Arizona has reached its bye week with a record of 3-4 after falling 49-39 to Washington in Seattle putting the Wildcats on a two-game losing streak. Now, UA will have No. 12 USC coming to Tucson for homecoming.
The Trojans will be looking to get back on track as well after falling 43-42 to No. 15 Utah suffering their first loss of the season. USC hasn't lost to Arizona since Oct. 27, 2012 when the Wildcats pulled off the 39-36 upset.
However, before the Wildcats face off against the Trojans, I wanted to answer some of the top questions fans have surrounding the Arizona football program.
Why haven't we seen guys like Ammon Allen, Malik Reed and Anthony Solomon on the field at the linebacker position?
As happens in most cases, coaches shrink the amount of guys they use in a game and have a core group of guys that they feel comfortable with and that have proven themselves throughout camps and practices. It takes a lot of work to break into a rotation if you weren't one of those guys through the first three games.
However, we've seen linebacker Jacob Manu do just that and now he is starting at the WILL linebacker position. Manu came to Arizona has a highly regarded three-star recruit with his only problem being his size.
In Manu's first start at the WILL position, he recorded 10 tackles and 2 1/2 tackles for loss. However, the only reason why he saw the field was because of the hard work he put in during practice that forced the hand of defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen to move him into a starting role.
My point is that it takes hard work to move up the depth chart and right now, the coaching staff are going with the guys with the most experience and who've earned their trust to be on the field. It is all part of the growing and developing process of college football.
