Arizona closed the year with absolutely no momentum. They faced two similar offensive teams with balance down the stretch that can be compared to Oklahoma State in Stanford and Oregon and they gave up 48 and 44 points to both. I expect Oklahoma St to be well within that number as they have even more balance than both of of those programs with the #2 passing game and #29 running game for the #3 scoring offense. Arizona did not play well last year against a Big 12 opponent in their bowl game as they were shut out to Nebraska 33-0. Oklahoma State has been able to put up points on everyone and everyone thinks it's because of Justin Blackmon who had 102 catches for 18td's and 1,665 yards, but it all tartes with Kendall Hunter at tailback who had 1,516 yards rushing. He's also backed by Joseph Randle who is a nice back to make catches. They also have Josh Cooper at WR who is by far their best route runner and don't forget their kick returning specialist Justin Gilbert who is a budding star as a freshmen and provided 2 TD's on runbacks in last 3 games.
There is just too much to worry about here for Arizona. They'll get their points, but I don't think they can stop Oklahoma State int he end who is #1 red zone offense. Oklahoma State's defense struggled for most of the year and Arizona has a top flight offense, but the different will be Oklahoma State takes gambles. They had 16 interceptions and a +8 TO margin on the year. The extra time to prepare has made the young defense better in my opinion. When they had extra time against Texas AM they come up with 5 turnovers. LB Orie Lemon will be the key for them on defense and his 119 tackles on the year should prove that he'll be up to the task. Who I'm really more excited to watch is Big 12 defensive rookie of the year Shaun Lewis at LB. He has a chance to be the best player on defense for this team and again the extra practices only improve them more.
Lastly common opponents is what these two teams had in Washington State. Arizona got by 24-7 and was +53 yards, but Oklahoma State opened the season in a 65-17 runaway. They were +222 yards. It just goes to show you in my opinion that the Pac-10 is still down. The two top teams in Stanford and Oregon are dominating but the rest are so so and it'll show here tonight.
