**Editor’s Note: Each week during football season, we feature an essay from the opponent’s student newspaper on why Oregon will lose. This week’s edition, however is in a modified form, being that Roberto Miguel Payne, the sports editor at the The Daily Wildcat, already predicted an Arizona victory when the two met in October.
In October, Payne wrote, “Which is why Arizona won’t stress out if Mariota goes off.
You let him get his and instead key in on his weapons like Devon Allen and Royce Freeman. Limiting those guys will go a long way to an Arizona win.
You heard it here first: Arizona will upset Oregon 38-35 on a late fourth quarter field goal from UA kicker Casey Skowron on Thursday night. It’ll be the kind of signature, national television win the Wildcats desperately need to make this season memorable.”
With that said, Payne answered a roundtable of questions, offering insight about a team Oregon hasn’t seen for two months now.**
There won’t be many changes from that fateful game in Autzen. The one huge difference I expect to see is Nick Wilson getting the lion’s share of rushing touches. That upset of the Ducks featured both Wilson and Terris Jones-Grigsby going crazy. I can’t see Jones-Grigsby playing much this go around.
What’s more pivotal for Arizona in this contest. Establishing a rushing attack of its own or stopping Oregon’s like it did in their last matchup?
With the way this Arizona defense has been playing, I’m going to go with stopping the run. The defense has stepped up in a huge way lately, making this team that much more deadly.
Will Arizona win?
I haven’t been more torn over an Arizona football game this season, and that’s saying something because I picked Arizona to take down Oregon earlier this year. I could see Arizona squeaking out another win or Oregon beating the Wildcats by 20. At the end of the day, an opportunistic Arizona defense has given the program a better chance to win. I say Arizona 31, Oregon 28 on a Casey Skowron field goal.
