PLAYERS TO WATCH
–QB Khalil Tate has not had luck against his hometown team up to this point in his career. The junior has made two starts against USC despite not taking over as the full-time starter until last season. Many of Tate’s high school teammates are members of the Trojans and it is certainly a more personal game for the Arizona quarterback. This year, USC comes to Tucson with a couple of blemishes on its record already, and Tate will bring a different approach than the Trojans are used to seeing. His rushing numbers remain down, but against Oregon State Tate remained effective throwing the ball, connecting for a pair of touchdowns.
–RB JJ Taylor broke the 100-yard barrier for the first time this season when he ran for a career-high 284 yards and two touchdowns against Oregon State. The redshirt sophomore has split carries with other backs this season and the shared workload has meant fewer yards, but Saturday’s game gave him the opportunity to carry the ball 27 times. He found a rhythm with that extended work and had his best game in an Arizona uniform.
–LB Colin Schooler has continued to impress in his second college season, and he reached another personal milestone last week against Oregon State with a career high in tackles for loss with four. The California native is already on pace to shatter his personal mark of 13.5 from a season ago, and the school record of 29 for a season could be within sight by the time November rolls around. Schooler also leads the team with 44 tackles, which is nearly half as many as he had in his entire freshman season — 96.
–LB Jalen Harris could be the utility knife Arizona defensive coordinator Marcel Yates has been looking for this season. The redshirt freshman is part linebacker and part defensive end, but he had yet to show his full potential before Saturday’s game against Oregon State. He finished the victory with five tackles, a sack and a quarterback hurry. It was the best performance of his short career, and it could be something he continues to build on heading into this week’s game against USC.
SERIES HISTORY: USC holds a 33-8 edge in the all-time series between the schools with Arizona earning just four victories at home during that stretch. The Trojans hold a five-game winning streak over the Wildcats, with last year’s meeting ending with a 49-35 victory for USC in Los Angeles.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “We’ve had some highs and lows. We’re not where we need to be. … We’ve got things to work on; we’ve got things to fix on our end. Fortunately right now we’re making some steps, but we’ve got a ways to go and we’re going to continue to work at it to try to fix us.” — Coach Kevin Sumlin, on his team now that it has evened up its record.
