Wildcats and Utes square off in Pac-12 tussle

Nov 19, 2014 - 4:24 PM Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) - Two teams coming off of thrilling victories will clash on Saturday afternoon, as the 20th-ranked Utah Utes host the 15th-ranked Arizona Wildcats in Pac-12 Conference action at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Casey Skowron kicked two field goals in the fourth quarter, including a 47- yarder as time expired, to lift Arizona to a 27-26 win at home against Washington last weekend. It was an important victory for the Wildcats, who have come out on top in back-to-back games and are currently tied with UCLA and Arizona State for second place in the Pac-12 South Division standings (5-2). They own an 8-2 overall mark.

"It's gone down to the wire before but that's the definition of a good team, when you find ways to win and pull it out," Arizona safety Jourdon Grandon said. "Football is a crazy game and that's why it's not played on paper. You just have to keep playing as hard as you can and good things will happen for you."

Utah knows all about a game coming down to the wire, as it took two overtime sessions for it to take out Stanford, 20-17, last weekend on the road. The Utes and Cardinal each scored a touchdown in the first half, but that was the only scoring in regulation. Travis Wilson then threw touchdown passes to Kaelin Clay and Kenneth Scott during the Utes' two overtime possessions to help Utah escape. They really needed the victory, having lost their previous two contests.

"I think we just knew it was really crunch time. We knew we had to execute," Wilson said of the overtime performance. "And that first play in overtime we saw the look we've been practicing in practice, and it was Kaelin, executed it perfectly and set it up really nice."

Last season, Arizona pulled out a 35-24 victory over Utah at home. It was the second straight win for the Wildcats in the series, which the Utes lead, 20-17-2.

Arizona had a slow offensive day and a miserable defensive one against Washington. The Wildcats only had 375 yards of total offense, while letting up 504 to the Huskies. They are normally a much more potent bunch, ranking fourth in the Pac-12 in total offense (492.2 ypg).

Anu Solomon has been tremendous at quarterback for UA, throwing for 3,058 yards and 25 touchdowns on 58 percent passing, while being intercepted only seven times. However, he was out of sync against the Huskies. He finished with a respectable 242 yards passing, but he completed just 17-of-39 passes, while making a pair of errant throws that were picked off by Washington defenders.

Nick Wilson had to fight for every inch against Washington, but he still managed to eclipse the 100-yard mark, finishing with 104 to be exact, as well as two touchdowns on 30 carries. Wilson is the leading rusher for the Wildcats this season, with 867 yards and nine scores on 160 carries. He has done an excellent job of avoiding negative runs, with only eight yards lost. Terris Jones-Grigsby (474 yards, three TDs) is a solid option in relief.

Cayleb Jones (58 receptions, 788 yards, eight TDs), Austin Hill (35 receptions, 480 yards, four TDs) and Samajie Grant (32 receptions, 466 yards, three TDs) give the Wildcats a solid trio of receivers. Jones had five catches for 54 yards against Washington and Grant finished with 85 yards on four grabs.

Arizona's weak defensive effort against Washington, at least in terms of yards allowed, was a bit more expected. The Wildcats are only eighth in the Pac-12 in total defense (445.2 ypg), despite the best efforts of Scooby Wright, who leads the conference in tackles (118), ranks second in tackles for loss (22), and third in sacks (12.0).

Although they have won seven games this season, the Utes have not made it look easy on offense. They are last in the league in yards per game (367.4), although they are scoring a respectable 31.4 points per contest. They fell below even those meager numbers against Stanford, with only 247 total yards and 20 points.

Wilson threw for two touchdowns in the game, both in overtime, but he had only 177 yards on 21-of-28 passing, despite getting all the extra time after regulation. Wilson is only averaging 155.8 yards per game in the passing game. However, he has been an efficient passer, completing just under 60 percent of his tosses and his touchdown (13) to interceptions (two) ratio is top notch.

Scott (33 receptions, 351 yards, four TDs) is the leading receiver, at least in terms of catches. Clay (25 receptions, 333 yards, two TDs) is the bigger deep threat, although the best receiver on the roster was lost for the season when Dres Anderson (22 receptions, 355 yards, four TDs) was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury suffered at the end of October.

The running game is in good hands. Devontae Booker is one of three running backs in the Pac-12 with more than 1,000 yards this season. To be exact, he has 1,113 yards to go with eight touchdowns. Booker is also a frequent target in the passing game, with 252 yards and two scores on 30 receptions, the second-most on the team.

The main attraction when watching Utah football isn't on offense, however. The Utes' defensive front is responsible for the most sacks in the country (47) and the third-most tackles for loss (86). Nate Orchard is the primary offender, as he has racked up 16.5 sacks, which is tied with Washington's Hau'oli Kikaha for the most in the nation, and is a single-season program record.