The Arizona Wildcats look to start another winning streak on Saturday afternoon in Pullman, Washington. The Washington State Cougars (1-5, 0-3 Pac-10) are a pass-oriented offense, with quarterback Jeff Tuel averaged 245 yards a game in the air this season.
Tuel may pose issues for the Wildcat defense who gave up 393 passing yards to Ryan Katz in last weekend's upset loss to Oregon State. While the Cougars are not nearly as talented as the Beavers, Arizona must still account for Marquess Wilson, a talented freshman wide receiver who has already caught 515 yards on the season.
The Wildcats need to get back to basics, which is running the ball with Nic Grigsby, playing strong pass defense, and forcing the Cougars into uncomfortable downs - 3rd and 8, 2nd and 13. With an attitude of stopping the big plays and forcing the small ones, the Wildcats will find themselves on the winning side of this matchup.
More concerning, however, is the lethargy that Arizona has been exuding since their victory over Iowa. After pulling out a 10-9 snoozefest against California, it was widely believed that the Wildcats would bounce back. They haven't, and the coaching staff needed to take steps to fix these issues. What occurs on the field today will determine just how successful those steps were.
SB Nation Arizona prediction: Arizona 52, Washington State 21