The Pacific-10 Conference game of the week features two teams not commonly associated with the word “powerhouse.” Washington State and Arizona, two squads chosen to finish at the bottom of the conference, square off in Tucson, Ariz., Saturday at Arizona Stadium. Both teams are 3-0 after sporting convincing wins over California and UNLV last week.
The Cougars are led by quarterback Jason Gesser, who threw for 432 yards and four touchdowns against the Golden bears. Safety Lamont Thompson leads the Washington State defense, and set a Cougar career record for interceptions with his 15th career pick against Cal.
“Gesser is a veteran who knows the system,” Arizona head coach John Mackovic said. “He knows where to put the ball, he knows the checks, and he knows what to do. They really have a nice attack.”
Two of the last four games between the two teams have ended in overtime, with the Wildcats winning last year’s barnburner, 53-47, in three overtimes. With both teams going to the grudge match with a perfect record, more of the same may be on the way.
“It has been an interesting series for the last several years,” Mackovic added. “The games have been high scoring with lots of action. They are going to try to score 35 points or more. They are going to run, pass and do everything that they can do to win the game.
“Knowing that they are going to play that way, we are going to play that way.”