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Stanford Cardinal vs Arizona Wildcats Football Preview

The Oregon Ducks might lead the Pac-10 Conference, but that doesn’t mean this Saturday’s prime-time collision between the Arizona Wildcats and the Stanford Cardinal won’t be hugely important.

The Wildcats took down Iowa earlier this season and enter week 10 with only one loss. That single setback was a 29-27 defeat against Oregon State, the one team that has made coach Mike Stoops’ defense look bad. Arizona is allowing just 14.4 points per game, and that total is inflated because the Wildcats gave up eight points earlier this season (six to Iowa, two to Toledo) that had nothing to do with their defense. Arizona is rugged, particularly up front and against the run, so if the visitors from the desert can stand tall against Stanford’s power running game, they’ll have an excellent chance to win. Stanford running back Stepfan Taylor is averaging exactly five yards per carry and is on pace to top 1,000 yards for the season (he has 728 right now). If Arizona can take Taylor away and make the Cardinal one-dimensional, they’ll be in good position to limit Stanford’s point production and avoid a track meet they’re probably not suited to win. Arizona needs to keep this game in the high 20s or very low 30s; anything beyond that and the Cardinal would get the edge.

Stanford, on the other hand, would welcome a calculator-type game in the 40s because Arizona’s quarterback situation is slightly unsettled, albeit not for the worst set of reasons. Arizona has won the past three weeks with a backup quarterback, Matt Scott. The last two weeks, he started in place of injured No. 1 signal caller Nick Foles, who got injured against Washington State on Oct. 16 and was replaced by Scott in the middle of that contest. Scott subsequently led Arizona to wins over Washington and UCLA.

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Scott showed an impressive mix of speed and accuracy as he kept the Wildcats afloat, so the re-insertion of Foles – who is viewed as the likely starter against Stanford – could actually disrupt Arizona’s sense of timing on offense. The Wildcats might be better served by starting Scott and bringing Foles off the bench if the first quarter doesn’t go very well. By starting Foles, Stoops and the rest of the U of A coaching staff are taking something of a risk. This is why Stanford – with proven quarterback Andrew Luck – is more likely to flourish on offense and therefore thrive in a very high-scoring affair. Luck can establish the passing game and thwart Arizona’s attempt to take away Taylor. If Stanford tries to throw the ball early on, that might be the approach which will work for the Cardinal under coach Jim Harbaugh.

Arizona’s physical defense against Stanford’s physical offense is the prime attraction, but Zona’s two-headed quarterback against the Cardinal’s suspect defense might be the matchup that decides the outcome. Whatever the matter, fasten your seat belts on a night when second place in the Pac-10 – and a possible at-large BCS bowl bid – are both on the line.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer