Three things to watch: UA vs. WSU

Arizona’s homecoming festivities on Saturday should be capped with a dominant showing against lowly Washington State — emphasis on the word “should.”

If the Wildcats (5-2, 3-1 Pac-10) are serious about their No. 18 ranking in the BCS standings, Saturday should be a statement game of sorts. UA hasn’t blown the doors off of anyone yet, but part of that is because of a schedule ranked No. 9 in the nation.

However, Washington State is among the worst teams in college football and has yet to beat a conference opponent in 2009, losing those five games by a combined score of 194-56 (which averages out to 38.8-11.2).

Take a look at these numbers: Out of 120 FBS teams, WSU ranks No. 114 in total offense (280.3 ypg), No. 119 in total defense (511.1 ypg), No. 116 in scoring (15 ppg), No. 114 in scoring defense (37.4 ppg), No. 110 in time of possession (27:34) and No. 119 in sacks allowed (a jaw-dropping 40).

What will the Cats need to do in order to make it five in a row over these Cougars and cement its reputation as a legitimate threat in the Pac-10 race?

No. 1: Don’t get caught looking ahead.

If the Cats make it through Saturday unscathed, they have one of the toughest four-week stretches of anyone in the conference — at Cal, versus Oregon, at Arizona State, at USC.

Yikes.

Washington State’s best chance to snap its five-game losing skid is to catch Arizona napping. Best-case scenario for the Cougars: Arizona gets caught up in the homecoming hype and starts believing in its top-20 ranking. If the Cats come out flat after the bye week and give Washington State some early confidence, they could be in for a long afternoon.

Will it happen? It’s not likely, but it’s not impossible.

Mike Stoops has done a terrific job instilling that “focus on each week” mindset in this squad. That “take it one game at a time” clich/ takes on added significance in a week like this.

No. 2: Stay healthy.

Last week’s bye should’ve taken care of some of these lingering injuries, but health is still a serious concern as the Cats enter this stretch run.

Nic Grigsby’s availability is in doubt, as he re-aggrivated that shoulder injury against UCLA. Freshman bruiser Greg Nwoko is also questionable with his own shoulder injury. Sophomore Keola Antolin will get the start at tailback, but his lingering ankle sprain might limit his action, as well.

Look for UA to go back to that diverse rushing attack with the wide receivers (Juron Criner, Terrell Turner and Delashaun Dean, in particular) getting involved with a diverse package of reverses and end-arounds.

But look for defensive end Brooks Reed to make his return on Saturday. Reed has been out of action since the Iowa game and should provide a big boost in the pass rush. I expect Reed to have a huge game against Washington State’s pourous offensive line, if he is, in fact, healthy.

Nick Foles battled the flu in his subpar outing against UCLA, but Stoops said he should be 100 percent on Saturday. If so, Foles will likely get back to the rhythm we saw in that Stanford game, when he won Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week honors. Washington State is giving up 290.8 ypg through the air (No. 118).

No. 3: Protect, protect, protect.

Easily the most impressive number on Arizona’s stat sheet is 4 — the number of times UA has allowed a QB sack this year.

Arizona’s offensive line has been spectacular this season, especially considering the fact that it’s gone through so many line-ups this year (only RT Adam Grant and C Colin Baxter have started every game) and that All-American tight end Rob Gronkowsi has seen as much playing time this year as you or me.

Part of the credit needs to go to Foles and Sonny Dykes, as well. Dykes has been on fire this season with his play calling and he hasn’t given defenses much of a chance to key in on his quarterback. This offense is predicated on quick reads — Foles’ specialty.

But even in the situations where Foles needs to take a five-step drop and allow patterns to develop, he does an excellent job keeping his head up while instinctively avoiding the rush. He’s not the blazing-fast runner that back-up Matt Scott is, but Foles has proven to be quite elusive on many occasions.

Prediction: Washington State is a real football team, with a real coach (Paul Wulff) and plenty of young talent (especially promising freshman quarterback Jeff Tuel). But as long as Arizona shows up and plays with pride, it should be a landslide. Arizona simply has better players — it’s not really anymore complicated than that.

UA 44, Washington State 17.

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