After sweeping their non-conference opponents, the Ducks will take on their first Pac-12 squad in the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday.

Arizona is the only winless team left in the conference, having dropped their first three games of the 2021 season to BYU, San Diego State and Northern Arizona.

Arizona wasn’t expected to be overly competitive this year with Pac-12 opponents, but not many thought they would lose to Northern Arizona for the first time since 1932 — a team coming off a 26-point loss to Sam Houston State and a 27-point loss to South Dakota.

With these factors in play, Arizona was favored by 23 points and paid NAU half a million dollars to come play them in Tucson. With this loss, the Wildcats’ losing streak sits at 15, with the last win coming in 2019 at Colorado.
The Arizona defense isn’t a strength, but it’s given the team opportunities to win. Allowing 27.6 points per game, they also have four sacks and five turnovers on the season.

Senior linebacker Anthony Pandy leads the team with 25 total tackles, 12 of them solo. Pandy also forced a fumble last week against NAU. Defensive lineman Kyon Barrs has also been a standout with a team-leading 2.5 sacks and 13 total tackles. The sophomore has notched at least a half sack in each game this season.

The Wildcats defense still needs some work, but it’s not a glaring weakness — in stark contrast to the Arizona offense that has mustered only five touchdowns through three games.

Averaging only 16.3 points per game and utilizing three quarterbacks already, the offense has been a soft spot all season.

Going into last week’s game, head coach Jedd Fisch said he was “completely unsure” about Arizona’s quarterback situation. The Wildcats have been switching back and forth between two quarterbacks this season, and it has been called the worst quarterback situation in the Pac-12.

Quarterback Gunner Cruz had a decent first game against BYU, throwing for 336 yards, one touchdown and one interception. In the midst of a quarterback battle with his teammate Will Plummer, Cruz had the opportunity to solidify himself as a starter against San Diego State.

But Cruz never found a rhythm, leading the team to only seven points off 11 drives as he was replaced by Plummer in the late third quarter, who then finished the game.

Plummer got the start against NAU.

Cruz has more yards (406) and a better completion percentage (68.8%) on the year than Plummer, who has 309 yards off 53.7% passing. Both quarterbacks have two touchdown passes and two picks on the year.

Another weakness of the Arizona side has been the run game. With no rushing touchdowns so far this season, there hasn’t been a standout in the backfield. Their leading rusher is Drake Anderson with 115 yards on 25 carries –– followed by Michael Wiley, rushing 23 times for 69 yards.

One bright spot for the Arizona offense and a player to watch on Saturday is junior receiver Stanley Berryhill III, who is having a breakout year. Leading the team in receptions (28) and receiving yards (263), Berryhill III also has four carries for 46 yards.

With a career high already in receptions, he is 26 yards away from his career-high in yards –– which he will try to earn in Autzen on Saturday.

Going against another opponent in a clear mismatch, the Ducks matchup extremely well against a Wildcat team that can’t run the ball and has no true starting quarterback.

Arizona, coming off one of its worst losses in program history, will have its toughest task of the season against the No. 3 Ducks.