Washington and Arizona are similar in more ways than one, as Saturday night’s affair will be between two 3-3 record teams that have both been crushed by Oregon and have defeated ranked teams.
The Wildcats are reeling after three straight losses, while the Huskies are on a two game skid of their own.
UA passing versus UW pass defense
Arizona quarterback Matt Scott is coming off a career high game, throwing for 491 yards and scoring three times on a school record of 45 completions in 69 attempts against Stanford. The Washington’s defense is the second-best in the Pac-12, allowing less than 200 passing yards per game and just eight touchdowns, in large part because of the talents of shutdown corner Desmond Trufant. Those numbers are skewed by the fact that the Huskies have played both Stanford and USC, which both used their run game as a primary means of offense.
Advantage: Arizona
UA rushing versus UW rush defense
Ka’Deem Carey — enough said. The UA sophomore has rushed for 670 yards and 10 touchdowns, including 100-yard days against both Stanford and Oregon State, who both allow an average of less than 90 yards per game on the ground. The Huskies give up an average of 182.5 yards per game, the second-worst rush defense in the conference
Advantage: Arizona
UW passing versus UA pass defense
Saturday’s matchup will feature both the worst pass offense and pass defense in the conference. Washington enters the game averaging 186.5 yards per game and has thrown just seven touchdowns, while the Wildcats pass defense has allowed just under 300 yards a game through the air and 12 scores. Huskie quarterback Keith Price has thrown for 1,080 yards and six interceptions.
Advantage: Even
UW rushing versus UA rush defense
Last year, the Huskies were able to run over Arizona, thanks to running back Chris Polk. This year, while Polk is gone, UW still has an advantage thanks to Bishop Sankey, who has rushed for 487 yards and six touchdowns. Conversely, the UA rush defense is the worst in the Pac-12, giving up 182.7 yards per game to opponents.
Advantage: Washington
Special Teams
Because Scott, Carey and the Arizona offense haven’t had much trouble moving the ball in recent weeks, the kicking unit has not had to salvage failed drives with field goals as it did earlier in the season. At the same time, UA kicker John Bonano has been inconsistent, nailing only 54.5 percent of his kicks.
Travis Coons, the Huskies’ kicker and punter, ranks even worse than Bonano in the conference, with an average of one field goal per game.
Advantage: Arizona
Coaching
Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian seems to hold a slight advantage over Rodriguez because this is his fourth year as the head man — meaning the Huskies have more familiarity with his system — but Rodriguez’s offensive system appears to be holding up against all of its opponents.
Advantage: Even
