Arizona Wildcats 6-3 Overall (4-2 Conference)

This Week’s Score: Cal 24 – Arizona 16

Next Week’s Opponent: Oregon

While the loss to Cal may leave a bad taste in the mouths of the Wildcats’ fan base heading into the showdown against Oregon, Arizona is in fact still in complete control of their own destiny.

If the Wildcats were to win out, they would finish the season at 7-2 in conference play, and would hold the tiebreaker over all of the other potential two-loss teams in Stanford, Oregon, and Oregon State.

Easier said than done, of course; high powered Oregon, and than road games against your hated rival and USC. That said, what more could you ask for than control of your own destiny with just three games remaining in the season?

Needless to say, the offense is going to have to be a lot better this Saturday. The Wildcats mustered up only 274 yards of total offense against the Bears, also struggling badly on 3rd down efficiency (3 for 13). Nick Foles (25/41, 201 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) and Keola Antolin (19 carries, 78 yards, 1 TD) both had pedestrian days. Nic Grigsby’s return will have to re-spark the offense.

The defense was solid as usual, and the huge run by Shane Vereen at the end of the game made the final stat line look a lot worse than it actually was. That said, having a 61-yard touchdown run against as the last thing fresh on your mind isn’t the optimal way to head into Oregon’s dangerous rushing attack.

It was an ugly game that could have gone Arizona’s way had a few bounces went differently, but the Wildcats can’t afford to dwell. They have proven that they can play with and beat top teams in the conference (having done so @Oregon State and against Stanford), and they need to focus on that and stay confident heading into the huge battle on Saturday.