Big 12 Football: Valero Alamo Bowl Preview- No. 14 Arizona vs. No. 12 Oklahoma
This will be an excellent game for any neutral fan if you like offense. There will be scoring, some more scoring, and occasionally a great defensive stop, but regardless, it will be an excellent game of football.
Jackson Arnold calling plays against BYU
Jedd Fisch has quietly turned the outlook of the Arizona Wildcats program around, taking them from a mediocre program to a potential threat to the new-look Big 12 next season. The Wildcats had, by advanced metrics, an "elite" offense, finishing top ten in EPA per play and average success rate.
Arizona will also be the more "complete team" since the only notable player transferring out is starting left tackle Jordan Morgan. The Wildcats' offense will be led by Noah Fifita, one of the best QBs in the country this year. Fifita had a 73% completion rate, and 23 touchdowns to only five interceptions. A keynote for the Wildcat offense: the team has averaged 6.3 yards per play for the last four games and should be right around that average.
For the Sooners, Brent Venables has bounced back from a disappointing first season as head coach and has the team back on track before they depart for the SEC next season. Much like Arizona, Oklahoma was a top ten team in the country in offensive metrics such as EPA per play and average success rate. The difference between the two teams has been the Sooners being a better-than-average defense compared to the slightly below-average Wildcat defense.
The critical component for the Oklahoma Sooner's success will be dependent on freshman 5-star Jackson Arnold. Arnold will be taking over for the Dillion Gabriel, who transferred to Oregon for the next season, and while the freshman QB has shown some promise, this will be his first big test. Sooners fans shouldn't worry too much; Seth Littrell will take over play-calling and should keep the offense at an up-tempo speed and humming on all cylinders.
This is a battle of the old vs the new regarding the conference and coaching style. Regardless, this will be an excellent game for fans to take in, and if you need an over to hit on the game, it should be this one.
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