Oregon and Arizona Could Come Down To The Ground Games of Ka’Deem Carey and Marcus Mariota

Every week  of the football season so far I have written a piece called ‘Three Things We Should See’. Today I know one thing is certain on Saturday night in Tucson. Arizona Running Back Ka’Deem Carey will run on Oregon. He had hit the 100 yard mark in every game this season. Last week, in a loss to Washington State Carey had two touchdowns and 132 yards on the ground. Extending to last season the Wildcat Running Back has now hit a streak of 13 straight hitting the century mark. On the other side of the ball Oregon has plenty of weapons on Offense, however with the last few games the running game seems to be lacking.

Nov 16, 2013; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats running back KaDeem Carey (25) runs the ball for a touchdown during the second quarter past Washington State Cougars safety Mitchell Peterson (48) and Destiny Vaeao (97) at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

Oregon Running Back De’Anthony Thomas finally looked like the DAT we know running back a long punt return for a touchdown last weekend against Utah. He was coming off an injury in the Cal game kickoff when he hurt his ankle on the opening play of the game. Another area of concern for the Ducks ground game is the elusiveness of Quarterback Marcus Mariota. He is also injured this season with a Sprained MCL suffered last month. He says he is close to 100 percent going into the game with the Wildcats and we all know that the state of Arizona if not a place to play if your a Duck and a Signal Caller. (See Dennis Dixon).

One area that Mariota seemed just fine vs Utah last weekend was the passing game. Expect the Ducks to use this to their advantage. Oregon has too many weapons who can catch the ball. This, like the Washington game will begin as a game of momentum. Carey will be a threat and will get the crowd involved and to counter Mariota may have to use his feet. Over the last few weeks he has had opportunity to show off his footwork, but he has hesitated. In part I think because of the injury but also the other teams defensive coverage.

One thing is for sure. The sight of Dennis Dixon down on the field signaled the end of a National Championship and Heisman run a few years ago. This season the Ducks may be out of the National Title picture, but there is still plenty to play for and Oregon Quarterback Marcus Mariota is a key. Lets hope the turf in Tucson is kinder this time around.

Oregon and Arizona take the field on Saturday at 12:30pm PT on ABC/ESPN2.

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