Arizona at Stanford

Written by Matthew Martz

The No. 13 Stanford Cardinal can already smell the roses as they are off to their best start 40 years having only lost a single game of the 2010 campaign against the No. 1 Oregon Ducks.

They will now host No. 15 Arizona who is also enjoying their best season since the 1998 team went 12-1, and are hoping to punch their tickets for a trip to Pasadena for the first time

Last year’s meeting between the two teams was an extravagant display of passing that ended in a 43-38 win for Arizona. The ‘Cats Nick Foles threw for 415 yards and three touchdowns, while Stanford’s Andrew Luck passed for 423 yards with three TDs as the teams combined for 1,137 yards of offense.

The college football odds show the Cardinal as -9 ½ over the Wildcats with a game total of 56.

Heisman contender, Luck, despite his low numbers, skillfully led a very effective Cardinal offense to a 41-0 thumping of Washington last Saturday. He completed just 19 of 26 passes for 192 yards with a TD and an interception, and also added a TD on 51 yards rushing. The junior ranks 10th in the nation in passing efficiency with 20 touchdown passes and a 67 percent completion percentage.

The junior will now have his work cut out for him as he faces the Wildcats overpowering defense.

Tied for second in the Pac-10, Stanford is fifth in the FBS in scoring at 42.4 points, while Arizona is seventh in the nation in scoring defense at 14.4 points.

The Cardinal offense has been its success, and it racked up 470 total yards in its win over Washington to prove it. The defense also held heralded NFL draft prospect, Huskies’ QB Jake Locker, to just 7 of 14 for 64 yards and two interceptions, one of his worst performances of the season.

On the contrary, Arizona’s staunch defense has been the mechanism of its achievement, especially since the loss of Foles, the Pac-10 leader in passing at the time of his injury at 305 yards per game.

Foles has been out for the past two games due to a sprained right knee, but could return in time for this weekend’s matchup at the Cardinal.

Backup quarterback Matt Scott, has been doing a fine job rolled up a season-high 583 yards and 32 first downs, in a 29-21 win over UCLA last Saturday.

One area of concern is, as good as the Arizona defense has been, they are showing signs of fatigue, as in last week’s inconsistent play against the Bruins where they surrendered 299 yards and were stifled on two big plays — a 68-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and a 49-yard TD pass with 14:24 remaining.

The Cardinal, are 14-2 in their last 16 at home.

Matt’s Free Prediction: Stanford -9 ½ – With both schools’ defenses playing so well, this one will be won on “Luck”.

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