3 things to watch

1

Every action … UCLA’s defense got crushed last week by Washington State’s deep passing game. Will Arizona react by playing softer defense and forcing the Cougars to look underneath? History says it may not be likely.

Arizona coach Mike Stoops likes to employ an aggressive, blitzing defense that bears some similarities to what Oregon State did successfully against WSU. In fact, Stoops has admitted that his defense hasn’t been as aggressive as he’d like because poor offensive output hasn’t provided many opportunities to turn up the pressure. Against the Cougars, Stoops may not have a choice, and if the coach does pull from his defensive bag of tricks he could end up playing with fire.

2

Steptoe-ing the line: Arizona’s offense has struggled all year long, but if there’s one good way for the Wildcats to match up against the Cougars, it’s by using wide receiver/special teams ace Syndric Steptoe in as many ways as possible.

Steptoe is among the Pac-10 leaders in kickoff and punt returns, and even though Arizona hasn’t been that good at getting him the ball on offense, doing so probably provides for the greatest chance of an upset in this game.

3

Getting healthy again: The Cougars aren’t exactly out of the woods with injuries, but at least their sidelines won’t bear as much of a resemblance to a MASH unit as it did a week ago. The Cougars are getting a number of starters healthy, and even if they don’t start in this game, they could provide some much-needed depth.