Arizona faces a big test Saturday when it hits the road to take on Stanford. The Wildcats opened Pac-12 play with losses to Oregon and Oregon State, so they head to Palo Alto in dire need of a conference victory.
Can the undersized Wildcats stop the bruising Cardinal offense? Can Stanford defend Arizona's spread offense? How will the outcome impact each team's season?
To get some answers to those questions and more, FOXSportsArizona.com went to FOX Game of the Week analyst Joel Klatt, who will provide color commentary for the game Saturday.
FSAZ: What's intriguing about this matchup to you? What stands out?
Joel Klatt: The most intriguing thing to me is the fact that Stanford has only lost four games in their last two and a half seasons, and three of those losses were to spread teams -- twice to Oregon and once to Oklahoma State -- so they clearly aren't built for a team like Arizona. They're built for USC. Stanford is 5-1 against USC in the last six years. That's the most intriguing part for me, to watch that matchup take place. Stanford is huge, they're physical, built for two tight ends, phone-booth-type football. Arizona clearly is not built for that. They're a smaller team, more mobile, they're fast and they're trying to play at a higher tempo with Rich Rodriguez. So that matchup is what stands out most.
FSAZ: How does Stanford win this game?
JK: Stanford wins this game by being Stanford, by not trying to go out there and play spread football but just go out there and try to overpower Arizona -- run over them, don't allow them in the game, keep the ball. It's more just being yourself and not getting in a position where all of a sudden you've got to play this fast tempo and spread out like Arizona wants to.
FSAZ: So how does Arizona win this game?
JK: They just have to be themselves, too. They've got to force Stanford out of their comfort zone. What they need to do is get into a similar game to what they got into with Oklahoma State, which was turnovers and mistakes by Oklahoma State and then capitalizing on those, getting a lot of momentum off of those and playing at a really fast pace. It seems to me, the more I watch this new style of offense -- the spread and the tempo offense -- that it's really all about momentum. Once you get the first first down, the second series really takes off. So if you're looking for the critical element for Arizona, it's getting the first first down of each series. Once you do that, now you're into the rhythm of the series and you seem to move the ball a little better.
FSAZ: All those elements considered on both sides, what will be the difference in this game?
JK: Turnovers. I think Arizona needs to get turnovers to be there and have a chance late in this game. That's what they got against Oklahoma State. Stanford turned the ball over against Washington (last week), and it seemed like they were out of sync. And if you don't take the ball away from Stanford, they're not going to just get beat, if that makes sense. You've got to make some plays on defense and take the ball away and create opportunities for your offense.
FSAZ: That said, how do you see this game playing out?
JK: I see, early in this game, Arizona having some success. I don't know about defensively, because it's just so hard to replicate the kind of power Stanford brings. But offensively, I do think they can have some success because I think Stanford's not built for it. Think about it this way: Each defense is trying to prepare, and there's no possible way their scout teams can give them anywhere close to the type of look they're going to see on Saturday. So each offense probably will have some success early because the defenses are seeing it for the very first time, whereas the offenses are just doing what they always do. If Arizona can weather the early offensive success and maybe get a turnover or two, they could turn the tide. I expect them to get a turnover early and I expect them to be there late in the fourth quarter.
FSAZ: How much does home-field advantage play into this game?
JK: It plays more of part for Stanford, and it’s because they've got an inexperienced quarterback. Josh Nunes was comfortable at home, and he beat USC. Then he goes on the road up in Seattle, and that's a hostile environment where you're heartbeat gets going. I give Arizona a little bit of a nod there in saying they're going to be able to play on the road because of Matt Scott. Even though he's not really experienced, he's a veteran. He's been in those situations and he's watched Nick Foles play in those situations, so I think he'll be fine.
FSAZ: How does the outcome of this game affect the trajectory of each team's season?
JK: Arizona really needs a conference win and soon. Their season last year started spiraling out of control, I thought, when they lost to USC in the Coliseum. It just took a downward trajectory after that. So they need to start having some conference success, which they haven't had in the last couple years -- they even lost to Colorado last year, which was probably the nail in the coffin for Mike Stoops. For Stanford, remember they've only lost four games in two and a half years, so they've won 26 times and they don't have a (conference) championship, and now they're already a game behind Oregon. The way I look at it, as long as you haven't played a team, you're tied with them even though you've got a loss, because if you win (against that team), the tiebreaker goes to you. I expect Washington to lose again, and we'll see how all that plays out, but it's vitally important for Stanford to keep pace with Oregon so that (Stanford-Oregon) game means that they're playing for the division title. And Rich Rodriguez really needs, for the confidence of his players more so than himself, a conference win.
FSAZ: Anything else stand out to you about this Arizona team?
JK: I think Ka'Deem Carey is a really good back. And then I look at the two-deep for Arizona and there's like three walk-ons and all these injuries. So they're trying to do it with smoke and mirrors, and I feel like they play really hard. Whether they win or not, or whatever the outcome of their season, I do think that Rich Rodriguez is the right guy for that area and hope that he has success there.
