Injury-beset Wildcats host NAU in final tuneup
One final tuneup awaits Arizona prior to opening Pac-12 play with a huge divisional matchup.
The Wildcats may simply prefer the week off.
Beset by a rash of injuries at linebacker, No. 20 Arizona returns home to close out its nonconference slate Saturday night against Northern Arizona.
Though still perfect through the season's first two weeks, Arizona has some areas to clean up prior to next week's Pac-12 South showdown with No. 10 UCLA in Tucson. Near the top of the list is improving a defense that has looked shaky at times as it adjusts to the absence of All-American linebacker Scooby Wright.
Wright will miss a second straight game after tearing the meniscus in his left knee in the Sept. 3 opener against Texas-San Antonio. His replacement, Haden Gregory, is out 2 to 4 weeks after injuring his knee in last week's 44-20 win at Nevada, leaving untested redshirt freshman Tre Tyler the starter for Saturday.
Tyler entered fall camp fourth on the depth chart but moved up when Cody Ippolito tore his ACL on Aug. 29.
Outside linebackers DeAndre' Miller, Derrick Turituri and Jake Matthews also are banged-up, with Miller missing the Nevada game with a wrist injury.
"It's unfortunate, but the next guy just has to step up and do his job," Matthews said. "We can't play with 10 out there, we have to play with 11."
On the positive side, the Wildcats held Nevada to 327 total yards after permitting 525 in their 42-32 victory over UT-San Antonio.
"I thought we made improvements in a lot of areas from week one to week two," Wildcats coach Rich Rodriguez said. "There are still a lot of things we need to work on, like any coach would tell you."
Northern Arizona (2-0) may provide more of a challenge than at first glance. The Lumberjacks, ranked 24th in the STATS FCS Top 25, possess the subdivision's current leader in passing efficiency in freshman quarterback Case Cookus and have averaged 482.5 total yards and 37.5 points in wins over Stephen F. Austin and New Mexico Highlands.
Cookus (563 passing yards) has completed 71.4 percent of his passes without an interception and thrown for five touchdowns. Top target Emmanuel Butler has four touchdown receptions and is averaging 30.0 yards on nine catches.
Running back Casey Jahn has averaged 103.0 yards to help balance the attack and provide a challenge for Arizona defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel, who's son Jake, is a reserve linebacker for the Lumberjacks.
"They are a really good team," Rodriguez said. "They play extremely hard and I know they will give us their best effort. We struggled a couple of years ago against them."
The Wildcats recorded their last shutout with a 35-0 decision over Northern Arizona in the 2013 opener, their 11th straight win in the series. They led by just seven, though, before Daniel Jenkins ripped off a 91-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter.
Arizona rushed for 306 yards in the last meeting and amassed 301 against Nevada, with Nick Wilson gaining 194 with three touchdowns on 21 attempts.
The Wildcats also have thrown it well, with Anu Solomon (493 passing yards) sporting a 66.7 completion rate and six touchdowns without an interception.
Northern Arizona is 1-12 against the Wildcats and 0-11 in Tucson, with its lone win coming in 1932. The Lumberjacks are seeking their first win over an FBS school since a 17-14 verdict at UNLV in 2012.
