I mean does the PAC-12 have some great QB’s or what! Arizona QB Jayden de Laura threw for 484 yards and 6 TD’s in this one with WR’s Junior Jacob Cowing, Sophomore Dorian Singer, and Freshman Tetairoa McMillan accouting for 433 of those yards and a TD a piece with Junior RB Michael Wiley and TE Tanner McLachlan picking up the other three scores. The Wildcats rushed 34 times for 178 yards with Place Kicker Tyler Loop accounting for the rest of the scoring with 4 extra points and a 29 yard field goal. Colorado’s Freshman QB Owen McCown connected on about 50% of his passes for 186 yards, 1 TD, and no interceptions while also picking up another score while rushing 10 times for 43 yards of his team’s 154 yard total with Freshman RB Anthony Hankerson picking up the other TD on the ground.
The Wildcats led this one from start to finish scoring four TD’s their first five possessions leading 13-7 at the end of the 1st Qtr and 26-13 at the break. They outscored Colorado 17-7 in the 2nd half and held them scoreless in the 4th Qtr while adding another TD half-way through the period. Arizona Head Coach Jedd Fisch and de Laura were both extremely upbeat about this one. As de Laura put it; “Everything was working, all the receivers were catching the ball. I was really happy with the offensive line and their blocking;” while Fisch had this to say; “Our guys did a great job of playing complimentary football. I thought what was fun about tonight’s game is how we were able to get stops and get scores and get stops and get scores. And when you play together as a team, good things happen. And that was certainly there tonight.”
The Wildcats blew them out in the stats with almost 20 more 1st downs, over 300 more total yards, as well as more than ten minutes more time-of-possession. As I mentioned in a prior recap Jedd Fisch, determined to turn this program around, ended up with the No. 1 recruiting class in the PAC-12 this year and as the AP put it in their recap; “It’s become obvious that the Wildcats are no longer the doormat in the Pac-12.” They have a tough one next week as they’ll host Oregon. But who knows, as great as de Laura is playing right now and the heart shown by the defense it might be a much more interesting game than one would think. According to the DraftKings Sportsbook Arizona has opened as a 10.5 underdog to the Ducks.