The time has finally arrived. I'm pretty certain we know the Arizona Wildcats aren't jumping into the "elite" of NCAA football, and I'm pretty sure they shouldn't be close to a top-25 team. But hey, against the USC Trojans today at 12:30, we get to find out just how good the Wildcats are, not in the sense I think they'll win, but in the sense I think this game is winnable.
The Trojans looked lackluster against the ASU Sun Devils last week, as ASU's offense ran circles around USC. Of course, we can expect the Trojans come out with a sense of urgency, but um, last I checked, the Wildcats are farther along on the "we can't screw up our season anymore, we've got to just play ball" negative track.
Mentally, that means Arizona will come out gunning on offense and looking to knock off some heads on defense. Will that be enough?
It's hard to think so. Marc Tyler, USC's running back, set a career high in yardage last year against Arizona, while the Matt Barkley to Robert Woods connected is probably going to shine. But Arizona's run game has shown signs, and the defense really can't get any worse.
It'll be a shootout. Who will continue down a dark path and who will show signs of recovery?