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Inside the matchup: Arizona vs. Utah

After being unable to come away with the upset victory over USC, Arizona will travel to Salt Lake City where it will hope to get a long awaited win against No. 14 Utah. Losing to the Utes last year should bring an extra sense of urgency to the Wildcats' preparations. This week's inside the matchup takes a closer look at this weekend's road game set for a 4:30 p.m. MST kickoff at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Three things to watch

Will the defense build off of its USC performance?

Despite what the score suggested, Arizona's defense appeared improved last week. Keeping the game close throughout and tackling the opposition better than in past games.

While the Trojans managed to collect over 200 yards rushing, Arizona only allowed one rushing touchdown. Something it has not done since the second week of the season.

"We played sound football, assignment football" defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen said this week. "Guys knew where they needed to be and they rallied to the ball. They played hard. That was a good football team we played and I thought our guys handled themselves pretty well."

Even with no takeaways, the Wildcats' defense came through in some key moments to keep them in the game all the way until the end.

Facing another tough offense in Utah this week, the Wildcats' defense will have to play at an even higher level.

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