Arizona vs. USC Preview

by joenewby4040 on Dec 4, 2009 8:24 AM PST in Football Comment 2 comments

The Arizona Wildcats will limp in to tomorrow's game having lost 2 of their last 3 and barely beating ASU on a freak (go figure, a freak play during an Arizona game) play. Arizona will be without running back Nic Grigsby who has been sidelined along with David Douglas. Nick Foles has a hand injury which should not impede his passing as it is his non-throwing hand. Look for USC to throw a lot of complicated looks at Foles and try to bring a number of packages on the defensive side of the ball. As in other weeks, the Cats will use Greg Nwoko and Keoli Antolin as their two headed rushing attack. Brooks Reed and Ricky Elmore have been tearing it up this year and I expect nothing less against USC. Ricky Elmore is leading the Pac-10 in sacks this year with 10.5 sacks and I hope he gets a big one against Matt Barkley.

USC has had a disappointing 8-3 season. So sad, 8-3. USC has been plagued by inconsistent offensive firepower and a defense that was embarassed by Stanford 55-21. Matt Barkley is completing 59% of his passes and has 12 TD versus 11 INT's on the year. Joe McKnight is the explosive back for the Trojans who should eclipse the 1000 yard mark against the Cats as he has 979 yards rushing this year on 155 carries, a 6.3 YPC average.

Keys to the Game:

Kicking Game - Alex Zendejas has been great this year and was the Pac-10's Special Teams Player of the Week last week. Because of USC's gritty defense, sans Stanford, the Cats are going to need to cash in on all of their scoring opportunities. Let's hope that Zendejas likes the SoCal weather in December.
First Downs - Arizona has got to figure out a way to gain more yards on first down than they have been. Our offense is dictated by what occurs on first down and our rushing game has let us down over the past few weeks. I don't mind our WR screen passes to take the place of our rushing game but it would be nice to see a rush for more than 1 yard on first down. I still am not sure who fits our offense better, Nwoko or Antolin. I think against USC, I am going to go with Nwoko's pounding style to try and eliminate USC's speed and just pound it down their throats. (Hopefully).
Nerves - This isn't the USC of old. They have lost their identity, their swagger, and their offense! Try and tell that to opposing teams that go into the coliseum and have to deal with the crowd, the tradition, and the overall atmosphere in SoCal. Arizona's young guys are going to have to walk in with some swagger of their own and have the confidence to know they can beat the Trojans.

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All good points.

If the UA that played Oregon shows up, we have a good chance to win. If the UA that played Cal and ASU shows up, it’ll be a lot harder. Foles has to be on his A game and they need more success with the running game. I think the defense has a good shot at really slowing ‘SC down, but we’ll see.

by psknapp on Dec 4, 2009 11:56 AM PST reply actions

Stretch the Field

I agree, Arizona does have more to gain from winning this game. SC attitude might play a factor. The reason I mention attitude is they might go through the motions and assume they have already won this game a will not play with the same focus and execution of past Rose Bowl or National Champion caliber SC teams.

My concern is with the Arizona offense and finding our playmakers in space and creating mismatches. I feel we focus too much on the flanker screen and other short pass at the line of scrimmage. I noticed that some teams are “jumping” the shorter pass routes and blowing up plays and forcing the offense into 3rd and long situations. I would like to see the team run the ball the way Stanford did against SC. Nwoko and Booth and Tutogi would be the “thunder” and Antolin would be the “lightning”. Wouldn’t hurt to see Criner on a fly sweep too! Our defense will need to play lights out and put a lot of pressure on Barkley. Look forward to the game.

by CrazyCat on Dec 4, 2009 2:36 PM PST reply actions