The Arizona Wildcats need a win in the worst way imaginable on Saturday. Despite a strong 3-0 start, back-to-back tough losses to begin Pac-12 play have frustrated the Wildats and their fans. With UA currently in a brutal stretch of schedule -- Saturday marks the fourth-straight week against an FBS ranked opponent -- a win at Stanford would be huge for Rich Rodriguez's program heading into a bye week.
While most teams in the game today prefer a spread offense, the Cardinal like to grind it out and play in a pro-style offense. They lined up three- and four-wide under Andrew Luck, but that has not been the case with quarterback Josh Nunes in 2012.
As former UCLA coach and current Pac-12 Network analyst Rick Neuheisel explained to Anthony Gimino of the Tucson Citizen, he is intrigued to see how UA's 3-3-5 stack defense works against Stanford's powerful running game:
"Well, I can't wait for the Stanford-Arizona game. That's when we're going to find out how that 3-3-5 works. Stanford, as they try to develop a brand-new quarterback, is going to run the power. And they are going to run the power until your nose bleeds. We're going to find how that 3-3-5 lines up against a power offense."
Given the youth and inexperience Arizona has on the defensive line, it's tough to see the Wildcats being very successful against star tailback Stepfan Taylor. Perhaps new defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel will have something planned, but it's hard to be optimistic given the struggles the past two weeks.