Arizona Football hopes to continue winning ways against Wazzu

Picking up the improbable upset against No. 12 UCLA, Arizona Football (4-6, 2-5) hopes to continue winning ways against Washington State (6-4, 3-4). 

Arizona Football is riding high! Returning to Tucson following their upset of No. 12 UCLA, the Wildcats should have another difficult challenge on their hands as they welcome Washington State to town.

Coming in, the Cougars have been playing well, having won two straight which include dominant wins over Stanford (52-14), and Arizona State (28-18).

With a lot of emotions coming into this one, Arizona enters this one as single-digit underdogs this week, and the belief is that the Wildcats have the potential to get the upset here.

Perhaps the Wildcats can shock the world and score the upset for the second straight week. However, if that is to happen, it is going to take one hell of an effort from the Cats, and quarterback Jayden de Laura will need to keep his emotions in check as he plays his former team!

Getting to Know the details about Arizona Football’s opponent, the Washington State Cougars.

Team: Washington State Cougars

Conference: Pac-12 Conference

Current Record: 6–4 (3–4)

Head Coach: Jake Dickert enters his 2nd season as head coach at Washington where he is currently 9–7 (6–5), and has the Cougars bowl eligible after taking over for Nick Rolovich midway through last season after Rolovich refused to comply with schools’ COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

2021 Record: Finishing the 2021 season with a respectable, 7–6 (6–3) record, the Cougars ended their year with a dominant, 40-13 win over rival Washington in Seattle in the Apple Cup before falling to Central Michigan 24-21 in the Sun Bowl in El Paso.

Key Returners / Starters:

Offense

Running a variation of the Air Raid offense, coach Dickert mixes it up a bit with a healthy amount of running back carries, as well as the use of H-Backs, Tight Ends, etc.

Overall, this is a skilled and talented group that can score points and move the football well, look no further than their 26.9 points per game and 371.9 yards per game average.

Led by quarterback Cameron Ward, the former Incarnate Word transfer brings a lot of firepower to the Cougars. Through nine games, Ward has passed for 2579 yards and 20 touchdowns to just eight interceptions on 240 of 377 pass attempts.

Spreading the field, Ward likes to get the ball in the hands of his offensive weapons which include running back Nakai Watson and talented pass catchers De’Zhaun Stribling, Robert Ferrel, and Donovan Ollie among others.

Behind Ward is a talented backfield. Together, the Cougars mainly use two different backs, with Watson getting most of the work. Through eight games, Nakai has 607 yards rushing and six touchdowns on 100 carries. The Cougars also use Jaylen Jenkins to mix things up. Jenkins has 349 yards and a touchdown on 54 carries.

Defense

Also running a 4-2-5 defense, the Cougars do, however, love to give several looks on defense under defensive coordinator Brian Ward.

This group is predicated on using its skill and talent to take the football, and the Cougars play with a ton of toughness and physicality. Putting seven or eight guys in the box, the Cougars are playing well in 2022.

Holding opponents to 19.8 points per game, Washington State is also holding opponents to just 358.5 yards per game.

Largely led by several of its playmakers, the Cougars get significant contributions from Daiyan Henley, Jaden Hicks, Armani Marsh, Francisco Mauigoa, and Brennan Jackson among several others.

Up front, the Cougars have great size and talent, and this is an aggressive group that is holding opponents to 122.7 yards rushing per game, and has an impressive 27.0 sacks through 10 games.

Defensive linemen Brennan Jackson, Quinn Roff, and Ron Stone, Jr. are a big reason for that. Overall, they should challenge Arizona’s offensive line quite a bit.

However, the secondary is where perhaps Wazzu may struggle the most. Overall, they are surrendering 235.8 yards passing and an average of 1.3 touchdowns per game to opponents. The Cougars are also allowing opposing teams a 62.4 completion percentage.

Largely led by defensive backs Marsh, as well as Sam Lockett III and Chau Smith-Wade, the Cougars should challenge Arizona’s receivers a bit.

Jayden de Laura and the Wildcat offense will have to make smart choices with the football this week, against a defense that loves to get pressure and does a great job in forcing turnovers.

Game Information and details for Arizona Football:

When: Saturday, November 19th, 2022

Time: 12:00 PM MST / 11:00 AM PST

Watch: Pac-12 Network

Spread: +7.5 Arizona (Also, don’t forget to use WynnBet or FanDuel to enhance your overall betting experience)

Where: Arizona Stadium – Tucson, AZ (50,782)

Overall Series Record: 26-18 Arizona. Having met several times in their collective history, this is a series that Arizona has controlled. However, the Cougars have made up significant ground, having won five of the last seven matchups, including the last two-straight meetings.

Arizona’s last win against the Cougars came in 2017 when the Wildcats thumped Wazzu by a 58-37 final.

Last Meeting vs. Arizona: Last year in Pullman, the Wildcats were boat raced, losing 44-18 to the Cougars. Then Wazzu quarterback Jayden de Laura led the way, throwing for 259 yards and four touchdowns on 13-23 passing.

My Prediction: Arizona 34 Wazzu 30 – This will be an emotional game for de Laura who plays his old school. And beyond that, Arizona will have confidence after beating UCLA in Pasadena last week.

Arizona Stadium will be rocking, and the home-field advantage will give the Wildcats just enough to score the upset here!

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