The Arizona Wildcats look to end their three-game losing streak against the struggling West Virginia Mountaineers. Here's a look at starting lineups, key matchups and a prediction from Star reporter Justin Spears.
West Virginia (3-4) at Arizona (3-4)
When: Saturday, 4 p.m.
Where: Arizona Stadium
Watch: FS1
Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM
West Virginia wide receiver Traylon Ray (7) carries during the first half against Pittsburgh on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Pittsburgh.
West Virginia
Record: 3-4 (2-2 Big 12)
WHEN WVU IS ON OFFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
WR | 7 | Traylon Ray | 6-1 | 195 | So.
TE | 81 | Treylan Davis | 6-3 | 265 | R-Jr.
LT | 60 | Johnny Williams IV | 6-7 | 315 | R-Fr.
LG | 55 | Tomas Rimac | 6-6 | 318 | R-Jr.
C | 50 | Brandon Yates | 6-4 | 310 | R-Sr.
RG | 66 | Ja'Quay Hubbard | 6-5 | 322 | R-Sr.
RT | 58 | Nick Malone | 6-5 | 298 | R-Sr.
WR | 3 | Hudson Clement | 6-1 | 198 | R-So.
WR | 24 | Rodney Gallagher III | 5-10 | 178 | So.
QB | 8 | Nicco Marchiol | 6-2 | 223 | R-So.
RB | 1 | Jahiem White | 5-7 | 195 | So.
WHEN WVU IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
Spur | 8 | Tyrin Bradley Jr. | 6-2 | 255 | Sr.
DE | 5 | Sean Martin | 6-5 | 295 | Sr.
DT | 54 | Fatorma Mulbah | 6-4 | 306 | Sr.
DT | 92 | Asani Redwood | 6-3 | 290 | R-So.
ILB | 4 | Trey Lathan | 6-1 | 226 | R-So.
WLB | 40 | Josiah Trotter | 6-2 | 238 | R-Fr.
NB | 14 | Kekoura Tarnue | 6-0 | 198 | Sr.
CB | 13 | Dontez Fagan | 5-10 | 188 | R-Sr.
FS | 7 | Anthony Wilson Jr. | 5-9 | 199 | R-Sr.
SS | 3 | Jaheem Joseph | 5-10 | 190 | R-Jr.
CB | 1 | Garnett Hollis Jr. | 6-1 | 201 | Sr.
WVU 2024 SCHEDULE
August
31 | No. 8 PENN STATE | L, 34-12
September
7 | ALBANY | W, 49-14
14 | at Pittsburgh | L, 38-34
21 | KANSAS | W, 32-28
October
5 | at Oklahoma State | W, 38-14
12 | No. 11 IOWA STATE | L, 28-16
19 | No. 17 KANSAS STATE | L, 45-18
26 | at Arizona
November
9 | at Cincinnati
16 | BAYLOR
23 | UCF
29 | at Texas Tech
Home games in BOLD
West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene runs past North Carolina defensive back Kaleb Cost during the first half of the Duke's Mayo Bowl, held Dec. 27, 2023, in Charlotte, N.C.
WVU 2024 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]
Greene | 99-177-8 | 1,352 | 9 | 52
Marchiol | 10-18-1 | 80 | 2 | 20
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | Per carry | Per game]
Greene | 76 | 471 | 3 | 6.2 | 67.3
White | 75 | 416 | 5 | 5.5 | 59.4
Donaldson | 92 | 412 | 5 | 4.5 | 58.9
Marchiol | 20 | 63 | 1 | 3.2 | 12.6
Anderson | 9 | 34 | 0 | 3.8 | 4.9
RECEIVING
[Name | Receptions | Yards | TDs | Per catch | Per game]
Clement | 26 | 363 | 2 | 14 | 51.9
Ray | 22 | 288 | 2 | 13.1 | 41.1
Taylor | 22 | 274 | 2 | 12.5 | 39.1
Gallagher | 11 | 162 | 1 | 14.7 | 23.1
Bray | 2 | 88 | 1 | 44 | 17.6
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
Trotter | 54 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 | 0
Wilson | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Lathan | 37 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0
Bradley | 30 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1
Joseph | 27 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 | 0
Garnes | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Jackson | 24 | 3.5 | 2 | 1 | 0
Arizona running back Kedrick Reescano (3) gets mobbed by his teammates after ripping off a long run for a score against Northern Arizona in the fourth quarter Sept. 7 at Arizona Stadium.
Arizona Wildcats
Record: 3-4 (1-3 Big 12)
WHEN ARIZONA IS ON OFFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
XWR | 4 | Tetairoa McMillan | 6-5 | 212 | Jr.
FWR | 2 | Jeremiah Patterson | 5-10 | 175 | Jr.
LT | 71 | Jonah Savaiinaea | 6-5 | 336 | Jr.
LG | 53 | Joey Capra | 6-4 | 301 | R-Sr.
C | 75 | Josh Baker | 6-3 | 300 | Sr.
RG | 72 | Wendell Moe | 6-2 | 339 | R-So.
RT | 77 | Michael Wooten | 6-5 | 315 | R-So.
TE | 88 | Keyan Burnett | 6-6 | 248 | Jr.
ZWR | 5 | Montana Lemonious-Craig | 6-2 | 194 | Sr.
QB | 11 | Noah Fifita | 5-10 | 188 | R-So.
RB | 7 | Quali Conley | 5-10 | 209 | Sr.
WHEN ARIZONA IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
DE | 11 | Chase Kennedy | 6-3 | 220 | R-So.
DT | 46 | Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei | 6-4 | 280 | Jr.
NT | 47 | Stanley Ta'ufo'ou | 6-2 | 274 | R-Sr.
DE | 3 | Tre Smith | 6-5 | 270 | R-Jr.
MLB | 6 | Taye Brown | 6-2 | 225 | So.
Dime | 27 | Owen Goss | 6-2 | 202 | Sr.
CB | 23 | Emmanuel Karnley | 6-3 | 184 | R-Fr.
CB | 1 | Tacario Davis | 6-4 | 190 | Jr.
BS | 43 | Dalton Johnson | 5-11 | 202 | R-Jr.
NB | 12 | Genesis Smith | 6-2 | 203 | So.
FS | 13 | Jack Luttrell | 6-0 | 180 | R-Fr.
UA 2024 SCHEDULE
August
31 | NEW MEXICO | W, 61-39
September
7 | NORTHERN ARIZONA | W, 22-10
13 | at No. 14 Kansas State | L, 31-7
28 | at No. 10 Utah | W, 23-10
October
5 | TEXAS TECH | L, 28-22
12 | at No. 14 BYU | L, 41-19
19 | COLORADO | L, 34-7
26 | W. VIRGINIA (Family Weekend/Breast Cancer Awareness)
November
2 | at UCF
15 | HOUSTON*
23 | at TCU
30 | ASU (Senior Day)
Home games in BOLD; *=Friday game
UA 2024 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]
Fifita | 152-257-10 | 1,774 | 9 | 78
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | Per carry | Per game]
Conley | 93 | 500 | 6 | 5.4 | 71.4
Reescano | 42 | 241 | 1 | 5.7 | 34.4
Croskey-Merritt | 13 | 106 | 1 | 8.2 | 106.0
Fifita | 34 | 65 | 0 | 1.9 | 9.3
K. Luke | 4 | 19 | 0 | 4.8 | 2.7
RECEIVING
[Name | Receptions | Yards | TDs | Per catch | Per game]
McMillan | 47 | 780 | 4 | 16.6 | 111.4
Burnett | 16 | 205 | 1 | 12.8 | 34.2
Lemonious-Craig | 17 | 172 | 1 | 10.1 | 24.5
Conley | 25 | 163 | 0 | 6.5 | 23.3
Patterson | 13 | 117 | 2 | 9 | 16.7
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
Manu | 47 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0
Johnson | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1
Brown | 43 | 2.0 | 0 | 1 | 0
Smith, T. | 34 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 1
Smith, G. | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1
Davis | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Goss | 24 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1
Head to Head
Arizona offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea (71) awaits the snap during the Wildcats' Sept. 28 win over the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City.
8 Tyrin Bradley Jr. vs. 71 Jonah Savaiinaea
For nearly two seasons after becoming an All-WAC selection at Abilene Christian, Bradley has been a mainstay in WVU's defense at "Spur," which is an edge rusher and pass-rushing role. Bradley hasn't recorded a sack in the last three games, which could change on Saturday against a banged up and reshuffled UA offensive line.
For the second time this season, Savaiinaea is at left tackle and will likely play there for the remainder of the season after starter Rhino Tapa'atoutai suffered a season-ending leg injury. Savaiinaea also played left tackle against Northern Arizona. Savaiinaea, a projected first-round pick, has started at right guard, right tackle and now left tackle in his three-year Arizona career. This will likely move Oregon transfer Michael Wooten, who had three penalties and struggled in pass protection against Colorado, to right tackle. After the Wildcats gave up a season-high seven sacks last week against Colorado, arguably their best offensive lineman will man the blindside duties.
Arizona defensive lineman Tre Smith, left, and fellow lineman Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei celebrate their sack against Texas Tech in the third quarter of the UA’s Big 12 home opener on Oct. 5 at Arizona Stadium.
60 Johnny Williams IV vs. 3 Tre Smith
The Mountaineers will likely be without preseason All-Big 12 left tackle Wyatt Milum, who has 29 starts under his belt at that spot. Milum's 92.1 offensive grade on Pro Football Focus ranks as the best among Big 12 offensive linemen. In 206 passing snaps this season, Milum hasn't allowed a sack or quarterback pressure. If Williams, a redshirt freshman from Macon, Georgia, is dubbed the starter, he's expected to "function at a high level," said head coach Neal Brown.
With Milum most likely out, Saturday could be the first multi-sack game of Smith's career. In the first quarter against Colorado last week, Smith recorded his first full sack since the NAU game. If the Wildcats use their dime package, it could also be a breakout game for edge rusher Chase Kennedy, who was used as a roaming stand-up blitzer against Colorado.
The matchup
When Arizona has the ball …
The narrative for Arizona's offense entering last week wasn't that the Wildcats were necessarily struggling to move the football, they just plateaued whenever the ball was either in plus-territory or inside the red zone. Then Arizona's offense took a few steps back with just as many punts as points (7) against Colorado and produced the fewest yards in a game since the 2021 season. West Virginia ranks 110th in college football in passing yards allowed (254.3), which is second-to-last in the Big 12 in front of Texas Tech. Due to lack of protection, coupled with WVU's inefficient passing defense, if the Wildcats have a snappy and rhythmic offense and get the ball out of Noah Fifita's hands in three seconds or less — and score touchdowns instead of relying on kicker Tyler Loop's field goals, the Wildcats could have a breakthrough moment on offense.
When West Virginia has the ball …
Whether West Virginia starts Garrett Greene or Nicco Marchiol at quarterback, the Mountaineers will likely rely on the run game and RPOs. West Virginia is fifth in the Big 12 in rushing yards, averaging 202.1 per game. The undersized and shifty Jahiem White is expected to play on Saturday after suffering an injury against Kansas State, where he snapped his five-game touchdown streak. If Arizona uses six-plus defensive backs, chipping away with the run game could be the path to victory for WVU.
Prediction: Arizona 16, West Virginia 13
Both teams are in similar spots entering this week. Both Arizona and West Virginia are enduring several injuries, especially on one side of the ball (Arizona's defense and West Virginia's offense). Plus, both teams have the same sub-.500 record after entering the season with high expectations. WVU is traveling 1,803 miles from Morgantown to Tucson, the Mountaineers' first regular-season game in Mountain Time Zone since playing Colorado in 2008. With Arizona's offense struggling as much as it has since the season opener, averaging 16.7 points per game in the last six contests, along with West Virginia's offensive injuries, Saturday could be a grinder. In these types of games, usually the home team gets it done.
