Byrd both lead the Pac-12 in forced fumbles with three. Johnson's forced fumbles have come in the form of "peanut-punching," a technique popularized by former Chicago Bear Charles "Peanut" Tillman. Among Arizona's starters, Johnson has a the highest tackling grade (76) on ProFootballFocus.com. He also nearly grabbed Arizona's first interception of the season against Stanford. In a game where a turnover or two could give the Wildcats a fighter's chance, Johnson is near the top of the list to make that happen.
In 19 games at USC, the defending Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback has posted 6,140 yards, 63 touchdowns and 6 interceptions — 21 touchdowns and just one interception this season. Unlike Arizona's previous quarterback matchup with Heisman hopeful and Washington gunslinger Michael Penix Jr., Williams is a quarterback who is more willing to maneuver outside of the pocket and makes plays and off-platform throws. The Patrick Mahomes-esque quarterback is widely projected to land No. 1 overall in the upcoming NFL Draft.
The matchup
When Arizona has the ball …
Whether it's Fifita or de Laura quarterbacking Arizona, the Wildcats offense — a unit that consistently hasn't found a groove in games until the second quarter and beyond — will be matched up with a USC defense that ranks 10th in the Pac-12 in yards allowed (404.4) per game. In order to keep Williams and USC's high-powered offense on the sidelines as much as possible, if all things go according to plan for the Wildcats, they'll have around 30 minutes in time of possession.
USC wide receiver Brenden Rice (2) shouts as the flag flies in for an interference call against Arizona cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace (4) in the fourth quarter of their Pac 12 football game at Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., October 29, 2022.
When USC has the ball …
The Trojans are expected to be fully loaded at wide receiver on Saturday after freshman star Zachariah Branch returned to practice following his absence for injury at Colorado last week. The top two receivers in last year's contest in Tucson: Tahj Washington, with seven catches, 118 yards and two touchdowns, and Singer, who had seven catches for 141 yards and three touchdowns. Now they're both in the same offense in addition to Mario Williams and Brenden Rice, son of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, who had five catches for two touchdowns last week. USC is averaging the third-most yards (555) and the most points (53.6) per game in college football this season.
Prediction: Arizona 38, No. 9 USC 35
Unless Arizona qualifies to play in the LA Bowl at SoFi Stadium, Saturday will mark the last time for a long time that the Wildcats will play in "The City of Angels." Arizona has been out-scored 31-7 in the first quarter this season. If the Wildcats can shake the first-quarter boogeyman and not play from behind — they played from behind at Mississippi State and in both of the first two conference games — and steal a possession (or two) from USC, they can pull off the upset and shock the world. Arizona wins at the L.A. Coliseum for the first time since Nick Foles was the UA quarterback in 2009, and the Wildcats contribute to the cannibalism of the Pac-12 and decrease the Trojans' chances of making the College Football Playoff.
Arizona defensive end Taylor Upshaw and running back Jonah Coleman discuss the Wildcats' upcoming road test at No. 9 USC. Video by Justin Spears / Arizona Daily Star
VIDEO: “It’s personal” when Arizona faces USC and ex-Wildcats Dorian Singer, Christian Roland-Wallace & Kyon Barrs. UA football coach Jedd Fisch has encouraged his team to “not get caught up in the emotion of playing former players or former teammates.” (Justin Spears/Arizona Daily Star
