College Football Insider Has Upsetting Prediction for Arizona Wildcats Finale
It has been no secret the Arizona Wildcats have had issues on defense this year during their first campaign in the Big 12.
Ranking 105th in college football in stoppage rate, opponents have been able to score early and often this season on the Wildcats' porous defense under first-year head coach Brent Brennan.
It has been a drastic decline in production from the previous campaign, a season that saw the program win 10 games while being one of the best teams in the now-defunct Pac-12.
One of the biggest eye-openers on the defense has been their lack of ability to stop the run, allowing 165.7 rushing yards per game, ranking 14th in the Big 12.
It is this facet of their game that has seen a college football insider make an upsetting prediction for Saturday's game.
Manny Navarro of The Athletic gave his weekly predictions in a recent article for the publication and predicted Arizona State Sun Devils running back Cam Skattebo to rush for 190 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday's contest.
"It’s not a guarantee, but Arizona State is in great shape to grab a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game with a win at rival Arizona on Saturday," writes Navarro. "Cam Skattebo has played a huge role in the Sun Devils’ rise and is averaging 146.5 yards per game against FBS teams with a .500 record or worse. The Wildcats are 4-7 and rank 93rd against the run. ASU coach Kenny Dillingham is going to give his workhorse back the ball early and often. Skattebo, who began his career at Sacramento State, runs for 190-plus yards and two touchdowns."
Stopping the run has been a huge issue for Arizona, though most of the damage has come from group efforts with only four rushers totaling 100 or more yards against the Wildcats in a single game.
UCF Knights running back RJ Harvey had the most success against Arizona's rushing defense this year, tallying 184 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries for 8.4 average yards per attempt.
It has not been a great campaign for Arizona on the defensive end, and many are just thankful the season is finally coming to an end.
With one game left on the horizon, this prediction from Navarro has a high likelihood of coming to fruition with Skattebo having the ability to run wild on Saturday.
