Star reporter Michael Lev breaks down key matchups, strategy and starters for both Arizona and Oregon State, and offers a prediction for Saturday afternoon's Pac-12 opener.
Khalil Tate's last game with 100 yards rushing came against Oregon State in November 2017, when he had 206 yards and two touchdowns.
Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily StarWho: Arizona Wildcats (1-2) at Oregon State Beavers (1-2)
Where: Reser Stadium, Corvallis, Oregon
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Watch: Pac-12 Arizona
Listen: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM
Follow: @TheWildcaster on Twitter / TheWildcaster on Facebook
“Whenever I’m in trouble,” UA QB Khalil Tate said of Ellison, “I look for him.” The savvy senior is averaging 20.1 yards per reception and had a career-best 111 yards last week. The Beavers need to identify where Ellison lines up and track him through traffic.
Tate threw seven passes in last year’s matchup. Five were completed. One was intercepted by Wilson, who has one of two OSU picks this year. He and fellow safety Jalen Moore are the Beavers’ leading tacklers — usually not a good sign for a defense.
Hough was brought in to enhance UA’s depth but has ended up playing major minutes with Jace Whittaker battling injuries. The grad transfer from UNLV has proved to be sticky in coverage. The challenge this week: tussling with a bigger receiver.
The older of OSU’s Hodgins brothers broke out in a big way against Nevada. Isaiah tied the school record with 14 receptions, good for 200 yards and two touchdowns. At 6-4, 208, the sophomore will have a size advantage on any UA corner.
Running back J.J. Taylor, right, and the Wildcats will look to get the ground game going in Corvallis, Oregon.
Mike Christy / Arizona Daily StarThe 2017 Wildcats’ run-heavy ways played out to the extreme in last year’s matchup, when Arizona ran on 55 of 62 plays and accumulated a school-record 534 rushing yards. The Cats are more balanced now — but the run should remain a part of the game plan. Tate had success last week using play action. OSU has allowed the most points and yards in the Pac-12, although the defense played better in the second half against Nevada.
This is where the Beavers have made the most growth under Jonathan Smith. OSU scored 30-plus points in each of its first three games, and leads the Pac-12 in total offense at 527 yards per game — up from 333.8 last season. Conor Blount is expected to start at QB with Jake Luton hurt, but expect a heavy dose of freshman RB Jermar Jefferson regardless. Can Arizona slow the league’s leading rusher?
Both teams have plenty of incentive to start 1-0 in the Pac-12 after struggling in non-conference play. Given Arizona’s early-season issues, Oregon State probably views this game as the most winnable one on its conference schedule. OSU also expects a raucous crowd with school having started Monday. In what should be a shootout, Arizona has a little more firepower.
Offense
WR 18 Cedric Peterson 5-11 193 Jr.
SLOT 6 Shun Brown 5-10 188 Sr.
LT 58 Layth Friekh 6-5 297 Sr.
LG 76 Cody Creason 6-4 294 Jr.
C 50 Josh McCauley 6-3 292 So.
RG 54 Bryson Cain 6-4 306 So.
RT 78 Donovan Laie 6-4 318 Fr.
TE 81 Bryce Wolma 6-3 252 So.
WR 19 Shawn Poindexter 6-5 218 Sr.
RB 21 J.J. Taylor 5-6 184 So.
QB 14 Khalil Tate 6-2 215 Jr.
Defense
DE 12 JB Brown 6-3 263 So.
NT 99 Dereck Boles 6-2 306 Sr.
DT 71 Abraham Maiava 6-2 300 Jr.
STUD 14 Kylan Wilborn 6-2 248 So.
MLB 7 Colin Schooler 6-0 236 So.
WLB 1 Tony Fields II 6-1 230 So.
SPUR 31 Tristan Cooper 6-1 194 Jr.
BANDIT 3 Jarrius Wallace 6-1 180 So.
BC 2 Lorenzo Burns 5-10 181 So.
FC 8 Tim Hough 5-11 195 Sr.
FS 21 Isaiah Hayes 6-0 191 So.
Offense
WR 18 Timmy Hernandez 6-0 198 Sr.
WR 8 Trevon Bradford 6-0 179 Jr.
LT 73 Blake Brandel 6-7 307 Jr.
LG 63 Gus Lavaka 6-4 353 Jr.
C 52 Sumner Houston 6-2 287 Sr.
RG 76 Yanni Demogerontas 6-3 287 Sr.
RT 67 Trent Moore 6-4 289 Sr.
TE 10 Isaiah Smalls 6-4 222 Fr.
WR 17 Isaiah Hodgins 6-4 208 So.
QB 2 Conor Blount 6-1 204 So.
RB 22 Jermar Jefferson 5-10 211 Fr.
Defense
DE 90 Isaac Hodgins 6-0 265 Fr.
DT 97 Kalani Vakameilalo 6-3 322 Sr.
DE 72 Miki Fifita 6-4 296 Jr.
OLB 49 A. Hughes-Murray 6-2 245 Jr.
ILB 32 Jonathan Willis 6-1 225 Sr.
ILB 41 Shemar Smith 6-1 237 Jr.
OLB 97 Kee Whetzel 6-3 206 So.
CB 4 Dwayne Williams 5-9 175 Sr.
S 2 Shawn Wilson 5-9 193 Jr.
S 33 Jalen Moore 6-0 208 Jr.
CB 23 Isaiah Dunn 6-0 183 So.
Passing
Tate 54-99-2 Cmp-Att-Int, 887 Yds, 6 TDs, 75 Lg
Rodriguez 6-7-0 Cmp-Att-Int, 49 Yds, 0 TDs, 16 Lg
Rushing
Taylor 3 games, 44 Car., 193 Yds, 1 TD, 4.4 Avg
Brightwell 3 games, 31 Car., 150 Yds, 0 TD, 4.8 Avg
Smith 2 games, 15 Car., 62 Yds, 1 TD, 4.1 Avg
Mariscal 3 games, 9 Car., 60 Yds, 1 TD, 6.7 Avg
Tate 3 games, 19 Car., 40 Yds, 2 TDs, 2.1 Avg
Berryhill 3 games, 1 Car., 17 Yds, 0 TD, 17.0 Avg
Receiving
Poindexter 3 games, 12 Rec., 277 Yds, 1 TD, 23.0 Avg
Ellison 3 games, 12 Rec., 241 Yds, 2 TDs, 20.0 Avg
Brown 3 games, 15 Rec., 181 Yds, 2 TDs, 12.0 Avg
Defense
Schooler 34 Tk, 0 Sk, 0 Int, 0 FR
Fields 24 Tk, 0 Sk, 0 Int, 0 FR
Hayes 20 Tk, 0 Sk, 0 Int, 0 FR
Flannigan-Fowles 13 Tk, 0 Sk, 0 Int, 0 FR
Pandy 12 Tk, 1 Sk, 0 Int, 0 FR
Passing
Blount 39-61-1 Cmp-Att-Int, 570 Yds, 4 TDs, 49 Lg
Luton 28-45-1 Cmp-Att-Int, 372 Yds, 1 TD, 51 Lg
Rushing
Jefferson 3 games, 55 Car., 391 Yds, 6 TDs, 7.1 Avg
Pierce 2 games, 22 Car., 259 Yds, 3 TDs, 11.8 Avg
Bradford 2 games, 3 Car., 23 Yds, 0 TD, 7.7 Avg
Baylor 2 games, 6 Car., 18 Yds, 0 TD, 3.0 Avg
Colletto 2 games, 4 Car., 14 Yds, 0 TD, 3.5 Avg
Flemings 1 game, 1 Car., 10 Yds, 0 TD, 10 Avg
Receiving
Hodgins 3 games, 20 Rec., 299 Yds, 2 TDs, 14.9 Avg
Hernandez 3 games, 15 Rec., 167 Yds, 0 TD, 11.1 Avg
Bradford 2 games, 9 Rec., 151 Yds, 3 TDs, 16.8 Avg
Defense
Moore 20 Tk, 0 Sk, 0 Int, 0 FR
Wilson 18 Tk, 0 Sk, 1 Int, 0 FR
Willis 17 Tk, 1 Sk, 0 Int, 0 FR
Williams 17 Tk, 0 Sk, 0 Int, 0 FR
Smith 16 Tk, 0 Sk, 0 Int, 0 Fr
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