UCLA Football Preview: Which Arizona QB Will the Bruin Defense Face?
Arizona has two good quarterbacks, but Jayden de Laura was hurt earlier in the season and Noah Fitita isn't as mobile as de Laura when he's healthy.
The Arizona offense has been well-balanced so far this season. The Wildcats have thrown the ball 52.1% of the time while they have run the ball 47.9% of the time. That’s about as balanced as you can expect from a team, considering that offensive play calling is usually contingent upon the situation a team finds itself in at any given moment.
In fact, Arizona’s pass-run mix has changed from 57.6%-42.4% last year to 52.1%-47.9% this year. That’s a big difference from last year. It’s likely due to the fact that Arizona hasn’t had to play catch up late in games, forcing them to throw the ball more last season.
In fact, in our Arizona offensive preview last season, I noted exactly that. I wrote:
First and foremost, it could be do to the fact that the Wildcats may be playing from behind because a team tends to throw more when they are down in an attempt to catch up.
With the Wildcats being a more competitive team this year, it stands to reason that the team isn’t quite as pass-happy as last year.
I don’t often do a year-over-year comparison, but in this situation, I think it provides some perspective.
The Arizona rushing attack is averaging almost the same amount per rushing attempt as they were when these teams met last season. Last year, the Wildcats were averaging 4.7 yards per rushing attempt with 11 touchdowns when they met the Bruins in Week 10. This year, the teams are meeting in Week 9 and Arizona is averaging just a tick better at 4.8 yards per attempt with 10 touchdowns. So, they are averaging about the same number of touchdowns per game on the ground as they were last season.
Let’s look at the Arizona offensive personnel.
Quarterbacks
The Arizona depth chart lists junior quarterback Jayden de Laura as the starting quarterback, but redshirt freshman Noah Fifita has started the last four games for the Wildcats. Jayden de Laura began the season as the team’s starting quarterback but he hasn’t started since Arizona played Stanford on September 23rd because he hurt his ankle.
By all accounts, Fifita has played well. He’s thrown 11 touchdowns in four games against just three interceptions and he’s been the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after each of Arizona’s last two games. He’s thrown for at least 275 yards in each of the last three games.
On the other hand, de Laura has thrown for at least 285 yards in the three full games he played in before he was injured.
Really, the big advantage that Fifita seems to have, at least on paper, is that he’s thrown fewer interceptions than de Laura. What makes that more impressive is that Fifita got his four starts against ranked teams. At the same time, four of de Laura’s five interceptions came against just one team — Mississippi State.
So, it seems like Jedd Fisch has two very good quarterbacks on his hands, much in the same way that Chip Kelly is happy with how his quarterbacks have played.
Running Game
Senior Michael Wiley entered the season as the Wildcats’ starting running back but he was hurt in the first quarter of the Stanford game. That resulted in sophomore Jonah Coleman in becoming the workhorse back for Arizona.
Coleman has carried 76 times for 488 yards with three touchdowns. That’s an average of 6.4 ypc, which is better than backup grad student DJ Williams, who has gained 297 yards on 63 carries for an average of 4.7 ypc, as well as Wiley’s 176 yards on 42 carries for an average of 4.2 ypc.
When he was healthy, Jayden de Laura played an important part in the running game. He’s carried 20 times for 131 yards, averaging 6.6 ypc, and he’s scored three touchdowns.
By comparison, Fifita has not run the ball well, gaining just two net yards on 25 carries. So, if de Laura plays, it does add another dimension to the Wildcats’ offense.
Passing Game
Turning to the passing game, it’s not a surprise to see that senior Jacob Cowing is the favorite target of the Arizona quarterbacks, and it doesn’t seem to make a difference if the quarterback is de Laura or Fifita. That’s because he had been de Laura’s favorite target last season too. Overall, Cowing has caught 61 balls for 461 yards and eight touchdowns. The difference between this year and last year, however, is that Cowing has almost 380 fewer yards than last year despite making only four fewer catches. So, his average yards per catch is about half of what it was last season.
Sophomore Tetairoa McMillan is again leading the team in yards per catch, but his average is down slightly this year too. Last year before playing UCLA, he was averaging 17.43 yards per catch while he’s averaging 14 yards per catch this season with 48 catches for 672 yards and six touchdowns. That makes him the team’s receiving yards leader, despite having fewer catches than Cowing.
Redshirt senior tight end Tanner McLachlin has maintained his consistency from last season. Last year, before playing the Bruins, he had 27 receptions for 362 yards and two touchdowns. This year, he’s made 26 catches for 323 yards and two touchdowns.
Coleman, Wiley and junior receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig are the other three receivers with at least 17 receptions and more than 150 yards each. Wiley has two TD receptions while Coleman and Lemonious-Craig each have one.
Analysis
The comparison between last year’s offensive performances by the Wildcats and this year’s are remarkably consistent. That’s impressive.
If there’s been one difference, it’s the fact that de Laura adds another dimension to the offense by being the more mobile quarterback of the two potential starters.
Overall, it shouldn’t matter, though, because the UCLA defense has proven that it is one of the best defenses in the country.
In fact, Arizona has already given up more sacks this season than they did all of last season, 20 to 16. Now, that may be due to the lack of mobility displayed by Fifita. Would that number be as high as it is if the more mobile de Laura had been healthy all season? I’m not sure, but I think it’s safe to say yes, considering the fact that de Laura has gained significantly more yardage on the ground that Fifita.
Ultimately, I think the Bruin defense ends up being the difference in this game and I think they will be able to limit the Wildcat offense this year, if they don’t shut them down entirely and I don’t see them scoring more than 21 points over the course of the game.
Go Bruins!!!
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On paper Ucla looks to be better than AZ. But it's never easy playing AZ on the road.