EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, November 17^th, the (5-5) Arizona Wildcats will be on the road to take on the (9-1) Washington State Cougars.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Washington State 35.7 – Arizona 24.4 with an over/under of 60.0.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of Washington State 43 – Arizona 33.

Mark is predicting a final score of Washington State 38 – Arizona 31.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Washington State 392.3 YPG > Arizona 247.7 YPG

Rushing offense: Arizona 206.4 YPG > Washington State 77.7 YPG

Scoring offense: Washington State 37.6 PPG > Arizona 30.8 PPG

Scoring defense: Washington State 22.1 PPG > Arizona 28.1 PPG

Passing defense: Washington State 197.2 YPG > Arizona 248.7 YPG

Rushing defense: Washington State 125.4 YPG > Arizona 169.1 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Arizona +0.2 > Washington State -0.2

Summary:

Arizona is (5-5) with wins over Southern Utah, Oregon State, California, #19 Oregon, and Colorado.  They were defeated by BYU, Houston, USC, Utah, and UCLA.  Arizona is coming off their bye week and have had two weeks to prepare for Colorado.  In their last game, Khalil Tate threw 5 touchdowns and Arizona rushed for 216 yards in a 42-34 victory over Colorado.  The Wildcats rank 56^th in points per game (30.8) and 74^th in scoring defense (28.1 PPG).  Khalil Tate has completed 56% of his passes for 1,954 yards with 19 touchdowns to 6 interceptions.  J.J. Taylor is the nation’s fourth leading rusher with 1,221 yards and 6 touchdowns.  The Wildcats’ defense ranks 91^st against the pass (248.7 YPG) and 71^st against the run (169.1 YPG).

Washington State is (9-1) with victories over Wyoming, San Jose State, Easter Washington, Utah, Oregon State, #12 Oregon, #24 Stanford, California, and Colorado.  Their lone defeat was a 39-36 loss to USC in week four.  Washington State forced three turnovers and defeated Colorado 31-7 last week.  The Cougars rank 17^th in points per game (37.6) and 34^th in scoring defense (22.1 PPG).  Quarterback Gardner Minshew has completed 69% of his passes for a nation leading 3,852 yards with 29 touchdowns to 7 interceptions.  Washington State has struggled to run the ball averaging only 77.7 yards per game.  Minshew has no shortage of weapons as Washington State has four receivers with over 500 yards.  The Cougars’ defense ranks 34^th against the pass (197.2 YPG) and 26^th against the run (125.4 YPG).

Bottom Line:

Khalil Tate is arguably the most electrifying dual threat quarterback in the country but the Arizona offense runs through J.J. Taylor.  Gardner Minshew should be able to pick apart a Wildcats team that has allowed 30 or more points in three of their last four games.  Arizona will stay competitive early with their great rushing attack but they simply won’t be able to keep up with the lethal passing game of the Cougars.

Washington State wins 37-23

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