GAME BREAKDOWN
KEY MATCHUP: Can Arizona’s offensive line create room for the running game? Utah ranks third nationally in rushing defense, allowing 75.4 yards per game. The Wildcats’ offensive line has been inconsistent, partly because it hasn’t been able to trot out the same players all the time. Senior left tackle Layth Friekh, who missed the first two games because of an eligibility issue, has been in and out of the past two games because of a foot injury. He stabilizes the entire line when he’s in there, and Arizona needs him on the field to help open holes for RBs JJ Taylor and Gary Brightwell.
DRAFT SLANT
–DL PJ Johnson has started to emerge as an important piece to Arizona’s defense in just his first season with the program. The redshirt junior, who previously made stops at Sacramento State and junior college, has started the past two games at defensive end — even at 335 pounds — as the coaching staff wants to get its best players along a three-man front. Johnson’s size helps in setting the edge against the run game, and Johnson can get into the backfield as a bull rusher while showing surprising closing speed for a man his size. He has 4.5 tackles for loss among his nine total stops this season.
ROSTER REPORT
–LB Anthony Pandy, who was suspended for the USC game on Sept. 29, returned last Saturday against Cal.
–LB Kylan Wilborn did not play in the second half of last week’s game against Cal because of a left shoulder injury. His status for this week is unknown, as coach Kevin Sumlin does not discuss injuries.
–DE Justin Belknap, an early-season starter, is expected to miss the rest of the season because of a foot injury suffered in practice before the third game.
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