Highly Anticipated Arizona Wildcats-Utah Utes Matchup Named Top Five Game
The Arizona Wildcats are coming off of their bye, giving them two weeks to prepare for a bout with one of the best team's they'll face all season in the Utah Utes.
Pro Football Focus is continuing to build up the hype of this game by naming it one of the five best matchups in college football this weekend.
The biggest storyline to watch heading into the game is considered to be the status of quarterback Cam Rising. Whether or not Rising plays has proven to be fairly unpredictable in the past.
"Most, including Utes players like wide receiver Dorian Singer, expected him to play and he was even seen warming up pregame. But just 20 minutes before kickoff, head coach Kyle Whittingham decided to roll with true freshman Isaac Wilson as Rising still wasn’t 100 percent," said PFF.
Utah has yet to lose a game this season and that includes two with Wilson under center, so it's not like the Wildcats can consider this game a walk in the park if the freshman goes again.
In his two starts, Wilson has gone 37-for-62 through the air for 446 yards with four touchdowns to three interceptions. While it's not the most threatening stat line, it has been enough to win games thanks to the Utes' impeccable defense.
It'll be up to Tetairoa McMillan to find a way to be the first wide receiver to truly break out against Utah this season. He was highlighted as the player to watch on the Arizona offense, and for good reason.
No receiver has had over five catches and only one has been able to crack 70 yards against the Utes this season. Last year, McMillan had eight catches for 116 yards and a score against them. That might night be enough to get the job done this year, though, as they'll likely need another player to step up against a better Utah squad.
The matchup to watch on the other side of the ball was how the Wildcats run defense will be able to stand up against Utes running back Micah Bernard.
While Arizona has struggled with mobile quarterbacks this year, they've done a little bit better of a job at containing running backs.
Bernard leads all Big 12 school with 456 rushing yards this season, but has only found the endzone once.
He's been on an absolute tear this year, though, coming off of a 182-yard game with around 120 in each of the last two before it. Containing him will be even more important if Rising ends up sitting out again.
This should be a highly entertaining game that will serve as a great barometer for both squads going forward.
