How Arizona Can Take Advantage of Colorado's Rushing Attack

In Arizona's last two games, they gave up a lead and ultimately lost the game on the final play. Against BYU in Tucson, the Wildcats fell in double overtime, while a walk-off field goal sunk them in Houston.

The Wildcats have not been able to get much pressure on opposing quarterbacks this season, but have had some success stopping the run on occasion. However, the past two games served as a low point on the ground, particularly against quarterbacks.

This should be a good week to rebound against one of the worst rushing offenses in the Big 12 in Colorado, which is rushing for just 130.1 yards a game. The Buffs rely on their quarterback often in the run game, but don't have a ton of depth up front to match up with the strength of the Arizona defensive line throughout the entire game.

If there was a time for the Wildcats to bounce back against the ground game, this would be it.

Stopping The Run

Arizona allowed 490 rushing yards across both the BYU and Houston games. Still, the defense only allows 3.8 yards per carry this season. Danny Gonzales has to fix the core of the issue this week.

BYU's Bear Bachmeier ran for 89 yards and two touchdowns against the Wildcats, while his tailback, LJ Martin, picked up 162 yards and a score on the ground. Against Houston, Conner Weigman scampered for 98 yards and a touchdown, while his backfield mate Dean Conners ran for 100 yards.

The crux of the issue is containing quarterbacks on the ground. Whether it's in a read option, scramble drill, or just a designed play, the Wildcats have not been accounting for it.

Since losing defensive end Tre Smith for the season due to injury, Riley Wilson and Chase Kennedy have been Arizona's go-to guys on the edge. Wilson has done a good job of redirecting runs inside and creating negative plays. Kennedy has been good as well, but does have a tougher time defending quarterbacks outside of the pocket.

Kaidon Salter leads the Colorado rushing attack with 374 yards and five touchdowns. Behind him, Micah Welch has only 272 yards this season on just one more carry than his quarterback. Simply put, if you stop Salter, you force Colorado to throw.

Deshawn McKnight has been stellar up front for the Wildcats, boasting an 82.9 run defense grade from Pro Football Focus. He has 18 tackles this season and one sack, but most of his contributions come from displacing the offensive line and moving the ball carrier off their mark.

McKnight will be a key piece this week because while the Arizona edges have played well, the interior has been bitten by several QB draws and power plays that move between the tackles.

Salter has forced 20 missed tackles this season, and despite his size, he could hurt the Wildcats like that again this week.

Colorado has run better than its stats would lead you to believe. Houston only let 23 carries go for 96 yards and one score against the Buffs, while Utah held them to 38 carries for 38 yards and a touchdown last week.

Outside of those showings, Colorado has run for at least 120 yards in every other game this season, mainly behind Salter.

Gonzales said earlier this week that his defense's struggles against QB run plays have "haunted" him this season. Now, it's time to reset and establish a new tone on the ground. Winning or losing the battle on the ground could decide the war in Boulder on Saturday night.

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