Like the title of a TLC song (or, depending your era, like the tune made famous by The Temptations), Jedd Fisch ainβt too proud to beg.
Before the Arizona Wildcats square off with 11th-ranked Oregon State on Saturday in Tucson, the UA head coach revealed just over 42,000 tickets were sold for the βstripe outβ game, which is about 8,000 shy of a sellout.
βI just feel like we got three home games left, and this one is against a Top-12 team. Come to the game! Come to the game,β Fisch said. βThatβs my feeling.
βI believe we should be able to sellout this game, be able to sell out the next one (against UCLA) and the next one against Utah.β
Fisch has plenty of reasons to clamor for a sellout Saturday. Excluding the Wildcatsβ overtime loss in SEC country at Mississippi State, Arizona has lost to two Top-10 teams by a combined nine points, including a triple-overtime thriller at No. 9 USC. Before a bye week, Arizona manhandled No. 19 Washington State 44-6 in Pullman for the programβs largest margin of victory over a ranked opponent on the road. If No. 23 UCLA beats Colorado this week, the Wildcats will likely face five straight ranked opponents. As Fisch put it, βitβs been a unique run here.β
βAll four of these games in this stretch have been against Top-20 teams,β Fisch said.
The under-the-radar Beavers have won 10 of their last 11 games dating back to last season, which includes wins over rival Oregon, a 27-point beatdown of Florida in the Las Vegas Bowl and Utah and UCLA this season. Led by reigning Pac-12 Coach of the Year Jonathan Smith, Oregon State is 16-4 since last year. The Beavers are bowl-eligible for the third season in a row, which hasnβt happened in 14 years.
βThe messaging has been pretty clear: this is a really good team,β Fisch said. βThis is a really, really good team. You go back and look at how they finished last year, the way they started this year, how theyβre playing, and for our team to have this opportunity to host them in our stadium is awesome, and we need to take advantage of that opportunity.β
Unlike Washington, USC and Washington State, Oregon State is a run-heavy team. The Wildcats previously faced three of the top five passing offenses in college football; now theyβll battle the fourth-best rushing team, led by star running back Damien Martinez, in the conference, which has 250 rush attempts and 198 pass attempts this season.
OSU has two offensive linemen, right tackle Taliese Fuaga and right guard Tanner Miller, who were recently named to the Pro Football Focus Midseason All-American teams. Beavers left tackle Joshua Gray was named a Pac-12 Offensive Lineman of the Week earlier this season.
Arizonaβs bolstered defensive line between transfer portal additions and up-and-coming players budding into elevated roles, coupled with potential All-Pac-12 linebacker Jacob Manu, has evolved the Wildcats rushing defense from allowing just over 209 yards per game in 2022 to just 96.6 this season β fourth in the conference.
Oregon Stateβs defense ranks in the top half of the Pac-12 in every statistical category. Fisch said OSUβs 3-3-5 defense isnβt complex; the Beavers just βdo it really well and theyβre sound.β
βThey swarm to the ball, theyβre very physical, they tackle extremely well. ... You donβt see too many missed opportunities on their defense,β Fisch said. βWhen they have a shot to get to the quarterback, they get the quarterback. When they have a shot to make a tackle, they make a tackle. In the end, theyβre just very well-coached and a very disciplined defense.β
Between the Wildcats and Beavers Saturday, βitβs going to be a heavyweight fight, thereβs no question about it,β Fisch said. βThese guys are physical. Everybody is healthy.
βTheir running backs are really good, and our defensive line is healthy and ready to go,β he said, adding: βItβs going to be a big-time brawl inside. Our guys are excited about that challenge and I know thatβs the type of game they like to play.β
Arizona defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen said Oregon State will use multiple running backs and tight ends. Arizonaβs βdollarβ package that uses seven defensive backs and counters passing attacks will likely not have as much of an influence this week or next against a balanced UCLA team.
This isnβt Arizonaβs first rodeo this year β or last season β in attempting to stop a run-heavy team, albeit the Wildcats were among the worst in college football in that department a year ago. As far back as Arizonaβs second-week matchup at Mississippi State, the Wildcats tempered the Bulldogsβ rushing attack after the first quarter; one linebacker and explosive tackler Justin Flowe, who tied Manu with a team-high 12 tackles, earned more snaps.
βAs a linebacker, this is what you look forward to,β Nansen said. βThey run the ball, thatβs what youβre looking for. Youβre not going to see the ball spitting out there and then you have to go chase it down. (Floweβs) gotta do a great job at being disciplined this week with his gaps and things like that.β
Arizona safety Dalton Johnson, who leads the team in rushing tackles (23) according to PFF, said OSUβs offense doesnβt force Arizona to change its defense much βexcept being more involved in the run game obviously, coming downhill more.β
Despite Arizonaβs winning record, their close losses to Top-10 opponents and being just two victories from a bowl invite, the Wildcats arenβt getting complacent.
βI think you could always get better at anything you do,β Johnson said. β(Defensive backs) are always saying, βJust get one day better.β Thatβs just a mindset. We just have to get better at everything we do. We havenβt done anything yet. We havenβt accomplished anything.β
However, potential back-to-back wins against Top-20 opponents isnβt anything to glance over. It could even garner the UA some votes in the upcoming Associated Press Top 25 poll heading into the final third of the season.
βThat would certainly put Arizona football on the map based on how weβve played the last few weeks,β Fisch said, βand the players understand that.β