Washington State vs. Arizona: 5 Cougars to watch

Here are 5 players important for Wazzu’s success

Saturday is going to be another important game for the Arizona Wildcats. If they pull off an upset against the No. 15 Washington State Cougars, they will be bowl eligible. Oh, and it’s homecoming for the ‘Cats.

The Cougs on the other hand are looking to spoil UA’s three-game win streak when they come to Tucson, and there are five players they are going to lean on to make it happen.

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Luke Falk, QB

2017 Stats: 233-for-339, 2,483 yds, 22 TD, 7 INT

We’ll start at the top with the obvious choice. Falk slings the ball all over the place and is pretty effective at it. He has been rattled and downright looked confused at times this year but is still as dangerous as ever.

Cal showed that you can rattle and shake Falk when you hit and pressure him throughout a game, causing mistakes on his part. Arizona’s defense will have to step up and pressure Falk to throw him off his game.

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Jamal Morrow, RB

2017 Stats: 56 car, 412 yds, 3 TD; 29 rec, 251 yds, 5 TD

It was hard to pick which running back to preview here. I went with Morrow since he usually starts. James Williams and Gerard Wicks are dangerous as well but Morrow leads the group.

As you can see from the stats he is as equally dangerous catching the ball as running it. He has shiftiness mixed with power when he runs and is a sure safety net for Falk. The ‘Cats will have to be sure to do a better job protecting the flats than they did against Cal last week.

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Hercules Mata’afa, DT

2017 Stats: 27 tackles, 13.0 TFL, 6.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble

Mata’afa isn’t the biggest defensive lineman in the Pac-12, but he is definitely one of the most disruptive. He is well on his way to All-Conference honors and it’s not hard to see why.

Just under half of his tackles this season have been for a loss. And half of those have been sacks. Mata’afa’s job is going to be sure to pressure Khalil Tate into a mistake. It has yet to be seen if that can happen though, as Tate has been incredibly difficult to bring down in the backfield.

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Frankie Luvu, LB

2017 Stats: 30 tackles, 8.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries

Luvu had a disruptive game against UA last year, and the Cougs are looking for him to continue that type of play Saturday night. He will be counted on to help stop Khalil Tate and Arizona’s running game.

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Isaac Dotson, LB

2017 Stats: 30 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 PBU

Another backer who is going to be relied upon by Wazzu is the redshirt senior. Dotson, along with Luvu, will be expected the lead the linebacker unit and stop Arizona’s potent running game. With the way the Wildcat offensive line has played it is a tall order for the Wazzu defense.

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