Eric Sorenson
Revenge is best served cold.
Maybe not in the mind of Arizona head football coach Rich Rodriguez who somewhat downplayed the redemption factor Thursday night in Autzen Stadium when the Wildcats invade Eugene for a showdown with Oregon in a battle of unbeatens. With that being said, it’s a safe bet the Ducks haven’t forgotten last season’s 42-16 drubbing which knocked “The Quack Attack” from any Rose Bowl dreams.
It’s a different year with different players but you can bet the Ducks’ defense will make some adjustments after falling behind 35-9 last year.
“They mix up a lot of looks,” star redshirt sophomore wide receiver Cayleb Jones told Sports360AZ.com’s Brad Cesmat in a phone interview Tuesday morning. “They really sit in the coverage to allow you to scheme heavy. They move around in the back-end and their [defensive backs] are really quick.”
Quick and athletic has always been a theme for the second-ranked Ducks (4-0, 1-0). Jones believes his roommate and quarterback, redshirt freshman Anu Solomon will need to be patient in order for the ‘Cats to sustain consistent offensive success.
“They’re really well-coached and disciplined,” he explained to Cesmat. “So you have to take what they give you and not make mistakes on your own [and] turn the ball over…this is a game we’ve looked forward to all off-season.”
Many others around college football are also looking forward to seeing how UofA (4-0, 1-0) performs under the bright lights in primetime against a team many feel is the best in the nation. Their only other road game this season was a hard-fought 26-23 win over Texas-San Antonio in the Alamo Dome back on September 4th.
Thursday in Autzen Stadium against the ducks on @espn no better stage, no better opportunity. This is why we play college football.
— Cayleb S Jones (@1caylebjones) September 29, 2014
Jones, a transfer from the University of Texas, leads Arizona in catches (29), yards (475) and touchdown receptions (six) and is just one of a host of playmakers for Solomon and a Wildcats’ offense which has averaged 42 points per game.
The ‘Cats were off last weekend after their improbable last-second 49-45 win over Cal.
Kickoff is 7:30 with television coverage on ESPN.
