The Arizona Wildcats like to work quickly on offense under new head coach Rich Rodriguez. The team tallied 624 yards against Toledo, which was the third-most in school history. This was not only a product of an offense with talented playmakers, but also one deep enough at the skill positions to run a lot of plays without fatiguing late.
The Oklahoma St. Cowboys also like to play at a high pace. They may have lost quarterback Brandon Weeden and wide receiver Justin Blackmon to the NFL, but that hardly stopped them from scoring 84 points in the season opener against lowly Savannah State.
WIth a young, inexperienced defense on the field, Rodriguez is working diligently with his staff to determine the best course of action for this weekend's showdown.
"What concerns you is the amount of plays the defense will be playing," said Rodriguez. "You have to weigh that into your factor about the tempo, but at the same time tempo is such a big part of what we do. If we change our personality offensively, we aren't going to help ourselves if we don't score. We have to do whatever we can to score and the defense has to do whatever they can to stop them. It sounds simplistic but it's the truth."
Does the coaching staff stick to their high-tempo offense, or do they attempt to slow down Oklahoma State and limit their number of possessions? We'll find out just what the Wildcats have in store for the Cowboys on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.
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