Arizona got it's season back on track when it went into Salt Lake City and defeated then-No. 10 Utah in a 23-10 upset in an environment the Utes don't typically lose in marking a new journey for the Wildcats. After a sluggish start to the year head coach Brent Brennan stated that sometimes teams will take a couple weeks to get going and now that the Cats knocked off the favorite to win the Big 12, they are poised for big things in Brennan's first year manning this ship.
One thing that's worth noting is the parity seen around the league so far. Oklahoma State looked to be the top contender beginning 3-0 with Utah before losing to the Utes by three points and then crumbling to Kansas State 42-20. UCF looked to be a potential sneaky team as well before getting completely boat raced by a Colorado team that's been playing down to competition, but now the Buffaloes look ready to make some noise.
The Big 12 will be very competitive in 2024 and the results are sure to come down to the wire. On paper the Utah game initially appears like Arizona is heading back to it's 2023 form but for the Cats, they'll have to be weary of the high-flying offense coming to Tucson on Saturday as Arizona looks to move to 4-1 and 2-0 in conference play. The Red Raiders in question have won three straight playing fast and furious and that kind of quick striking tempo could prove volatile for a Wildcats defense that feels like they found their footing a week ago.
Texas Tech has seen success when matching up against Arizona in the past holding the 26-5-2 all-time lead, but it was actually UA that got the upper land last time around holding off TTU 28-14 at Arizona Stadium in 2019.
The Wildcats have been favored the whole week and the spread currently stands at -6.5 with an O/U of 64 and there is the making of a classic shootout come Saturday with the higher performing defense putting their team over the hump.
Both teams will put their undefeated conference records on the line with only one coming out on top and here are three players to watch on each team that may show out Saturday night.
Arizona
RB Kedrick Reescano - stats vs. Utah: seven carries, 73 rushing yards, 10.4 yards per carry
With junior running back Rayshon "Speedy" Luke announcing he'll redshirt the rest of the 2024 season, the Wildcats are expected to double down on their top two options in running backs Quali Conley and Kedrick Reescano.
Conley is not only the more experienced of the two but the primary option out of the backfield rushing for 322 yards (5.9 YPC) and four rushing touchdowns along with being quite productive as a receiving option as well catching 11 passes for 83 receiving yards.
While Conley starts for the committee, Reescano has been sneakily showing his ability to be an explosive change of pace back to give the offense some new life in drives they need it the most. Twice now Reescano has received carries in tight ballgames that he took for an explosive run (20-plus yards) and with that must be continuing to gain the confidence of the coaching staff.
On the season Reescano has 147 rushing yards (9.2 YPC) and a touchdown and the touches he receives may be on the incline as Arizona gets comfortable with the running backs in the room.
TE Keyan Burnett - stats vs. Utah: five receptions, 76 receiving yards, one touchdown
After weeks of Arizona trying to find options offensively outside of superstar WR Tetairoa McMillan, have the Cats finally found one?
Tight end Keyan Burnett certainly made his case and may have stamped that conversation shut with his 76 yard performance and 35-yard touchdown catch which was not only his first collegiate score but also put the Utes away for good.
This effort paid off weeks of training camp hype that projected Burnett as well as the tight ends in general to get more looks in the offense this season, and with tight ends coach Matt Adkins taking over play calling duties that may have played a role in the breakout game.
In what projects as a shootout come Saturday night against Texas Tech, expect the Wildcats offense to be passing, a lot, and with that bringing more volume potentially the way of Burnett.
DB Genesis Smith - stats vs. Utah: three tackles, one interception
Arizona's secondary is loaded with talent and big names across the landscape of college football like one cornerback Tacario Davis who won Big 12 defensive player of the week honors on the back of a seven tackle and five pass breakup performance against Utah.
Quietly though one of the more consistent and underrated players in the unit has been sophomore defensive back Genesis Smith who made a key interception putting Arizona in Utah territory. Earlier in the season Smith also picked off New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier when the Wildcats were searching for a spark, and Smith rewarded them with a big play.
There's potential that defensive back Treydan Stukes who plays the similar star role to Smith may miss this contest with an injury suffered against Utah, and if that's the case then Smith will be asked to step up and play his most meaningful reps of his young career.
In a game where the Wildcats defense will go against a Texas Tech team that wants to air the ball out, that's more opportunity for a player like Smith to make his presence felt once more.
Texas Tech
QB Behren Morton - stats vs. Cincinnati: 251 passing yards, 66% completion percentage, two passing touchdowns
Whenever an offense has the ability to move down the field and score points like Texas Tech does there has to be key running that supercar and for the Red Raiders it's quarterback Behren Morton.
Morton is a fourth year player that has played here and there in each of his years but after going with a different starter each year the Red Raiders finally turned to Morton as the starter and he's showing them fortune for that decision.
In 2024 Morton has thrown for 1,426 yards with 14 passing touchdowns to only two interceptions. That ratio is exactly why the offense has been so tough to stop as their ball security is phenomenal.
Just as much credit to this offensive success goes to the Red Raiders offensive line who have only allowed five sacks or around one sack per game. In games such as the Washington State game where the pass protection is expected to hold up for 58 pass attempts makes the stat more astonishing.
The Wildcats are coming off of a matchup where they allowed 280 passing yards to Utes quarterback Isaac Wilson but he was also picked off twice and sacked three times in a performance defensive coordinator Duane Akina was surely fired up for.
RB Tahj Brooks - stats vs. Cincinnati: 32 carries, 172 rushing yards, 5.4 yards per carry, two rushing touchdowns
While Texas Tech throws the football up there with the most in the nation, there's a certain bell cow running back by the name of Tahj Brooks that keeps defenses honest and quite frankly runs through that honesty.
An All-Big-12 running back a year ago, Brooks chose to play another year with the Red Raiders and is keeping up that all conference play he standardized in 2023. In four games as he missed the Washington State game, Brooks has ran for 551 yards with 5.4 yards per clip and finding pay dirt four times.
Listed around 5-foot-10 230 pounds he is built lower to the ground but is a tough tackle assignment for the best defenders in college football and goes up against a rush defense in Arizona that allows 150.5 yards a game. That same defense however just held a potent Utah rushing attack to 84 ground yards and 2.9 a carry so the matchup is worth noting.
Having an asset at running back like Brooks who's expected to be drafted to the NFL following this season, makes a defenses gameplan that much harder when choosing to defend a high-powered passing game or letting a bowling ball of a back run all over you.
WR Josh Kelly - stats vs. Cincinnati: eight receptions, 111 receiving yards
Whenever the ball leaves Morton's hand, it's more likely than not going the way of former Fresno State, then Washington State wide receiver Josh Kelly who leads the team in receptions by a large margin with 39 compared to 17 from Coy Eakin which is the closest behind him.
The Wildcats played against Kelly a year prior when he was a Cougar and held him to a modest one reception for nine yards, but now is playing in debatably the best offense he's been apart of in college. His amount of receptions and receiving yards with 487 is more than halfway to crushing his career-highs and he may be able to do so with great performances in the following games ahead.
Kelly will line up against a Wildcats secondary that was every bit of the old saying "bend but don't break" last Saturday against Utah. Utes receiver Dorian Singer had great success getting open and catching the ball for massive gains picking up nine receptions for 155 yards, however Utah had two red zone trips out of the four end in turnover on downs thanks to the aforementioned defensive backs Davis and Stukes. The other two trips resulted in the Utes' only 10 points on the day with a field goal and touchdown pass to a tight end.
UA's secondary defenders are big and play with a lot of physicality, two things that Kelly will have to combat with finesse and technique to make his marquee plays.
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