Arizona football looks to snap three-game losing streak, takes on Oregon State for Homecoming

October 27, 2019

Arizona freshman Grant Gunnell (17) spirals the ball down to his wide receiver, fro another Arizona touchdown. During the halftime of the Arizona-Northern Arizona University game the Wildcats lead 51-13.

Arizona football won one out of its four total games in the entire month of October, dropping games to University of Washington, USC and Stanford University all in the span of three miserable weeks. This Saturday afternoon, the Wildcats take on the Oregon State University Beavers back at home at Arizona Stadium.

The last time the Wildcats were at home this season was against the Washington Huskies on Saturday, Oct. 12, when Arizona lost only its second game of the year by a final score of 51-27. This time, the Wildcats look to break .500 and save their Bowl game hopes. After going 4-1 through the first five games, it would be more than heartbreaking to miss out on a post-season game.

The Beavers are currently No. 2 in the Pac-12 North behind their state rivals, the University of Oregon Ducks. This season, Oregon State has played better on the road than at home at Reser Stadium. So far, the Beavers are 2-1 on the road compared to 1-3 under the home lights. OSU is 2-2 in conference play with wins against the UCLA Bruins (48-31) and University of California, Berkeley (21-17) and losses against Stanford University (28-31) and the University of Utah (7-52).

The last time Arizona and Oregon State met was last season on Sept. 22, 2018, when the Wildcats defeated the Beavers by a final score of 35-14 at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Ore. Arizona’s win against the Beavers on the road last year was the team’s only road win in all five away games during the entire season.

Interestingly enough, both of Oregon State’s conference wins have been on the road and losses at home. If this trend continues, the Wildcats will most likely have to say goodbye to their Bowl game hopes unless they can make a miracle happen in the last three games of the year.

Last year, Arizona’s Homecoming game turned into a spectacle at Arizona Stadium, where the Wildcats defeated No. 19 Oregon by a final score of 44-15. The year prior, in 2017, the Wildcats defeated the Washington State Cougars in a 58-37 victory. Arizona needs to continue its two-year trend of performing above and beyond in order to rescue their season from being an absolute disaster.

Arizona is scheduled to wear throwback jerseys to commemorate the Desert Swarm era under the late Dick Tomey. In addition, Arizona’s game on Saturday will be its first home afternoon game since the 2018 season closer, when Arizona blew its 19-point lead in the Territorial Cup to ASU.

Arizona football is back in action on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 1:30 p.m. against the Oregon State Beavers for UA’s Homecoming game.

Follow Amit Syal on Twitter.