The last time Arizona met Stanford on the gridiron, Wildcat quarterback Anu Solomon was a 16-year-old high school student who had committed to the UA only a few months earlier. 

Receiver Cayleb Jones and cornerback DaVonte’ Neal were playing at Texas and Notre Dame, respectively, and Scooby Wright III was nothing more than an off-the-radar high school senior. 

All of that is to say that much has happened in the three years since the Cardinal defeated Arizona in a 54-48 overtime thriller. 

Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez said he didn’t remember much from that game, other than the obvious: it ended in a Wildcat loss. 

“We struggled in the first half offensively [and then] kind of hit a groove,” Rodriguez said. “What I do remember is that [UA quarterback] Matt Scott was on fire. Probably as impressive a throwing performance as I’ve ever had. But we got beat.” 

Scott threw for 491 yards and three touchdowns in the high-scoring showdown, while Ka’Deem Carey ran for another 132 yards and three touchdowns of his own. 

The Wildcats would surely love to borrow some of that offensive explosiveness this Saturday.

Rich Rod ready for Randall

With Arizona quarterback Anu Solomon likely out of practice all week after suffering a concussion against UCLA, backup Jerrard Randall is expected to take over first-team duties. 

While Arizona won’t confirm its starting quarterback for Stanford until Thursday at the earliest, Rodriguez sounded upbeat about the prospects of Randall starting Saturday. 

“He’s not an 18-year-old kid. He’s been around a little bit,” Rodriguez said. “So, I think he’ll be alright. He’s a strong, athletic kid, and he’s one of the strongest kids pound-for-pound that we have on our team.”

Randall had his first breakout game this season when he ran for two touchdowns on three carries in Arizona’s 77-13 victory over NAU. Randall added another rushing touchdown in the UCLA loss.

It’s not the quarterback’s legs that are in question; rather, it’s his right arm. 

Randall’s passes come out like a 98 mph fastball. While there’s always a lot of zip on his throws, sometimes there’s a little too much. 

“We’ve been spent a year and a half on relaxing it, getting a little touch on it,” Rodriguez said. “He’s ripped through a lot of receiver gloves.” 

Randall, who began his college career at LSU, has completed just under 32 percent of his completions this season.

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