There will be points, oh yes, in UW-Arizona matchup

Thankfully no one on the Washington Huskies uttered the line, “They are the best 2-5 team in the country,” when speaking about playing the Arizona Wildcats.

But tonight’s game at Husky Stadium is far from an assured win for the 5-2 Huskies.

UW coach Steve Sarkisian labeled the Wildcats “extremely dangerous.”

Four of Arizona’s losses came to curently third-ranked Oklahoma State (37-14), No. 4 Stanford (37-10), No. 7 Oregon (48-41) and No. 20 USC (48-41). And all of those games were played in a row.

There likely isn’t a team in the Pacific-12 Conference that could navigate that stretch of games unscathed.

The Wildcats then followed that up with a 37-27 loss to Oregon State in Corvallis. The five consecutive losses led to the firing of coach Mike Stoops.

Arizona had a bye week under interim head coach and former defensive coordinator Tim Kish, then destroyed UCLA, 48-12, on Oct. 20.

While the Bruins aren’t of the same caliber as Arizona’s previous opponents, there was a difference in the way the Wildcats played.

“It just looked like they loosened up, relaxed and went and had fun playing football,” Sarkisian said. “It was evident, even on the film. … They looked very elusive, free and they played fast. So it’ll be a great challenge.”

Not having the emotionally combustible Stoops turning himself red-then-purple in anger helps the situation. Kish is an understated veteran coach who has spent his time behind the scenes.

His first order of business when he took over was simple.

“The most important one to me was that the kids went out there and enjoyed playing football again, that was the mantra when we left for the football game on Thursday night,” Kish said.

It started in practice.

“I think that first practice under Kish, they just put the ball down and scrimmaged for 40 plays,” senior quarterback Nick Foles said.

It’s not like Kish is bringing stand-up comedians to practice. He’s just doing things a little differently than Stoops, who could be dictatorial at times.

“The coaches are doing really good job of interacting, putting more on players, putting more confidence in them,” Foles said. “It gives the players a sense to make more ownership in the team.”

An example of that would be allowing Foles to script 13 of the first 18 plays in the game against UCLA. Those 13 plays led to two touchdowns and over 150 yards of offense.

“It’s just making it a little more exciting to be out at practice to the sometimes monotony of each day on the football field,” Kish said. “There are some things the guys have really embraced. They got some smiles on their faces when they are out there. So obviously we’re doing something right.”

There were plenty of smiles against UCLA. Arizona rolled up a season-high 573 yards of total offense.

“We are just playing loose,” Foles said.

It’s a frightening prospect to Sarkisian and his staff. Washington has been a sieve on defense for most of the season, not being particularly great at stopping either the run or the pass.

“Nick Foles is a guy that can throw it all over the field,” Sarkisian said. “But I think now, in all the years I’ve been preparing for Arizona, this is the best they’ve run the football, especially last week versus UCLA.”

Foles is fourth in the nation and first in the Pac-12 in passing yards per game at 363 and he has talented big-play receivers in Juron Criner (six receiving TDs) and Dan Buckner.

But the running game won’t allow Washington to just drop six defensive backs into coverage.

“They have committed themselves to (the running game) in the sense that I think they had over 40 attempts last week,” Sarkisian said. “So it’s rejuvenated because they are running the ball. It’s easy to say we’ve got to run the ball better and then you only have 15 attempts, it’s hard to run the ball better. They committed themselves to it last week against UCLA and so we will have to see what their plan is versus us as the game gets going.’’

For Kish and Foles, the game plan is simple – have fun.

“With everything that’s happened, they just wanted us to go back to having fun,” Foles said. “That’s what we’ve done.”

Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483 ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/uwsports

HUSKIES GAMEDAY

ARIZONA (2-5, 1-4 PACIFIC-12 CONFERENCE) AT WASHINGTON (5-1, 3-0 PAC-12)

7:30 p.m., Husky Stadium

TV: Root Sports. Radio: 950-AM, 850-AM.

The series: The Huskies lead the series, 17-9-1, but Arizona has won three of the past four. Arizona crushed the Huskies, 44-14, last year with backup QB Matt Scott starting. Two years ago at Husky Stadium, the Huskies rallied for a 36-33 win thanks to an interception that bounced off the foot of a receiver Delashaun Dean and into the arms of Mason Foster, who returned it for a touchdown.

What to watch: It will be two good offenses taking on two not-so-good defenses. Shootout? Yep, not even the predicted cold will keep these teams from moving the ball or scoring points. Arizona appears to be a different team mentally under interim coach Tim Kish. The Wildcats played loose and free in a trouncing of UCLA last week. Quarterback Nick Foles leads the Pac-12 in yards passing per game at 363, and he has solid receivers in Juron Criner and Dan Buckner. Washington’s pass defense had been ranked last in the Pac-12 almost the entire season, just recently ascending to 11th. The Huskies struggled against Eastern Washington and Hawaii. Arizona’s passing attack might be even better. But what makes things more difficult is the recent return of Arizona’s run game – the Wildcats rushed for 254 yards against UCLA. But while Arizona will likely be putting up points, the Huskies will almost certainly be matching the Wildcats and maybe scoring more. Arizona comes into the game with the worst pass defense in the Pac-12, and 10th worst rushing defense. The Wildcats will also be without starting cornerback Shaquille Richardson and nickel back Jourdon Grandon (both suspended). That should give UW quarterback Keith Price plenty of options. The Huskies will also have tailback Chris Polk ready to counter. Polk was the one player who didn’t seem overwhelmed last week against Stanford. It comes down to which defense can slow, not stop, the other team’s offense the best.

What’s at stake: Neither team is going to compete for a division title. Washington will be bowl eligible with a win. But the Huskies have higher aspirations than six wins. Arizona can still become bowl eligible, and a win over Washington would go along way.

THE PICK: Washington, 42-31.

PRIME NUMBERS

ARIZONA

No. Name (position)Ht./Wt.Year

2Keola Antolin (RB)5-8/195Senior

Always dangerous running draws or catching out of the backfield, he has given UW fits in the past.

7Cortez Johnson (CB)6-2/190Freshman

He’s never played a single snap in a college football game and will likely be starting at cornerback.

8Nick Foles (QB)6-5/240Senior

He makes the entire offense go, and now he’s getting a chance to help in the playcalling.

76Kyle Quinn (C)6-3/300Junior

He’s the only starting offensive lineman who has any experience from last season – exactly one game.

82Juron Criner (WR)6-4/215Senior

An emergency appendectomy slowed him down early in the season, but he’s back to being a top playmaker.

WASHINGTON

13Will Shamburger (S)6-0/192Sophomore

Saw plenty of playing time in the loss to Stanford. His solid play means he’ll see more against Arizona.

15Jermaine Kearse (WR)6-2/208Senior

An old ghost – dropped passes – came back to haunt him against Stanford, but Kearse said it was just one bad game.

17Keith Price (QB)6-1/195Sophomore

He had his worst game of the season last week, he vowed to “be better” this week.

28Quinton Richardson (CB)6-0/203Senior

It’s been a lost senior year so far, but he can start salvaging it by playing better against Arizona.

93Andrew Hudson (DE)6-3/231Freshman

He could be seeing plenty of playing time up front with the hope of providing a pass rush.

Ryan Divish, staff writer