Kaila’s Keys for the Huskies to Beat Arizona

The Arizona Wildcats come off a heartbreaking, last-second loss to the USC Trojans last weekend in their season opener. If that didn't sting, it was also Arizona’s eighth consecutive loss going back to last season.

Whereas Washington opened the Jimmy Lake Era and the season with a victory over Oregon State. The Huskies can't get too excited. They face a much better Arizona team than the one they faced last year. This one had USC beat until the final 35 seconds.

The Huskies need to do these three things if they want to keep the good times rolling against Arizona:

Another stellar run game

Not many people expected the Huskies to have a three-headed monster in the run game, but they do. Sean McGrew, Kamari Pleasant and Richard Newton combined for 193 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Wildcats allowed USC to run for 173 yards and three TDs. While the Trojans threw for over 300 yards, it was the run game that put the points on the board. Arizona’s defensive backs do a great job in coverage against receivers, so the terrific trio will need to be terrific again in hopes to not only score, but to open up the passing game.

Take Grant Gunnell seriously

Arizona has a very promising quarterback in sophomore Grant Gunnell. Against a veteran USC defense in USC, Gunnell completed 24 of 36 passes for 286 yards and three touchdowns and a lone interception. He threw a 75-yard scoring strike to receiver Tayvian Cunningham. Gunnell utilized eight different receivers and six of them came up with double-digit yardage. The UW defensive backs had it somewhat easy playing in a downpour that greatly limited Oregon State’s Tristan Gebbia. The longest passing play the UW secondary had to defend was 15 yard. It's important to note that Gunnell has the second-highest passer rating (107.5) in the Pac-12.

Catch the ball

In terms of improvement, one that needs to be addressed is the Husky receivers need to catch their passes. Two of the most crucial drops came in the end zone, with one hitting senior Ty Jones in the chest and another placed perfectly in front of true freshman Rome Odunze. Even in his Monday presser, coach Jimmy Lake said, "Our receivers need to play better, it's no secret. They know they have to play better.”