Following a convincing season-opening victory last week, the Dawgs travel to the desert for an after-dark showdown with the Arizona Wildcats.
In 2021, Arizona began the Jedd Fisch era with a 1-11 record. Their lone win came on the road at Cal, but they hung tough with foes such as BYU, Washington, USC, and Utah—losing all four contests by single digits.
The Wildcats were in a complete rebuild following a winless 2020 season under Kevin Sumlin, so expectations weren’t very high for the program heading into 2022. However, Arizona turned some heads with an impressive 38-20 road win over San Diego State on Saturday.
OFFENSE
On offense, Fisch took a deep dive into the transfer portal, beginning with the quarterback position.
The Wildcats’ signal-caller is COVID sophomore Jayden de Laura, who committed to Mike Leach at Washington State and remained with the Cougars following Leach’s departure for Starkville. He started both the 2020 and 2021 campaigns, earning Pac 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year honors a year ago. Last season at Wazzu, de Laura completed 227 of his 359 passes (63.2%) for 2,798 yards, 23 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.
He had a solid showing in San Diego last week, completing 22 of his 35 attempts (62.9%) for 299 yards with four touchdowns and a pick.
The leader of the Arizona run game is another transfer, DJ Williams. Williams began his career in the SEC at Auburn, where he played for two seasons. On the plains, Williams had 122 carries for 599 yards and five touchdowns. He transferred to play his 2021 season at Florida State, where he received only 10 carries for 47 yards and a score.
In his Arizona debut last week, Williams rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
Freshman Jonah Coleman also got some production on the ground last week, totaling 40 yards on 13 carries.
On the receiving end, the Wildcats’ most productive pass-catcher is another product of the transfer portal. Jacob Cowing had been a UTEP Miner for the last three seasons, catching 2,595 yards worth of passes for 13 touchdowns. Last Saturday, Cowing caught eight passes for 152 yards and three scores.
Dorian Singer and Tetairoa McMillan also had solid showings a week ago. Singer caught six passes for 57 yards while McMillan totaled 57 yards and a touchdown on three receptions.
Arizona finished 124th nationally last season in points per game, scoring an average of 17.2 points. They also averaged 357.3 yards per game a year ago, ranking 101st nationally. It is safe to say that this offensive unit has improved dramatically with Jayden de Laura under center.
DEFENSE
Defensively, the Wildcats are an experienced group, as they returned four of their top five tacklers from 2021.
Christian Young is a senior safety who finished second on the team last year in total tackles with 67. He totaled seven tackles last week against San Diego State. Jaxen Turner is another safety who returns for the U of A, whose 58 tackles ranked third on the team last season. He joined Young with seven tackles against San Diego State.
Christian Ronald-Wallace is a junior cornerback who tied for fourth on the team in tackles in 2021 with 48. He accounted for three tackles in San Diego last week. Jerry Roberts is another cornerback who led the team in tackles last week with 12.
Finally, Jalen Harris is a senior defensive lineman who tied Ronald-Wallace with 48 tackles last season. He totaled eight against the Aztecs.
Arizona’s defense in 2021 was led by veteran defensive coordinator Don Brown. The Wildcats gave up 31.4 points per game, ranking 101st nationally, but they were in the top half of the country in terms of yards allowed per game (372.5, 57th nationally).
The Arizona pass defense was one of the best in the country last season, averaging just 190.1 yards per game—14th nationally. Their run defense is where they struggled, however, ranking 99th nationally by giving up 182.4 yards per game.
Brown became the head coach at UMass after last season, and the Wildcats brought in longtime USC assistant Johnny Nansen as their new DC—his first defensive coordinator job at the college level. His unit swallowed up San Diego State last week, allowing just 232 total yards. The Aztecs completed just seven passes on 16 attempts for a measly 62 yards and compiled 170 rushing yards on 42 attempts.
It will be interesting to see how the Bulldog passing attack fares against a stout Arizona defense and how the run game will be incorporated.
State and Arizona kick off at 10 PM central time Saturday night on Fox Sports 1.
