Against the Pass:
The real strength of the Wildcat defense is against the pass. They have a lockdown corner and ball hawk, Trevin Wade, who’s only a sophomore but very talented and has 2 interceptions on the year already. The other cornerback, Devin Ross, is a senior with starting experience and is second on the team with 11 tackles.
The safety positions also have some experience. FS Cam Nelson is a senior and this will be his third year starting. He is the team’s leading returning tackler from last year and the leader of the defense. The other safety Robert Golden is a little green (not gold yet) and is just a true sophomore. He’s played well in his first two games starting, though, and has 7 tackles.
Against the Run:
Arizona has only given up 141 rushing yards in the first two games…though neither team they faced had much of a running threat. The defensive line is chock full of experience as the 4 starters have 62 game of starting experience between them. The defensive ends are probably the strength of the line. Ricky Elmore has 7 tackles on the year including 1 sack.
The linebackers are probably the least talked about unit on the defense, but the unit is solid overall. All three are seniors. Middle linebacker Vuna Tuihalamaka leads the team in tackles with 12 and WLB Xavier Kelley has been good as well with 8 tackles.
Overall Thoughts:
- Arizona has been some what susceptible to give up the short, underneath routes, so that may be one area that Iowa can try to gain an advantage.
- Iowa will need to establish a run gain against this offense and hopefully force the Wildcats to stack the box freeing up some room in the secondary.
- The Wildcats have 4 takeaways in the first 2 games. Iowa (especially Stanzi) really needs to protect the ball in this game.