NCAA football preview: Stanford try to keep winning ways against Arizona Wildcats
The no. 13 ranked Stanford Cardinals are off to their best start in 40 years, sitting at 7-1 and third place in the competitive Pac-10 conference. They are at home Saturday 6 November against second place team and no. 15 ranked Arizona Wildcats, also
sitting at 7-1.
The winner of this game will have sole possession of second place and have an excellent chance to set up a conference final date against the first placed, and still undefeated Oregon Ducks. Wildcats quarterback
Nick Foles will be in the line-up after missing the past two games.
Stanford’s season so far
The Cardinals offence is clicking, and has been clicking since the opening of the season against Sacramento State in which Stanford rolled to a 52-17 victory. Offensively, they have scored
more than 30 points in every single game, and have scored more than 40 points in three games. Their average points scored per game is 42.4, giving them an intimidating rank of number five in the nation in that category.
Stanford’s defence, which is coming off a shut-out performance against conference foe Washington, has been good so far this season, holding opponents to under 30 points in six of the eight games this season.
Their points for average sits at 21.3 per game, giving them a national ranking of number 40.
Arizona’s season so far
After starting quarterback Nick Foles went down with injury in Arizona’s win against Washington State, back-up Matt Scott had to take the reins of the offence and lead them to victory,
which he did over the past three games against Washington State, Washington and UCLA.
The Wildcats offence has been respectable over the season, with only one close call against in-state and conference foe California State Golden Bears, in which they only managed 10 points.
Defensively, they have been stellar, as they are ranked number seven in the nation in points for per game with 14.4. The most points they have allowed in one game was in their lone loss to the unranked Oregon
State Beavers, 29-27.
Keys to the game
Stanford’s keys to the game include keeping the ball on offence, and mixing up their plays. With their highly touted no. 12 rushing game, lead by running back Stepfan Taylor, they should
be able to use the rushing game to hopefully open up the passing lanes for quarterback Andrew Luck, who is have an excellent season throwing for over 1900 yards so far.
Even with the Cardinal offence on the field, Wildcat fans should not be too worried, as their defense ranks with the tops in the country. If they are able to force turnovers, and rush Luck out of the pocket
and put him in bad positions, they will be successful in holding onto second place in the Pac-10. Returning quarterback Foles will need jump right back onto the saddle and lead his offence down the field, more than likely through the air, where they are averaging
300.6 yards per game.
Prediction: We all know the old song that defence wins championships, right? Arizona 42 – Stanford 21
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