Wildcats Return Home to Host Huskies

TUCSON, Ariz. — The Arizona Wildcats (0-6, 0-3) are set to host the Washington Huskies (2-4, 1-2) this Friday night at Arizona Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MST with a television broadcast set for ESPN2.

Join the Cats as they celebrate UA Champions Day, WONDER, and breast cancer awareness month. 

• UA Champions Day: Arizona Athletics experienced a ton success on and off the field/pitch/court. Help us celebrate when we recognize these champions for what they were able to accomplish during the 2020-21 season.
• WONDER: University of Arizona and Arizona Athletics partner together to highlight all of the successful accomplishments the University has been able to achieve the over the last couple of years. 

A complete game preview is below.

ARIZONA NOTES & NUMBERS

• Arizona will face Washington at home for some Friday night lights to kick off the second half of the season.
• Friday's game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. MST on ESPN2. Clay Matvick and Rocky Boiman will be on the call and Tiffany Blackmon will be reporting from the sideline.
• Arizona allows just 169.7 passing yards per game, which is second in the Pac-12 and 10th in the nation. The Wildcats have held their opponent to under 100 passing yards twice this season , the first time they have done so since 2008.
• Halfway through the season, Stanley Berryhill III has 48 receptions and is on pace to break Bobby Wade's school record for receptions in one season (93). He is 17 catches away from breaking into the top 10.
• Berryhill averages eight receptions and 74.2 yards per game, which are both second in the Pac-12. His eight catches per game also ranks eighth in the nation.
• Arizona has held their opponents under 400 yards in total offense four times this season after having achieved the feat just once across the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
• The Wildcats are fifth in the Pac-12 in total defense as they allow 372 yards per game. Arizona hasn't finished better than eighth in the conference since the 2010 season, which is also the last time Arizona allowed fewer than 400 yards per game.
• Arizona has converted 63% of the time on fourth down, the third-best rate in the Pac-12.

6.2 — Freshman running back Jalen John, who had the best game of his career vs. Colorado with 11 carries for 51 yards, averages 6.2 yards per carry this season on 18 attempts. 

35 — Offensive lineman Donovan Laie has started the first 35 games of his career. Only eight other offensive linemen have started 30 or more consecutive games since Arizona began tracking game-by-game starters in 1993.

48 — Stanley Berryhill III has 48 catches in the first six games of the season and is on pace for 96 catches, which would be a school record.

63% — Arizona 9-13 on fourth down this season after converting two of their three attempts vs. UCLA. Arizona's 63% conversion rate on fourth down is the second-best in the Pac-12.

100 — For the first time since 2008, the Wildcats have held their opponent to under 100 passing yards twice this season.
 

WRAPPING UP SATURDAY: Freshman running back Jalen John toted the ball 11 times for 71 yards against Colorado, both of which are career-high marks … John averaged 6.5 yards per carry and ripped off a career-long 23-yard rush in the second quarter … Arizona held their opponent under 400 yards in total offense for the fourth time this season after having achieved the feat just once across the 2019 and 2020 seasons … Christian Young tied his career-high with a team-high seven tackles against Colorado … Trevon Mason and Isaiah Rutherford both recorded two tackles for loss … A total of 11 Arizona players recorded a rushing attempt on Saturday, the most in a single-game this season … Colorado's 117 rushing yards were the fewest allowed by the Arizona defense this season, and the lowest opponent rushing mark since holding Texas Tech to 104 yards on the ground in 2019 … After rushing for 301 yards last season, Colorado running back Jarek Broussard was held to just 53 yards on 13 carries … Kyle Ostendorp averaged 52.1 yards per punt on seven kicks, including a 61-yard boot.

VERSUS WASHINGTON: Arizona is 11-23-1 all-time vs. Washington … The Huskies have won the last four contests … Washington has won the last two in Tucson, but prior to that, Arizona won the previous four in the Old Pueblo … Last season, Washington beat Arizona 44-27 in Seattle … Jalen John carried the ball four times for 30 yards while Michael Wiley had four carries for 10 yards and a touchdown … Stanley Berryhill III had two receiving touchdowns to go with a team-high five catches and 65 yards … Boobie Curry had four catches for 55 yards … Rhedi Short led the team with five tackles … Paris Shand had one sack.

MR. YAC: Stanley Berryhill III has been outstanding for the Wildcats through five games thus far. A team-captain and one of the recipients of the No. 1 jersey, Berryhill leads Arizona with 48 receptions and 445 yards, both career highs for one season. Where Berryhill does his most damage is after the ball is in his hands, hence the name Mr. YAC. Through six games, 264 of Berryhill's 445 yards have been after the catch and also has two games with at least 70 YAC.

ON PACE FOR GREATNESS: Halfway through the regular season, Tucson's own Stanley Berryhill III has 48 receptions and is on pace to catch 96 passes, which would break Bobby Wade's school record for receptions in one season. He is also on pace for 890 yards, which surpass his total yards from his first three seasons at Arizona combined (733 yards). Berryhill, who averages over 12 targets per game, ranks second in the Pac-12 in receptions and receiving yards per game (8-74.2) and is also eighth in the nation in receptions per game.

UNDER 400: Arizona has held their opponents to under 400 yards four different times this season. The last time Arizona held their opponent to under 400 yards of offense four times in one season was back in 2018, but they haven't done it four times in the first six games since the 2013 season. Arizona, which ranks fifth in the Pac-12 as they allow 372 yards per game, haven't finished better than eighth in the conference in total defense since 2010, which is also the last time Arizona allowed fewer than 400 yards per game. The 2010 defense finished third in the Pac-10 allowing 340.8 yards per game.

SWARM TO THE BALL: If there's one thing defensive coordinator Don Brown emphasizes to his defense, it's run to the ball. There's no question that the Arizona defense takes to his coaching very well as five different players have at least 30 tackles this season (Pandy, Hayward, C. Young, Turner & Maldonado). Only two other teams in the Pac-12 have at least five players with at least 30 tackles (Stanford & Washington State).

JOHN MAKING THE MOST OF HIS OPPORTUNITIES: Jalen John had the most productive game of his career at Colorado last time out, rushing for 71 yards on 11 carries, both career highs. This season, he averages 6.2 yards per carry and has the longest rush of any Wildcat this season (23 yards – tied with Berryhill).

CONVERTING UNDER PRESSURE: Arizona converts on fourth down at a 62.5% clip, the third-best conversion rate in the Pac-12. Additionally, Arizona's 10 fourth-down conversions are the most in the Pac-12 and the ninth-most in the nation. Arizona has gone for it on fourth down at least once in every game this season and have converted at least twice in three different instances.

HEY TRE: Linebacker Treshaun Hayward comes to Arizona with already boasting a very successful career. The 2019 MAC Defensive Player of the Year played 39 games for Western Michigan and totaled 229 tackles, 16 TFLs and 5.5 sacks. Hayward was flat out dominant in 2019 as he was named an All-American by Sporting News and Phil Steele. The Ypsilanti, Mich. native finished the season with a conference-high 142 tackles and added in 10.5 TFLs. His 142 tackles was the third-most in the country and was one of five players to post 130+ tackles and 10+ TFLs. In five games at Arizona, Hayward has the second-most tackles on the team with 34 and is also second on the team with 2.5 TFLs. He recovered his first fumble as a Wildcat in the third quarter of the UCLA game and is 10th in the Pac-12 with 6.8 tackles per game.

THE PANDY MAN CAN: Senior linebacker Anthony Pandy is back for his fifth year as a Wildcat and has a large leadership role under first year head coach Jedd Fisch as he was named a team captain. Pandy leads the Arizona defense in tackles with 44 and is eighth in the Pac-12 with an average of 7.3 per game. Pandy had a career-high 13 tackles vs. UCLA, his second double-digit tackling performance of the season and third of his career. His 13 tackles was the most of any Pac-12 player that week.

NO FLY ZONE: Arizona has been exceptional defending the pass this season as they allow just 169.7 yards through the air per game, the second-fewest in the Pac-12 and the 10th-fewest in the nation. The Wildcats have held their opponent to under 100 passing yards twice this season, making it the first time since 2008 they have done so. Against UCLA, the Bruins had just 82 passing yards for the game and threw for just three yards in the first half. 82 passing yards allowed is the fewest Arizona has allowed since limiting The Citadel to 21 in 2010 and it is the first time the Wildcats held an opponent to under 100 yards passing since Colorado had 92 in 2020.

SPREADING THE LOVE: Jamarye Joiner became the fourth player this season to throw a TD pass after he found Michael Wiley in the back of the endzone at the end of the first half against UCLA on a double pass. For the first time since 2016, Arizona has four or more players with at least one touchdown pass.

• QB Jordan McCloud – 2 TD
• QB Gunner Cruz – 2 TD
• QB Will Plummer – 2 TD
• WR Jamarye Joiner – 1 TD

KICKIN' KYLE: Sophomore punter Kyle Ostendorp has been terrific in the first half of the 2021 campaign. On the season, Ostendorp ranks third in the Pac-12 and 11th in the nation with 47.3 yards per punt. He has a Pac-12 high 15 punts of 50 yards or more and has downed eight inside the 20. His 71-yard punt vs. San Diego State is also a Pac-12 high and is the longest punt by an Arizona punter since Keenyn Crier's 84-yard punt back in 2007. Against Colorado, Ostendorp averaged 52.1 yards per boot on seven kicks.

DO THE SAFETY DANCE: With a sack by Mo Diallo in the third quarter vs. Oregon, Arizona became the first defense in the country with two safeties on the season. The previous safety came in the season opener against BYU as Rashie Hodge Jr. and Trevon Mason combined to bring down the BYU running back. Arizona had a two-safety season back in 2019, but prior to this year, Arizona defenses have forced only six safeties in the previous 15 seasons combined.

• Arizona Safeties Since 2006 Season
  • Sept. 25, 2021 – vs. Oregon (Mo Diallo)
  • Sept. 4, 2021 – vs. BYU (Rashie Hodge Jr. & Trevon Mason)
  • Sept. 7, 2019 – vs. NAU (Team)
  • Nov. 23, 2019 – vs. Utah (Colin Schooler)
  • Oct. 12, 2018 – vs. Utah (PJ Johnson)
  • Nov. 2, 2013 – vs. Cal (Jared Tevis & Scooby Wright III)
  • Nov. 26, 2010 – vs. Oregon (Team)
  • Sept. 26, 2009 – vs. Oregon State (Earl Mitchell & D'Aundre Reed)

#ITSPERSONAL: The No. 1 message Jedd Fisch has been pushing since he arrived on campus in December 2020 is 'Its Personal.' It's not just a catchy slogan that gets printed on shirts and that you see on social media, it is how the Arizona Football program is approaching every aspect of the 2021 season. From how the team plays on the field to how the coaches work on the recruiting trail… Its Personal.

WILDCATS IN THE NFL: As of week six, the Wildcats are once again well represented in the National Football League with nine former letterwinners active across the league. One of Arizona's most prestigious alums, tight end Rob Gronkowski, returned from retirement in 2020 to rejoin his longtime quarterback Tom Brady with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Over 10 seasons in New England and Tampa Bay, Gronkowski has hauled in 8,668 yards and 90 touchdowns. Quarterback Nick Foles is in his 10th NFL season after rewriting the Wildcats record books during his time in Tucson. The most recent Wildcats to make the transition to the NFL are running back Gary Brightwell (New York Giants) and defensive end Roy Lopez (HouSton Texans). For a complete list of former Wildcats in the NFL, see the comprehensive chart below.

 
Current Wildcats on NFL Rosters