Ka'Deem Carey might be the best running back that no one is talking about. He ran for 1716 yards this season and averaged 5.3 yards per carry, while also scoring 17 times. He was explosive, with 38 runs over ten yards; he also though converted 21 of 29 third and short opportunities and averaged 3.4 yards per carry in the redzone. He also did not have a single game where he did not averaged under 4.3 yards per carry, and broke the hundred yard mark in every game. QB BJ Denker took the majority of the other carries, totaling 898 yards and 12 touchdowns on 167 carries. Denker's passing game though left a bit to be desired, averaging just 6.3 yards per attempt and tossing only 14 touchdowns. He was pretty miserable on third downs as well, converting just 28.7% of his attempts and completing only 53.2% of those passes. His top pass catchers were Nate Phillips and Terrence Miller, a pair that both averaged under 12 yards per catch, with the whole corps averaging just 10.4 yards per reception.
Andre Williams is the best running back that everyone is talking about. The Heisman finalist was able to become one of the few players to rush for over 2000 yards, ending up with 2102 on 6.4 yards per carry. Williams had 49 runs of ten yards or more, but teams stacked the box a bit more against him on third and short, meaning he only converted half of his chances (10 for 20). BC did also generate some offense through the air with Chase Rettig completing 61.6% of his passes for 7.6 yards per attempt. He had 17.7% of his passes go for more than 15 yards, but also struggled mightily on third downs. He only converted 31% of his attempts, and had just 51.6% of them be completed. He also tossed four interceptions on third down, when he only had six all season. The offensive line didn't help much with that, allowing a pressure rate of 15% this season, with 19 sacks on just 299 dropbacks.
While the Arizona offense was able to generate yards and points, the defense struggled to stop opponents form doing the same. They allowed 417.5 yards per game to FBS opponents, and 5.5 yards per play. Teams were able to pick up 4.2 yards per carry on the ground, and only Northern Arizona was kept under the 100 yard mark. They averaged 5.5 tackles for loss against FBS opponents, lead by Sione Tuihalamaka who had 11. Five of those were for sacks, again leading the team. Safety Tra'mayne Bondurant was the leader of the secondary, picking off four passes, defending five and recording 66 tackles. He was active against the run as well, recording seven tackles for loss.
BC was actually pretty stout against the run, allowing FBS opponents to pick up just 3.8 yards per carry. They werent very good in a lot of short yardage situations, but in the redzone they stiffened up, allowing only 2.4 yards per carry. Steele Divitto and Kevin Pierre-Louis each had over 100 tackles for the Eagles, and combined for 15.5 tackles for loss. Pierre Louis was second on the team with six sack, trailing Kasim Edebali who had 8.5 and had another three QB Hurries. Edebali also had 63 tackles and had four forced fumbles. The pass defense though struggled mightily, allowing 8.1 yards per attempt with a 66.7% completion rate and 24 touchdowns.
These run centric offenses should provide an entertaining contrast in offensive styles. With BC's defene being pretty good against the run, they should be able to make it interesting. But in the end, Arizona should come out of this with a win for the Pac-12. The under 57 is an intriguing play with the amount of time the clock should be running.
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