Coming off of a much needed bye week, Arizona looks to bounce back from a 31-7 loss to No. 23 Kansas State and address it's early season inefficiencies that have hindered the team's performance through the first three games. This week, the Wildcats face arguably their biggest challenge of the season as they'll head on the road this weekend to Salt Lake City to take on No. 10 Utah and open up Arizona's first conference season as part of the Big 12.
Each team knows each other fairly well as former Pac 12 league mates from 2011-2023 and the Utes will look to avenge their loss last year to the Wildcats in a game Arizona dominantly won 42-18. This effort snapped a six-game losing streak that stretched all the way back to 2016.
It could potentially be overblown, but there's been speculation on if the garbage time touchdown pass to star receiver Tetairoa McMillan in the final minute of the game may have caused some lingering frustration to Kyle Whittingham's group, fueling a little extra motivation for the Utes heading into this year's rematch.
While the game's spread is currently listing Utah as eight-point favorites, the margin has shifted all week and could potentially tighten more as Saturday approaches.
Both Arizona and Utah are coming into this matchup with something to prove, and here are three players from each team to keep an eye out for on Saturday.
Arizona
OT Rhino Tapa'atoutai - stats vs. Kansas State: 65 snaps
It's safe to say that really none of Arizona's offensive lineman had good games against KSU and most of that can be attributed to the fact it was the Wildcats first matchup against a Power-4 conference defensive line so the physicality brought at the position is definitely a sizable difference compared to New Mexico and NAU.
Now that the Wildcats were able to take great experience out of the game in Manhattan and have a bye week to look into the details, expect Arizona's o-line to show up more prepared against a cerebral Utes defensive front.
That Utah defensive front just so happens to be lead by star defensive end Van Fillinger who is leading the Big 12 in sacks with 5.5 and that's good for second in FBS.
When Arizona takes on Utah all eyes should be on how the Wildcats contain Fillinger and he'll most likely line up on the left side that is manned by redshirt freshman left tackle Rhino Tapa'atoutai.
If Tapa'atoutai was going to be tested as a young player who is starting his first season, it's certainly this game where Fillinger is one of the best pass rushers in the Big 12 and one of the better talents Tapa'atoutai will have to block against.
There isn't much tape on Tapa'atoutai still as he left midway through the New Mexico game with injury after having a solid showing, sat out the NAU game while healing, and then coming back to face K-State but playing a second straight game healthy is good for him as he stacks more experience and there's no better game to prove himself in.
LB Jacob Manu - stats vs. Kansas State: six tackles
The entire defense from a run stopping perspective was not great at all allowing 235 yards on the ground to Kansas State and this has honestly been an issue dating back to the New Mexico game where the Lobos ran for 211 yards on Arizona.
While this is a combination of opposing running backs and mobile quarterbacks having success, it culminates in a weakness defensively that can be exploited anytime someone plays the Wildcats.
Linebacker Jacob Manu is someone who struggled against K-State and generally hasn't looked the same as his usual self coming from a player that was first team All-Pac-12 just a year removed from today. Angles of pursuit and wrapping up ball carriers have been areas Manu has thrived at in the past but has started slow in to begin 2024.
Going up to a hostile environment at Rice-Eccles Stadium and facing a top-30 rushing team with the leading FBS and Big 12 rusher is a challenge that'll show what kind of team the Wildcats want to be coming out of a bye week, and for the red and blue to have success against this rushing attack, Manu will have to step up as the leader he is and fly around Utah's football field.
WR Montana Lemonious-Craig - stats vs. Kansas State: six catches, 75 receiving yards, 12.5 yards per reception
As Arizona continues it's search for someone other than McMillan to step up and take some of the pressure off of the No. 1 receiver, Montana Lemonious-Craig had a solid game against KSU will plenty of room to build upon it.
Lemonious-Craig's six catches and 75 yards were the most in each category since his career-best performance in 2022 where he caught eight passes for 119 receiving yards and a touchdown to help the Colorado Buffaloes win their only game that season.
Coming off easily his best performance as a Wildcat, Lemonious-Craig had a bye week to truly hone in on his skills and build off of a nice game going to Utah.
Both of the Utes' boundary cornerbacks are listed at 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-1 with Zemaiah Vaughn and Elijah Davis respectively, so the size matchup between these defenders and Arizona's top-two receivers will be a slugfest worth watching.
Utah
WR Dorian Singer - stats vs. Oklahoma State: seven receptions, 95 receiving yards
Former All-Pac-12 receiver with Arizona in 2022, receiver Dorian Singer has come a long way from that season in which he racked up 66 catches for 1,105 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Singer enjoyed an impressive campaign with the Wildcats and transferred to USC with an opportunity to catch passes from former Trojan heisman winner and now No. 1 overall draft pick to the Chicago Bears, Caleb Williams. This wasn't the best for him production wise as he only logged 24 catches for 289 receiving yards (22.2 rec. yards per game) along with three touchdowns.
After a disappointing stint with Southern California he transferred again to Utah and has caught a rhythm each of the last two weeks hauling in five passes for 66 yards against Utah State along with seven catches for 95 yards against Oklahoma State.
Utah's offense has a great amount of talent and while a Whittingham runs the ball a lot, look for Singer to have another high-volume game as a change of pace player.
RB Micah Bernard - stats vs. Oklahoma State: 25 carries, 182 rushing yards, 7.3 yards per carry
A sixth-year senior, running back Micah Bernard has been electric for Utah as the primary option for the first time in his career in a Utah offense that likes to run the football and is coming off of a career-high 182 rushing yards against the Cowboys.
Bernard has dealt with some injuries during his career that have hindered his ability and even forced him to miss all but two games last year, but to start 2024 he is off to the races with a Big 12 and FBS leading 456 rushing yards so far and is on pace to shatter his career-high of rushing yards which is 533 that he racked up in 2022.
He is sure to be heavily involved once more facing an Arizona defense that allows 172.7 rushing yards a game and has given opposing teams lots of success on the ground and coming out of the bye week is still figuring things out along it's defensive line.
CB Smith Snowden - stats vs. Oklahoma State: two tackles, three pass breakups
When you think of the Utes defense, offensive coordinator Dino Babers said it best when pointing out their "experience," but cornerback Smith Snowden is one of the younger starters and has really turned that next gear as of late.
Snowden played in 11 games last season only garnering seven tackles, but starting every game so far in 2024 as Utah's nickel corner he's accumulated 15 tackles with three for loss along with four passes defended and an interception.
All of his plays on the ball have occurred in each of the last two games against Utah State and Oklahoma State and with that should be an intriguing player to keep an eye on as Arizona continue to attempt getting a variety of other pass catchers involved.
Should receivers like Reymello Murphy or Jeremiah Patterson get more involved in the slot, they'll line up across a good player in Snowden.
