Grigsby Opening Up Arizona Offense

Two games and 111 points into college football season, it’s safe to describe the Arizona Wildcats’ offense as volatile.

How that explosiveness will translate to matches against Division I-A defenses remains to be seen. Either way, much of Arizona’s progress on the offensive side of the ball can be traced to its unexpectedly good ground game, led by sophomore running back Nic Grigsby.

That’s not to say that Willie Tuitama and the Wildcats receiving corps didn’t greatly contribute to the last two victories. They did. But everyone expected Tuitama’s right arm to play a major part in Arizona’s offensive drives.

To my mind, this was a major problem for the Arizona offense going into the football season. A quarterback with no alternative to passing is often dead in the water, no matter how talented he may be. Tuitama’s history of concussions makes it dangerous for him to scramble, so opposing defenses could easily send 8 people into pass coverage without a credible running threat, eliminating any chance for a good pass. Toledo tried this approach in the last game against Arizona, swarming the long receivers at the expense of a solid run defense.

The result? Grigsby ran all over the Rockets, averaging 6.75 yards per carry and scoring three touchdowns.

The Wildcats’ future is written in this balance of the running and passing games. In order to be successful offensively, they must teach opposing defenses to respect Grigsby. This will allow the passing game to open up and pick apart the secondary.

However, if either Grigsby or Tuitama finds the Pac-10 defenses to be too tough, the offense will likely collapse under the strain of a concentrated defensive attack. To be successful in this conference, the Wildcat offense needs to keep its defenders on their toes.

Photos courtesy of ESPN and the University of Arizona.