Tucson, Ariz. -- The Arizona Wildcats are set to travel to Corvallis, Oregon to take on the Oregon State Beavers in their final road game of the season. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m., MST and will be televised by Pac-12 Networks. J.B. Long, Glenn Parker and Jill Savage will have the call. 

Some Game Themes: Consider this an opportunity for one program to take out some frustration and experience the joy that comes with a winning locker room … Arizona seeks to snap a seven-game losing streak, while Oregon State looks to end its five-game slide … UA coach Rich Rodriguez takes his charges to Reser Stadium for the first time in his five seasons, the lone Pac-12 stop he has yet to take the program … The offensive success for these two teams has mostly come on the ground this season. In Arizona's case, it has shuffled quarterbacks the last three games after Brandon Dawkins and Anu Solomon returned from injuries. Who starts there could remain a question up until the opening play …. Stability has also eluded the Wildcats at running back, but converted receiver Samajie Grant has begun to settle into the new role evidenced by his 100-yard performance last week … Arizona's defense has fought hard all season, but a new system, a plethora of youngsters and an undersized unit overall has kept the Cats from producing a four-quarter defensive stand to this point … Special teams has also been negatively affected by injuries across the board with walk-ons and youngsters playing ahead of their time on the field. It hasn't helped matters that the kicking game has struggled the last two week after being steady in the first half of the season … The key, most likely, is for one of these teams to get off to a fast start. Victory will be achievable no doubt and who knows where that confidence could take a team into the rivalry games the following weekend. And while those games have added importance to turn around troubling seasons, the focus should be on this game under the lights at Reser Stadium … Indeed, the Wildcats are used to the Pac-12 After Dark hoopla. They'll end up playing 10 of their 12 games this with a 7:30 p.m. or later start time. The afternoon cat naps might as well be a permanent fixture on the team itineraries … But we regress. The countdown to kickoff is underway. We'll see you in Corvallis. 

Last Year: Arizona snapped a two-game losing streak with a dominant four-quarter effort on Family Weekend last Oct. 10 at Arizona Stadium, sending Oregon State back to Corvallis with a 44-7 defeat. The return of Anu Solomon and a couple personnel tweaks on either side of the ball provided the necessary spark to get the Wildcats back on track. Solomon passed for 276 in his return, including a 50-yarder on the opening possession of the game to set up the initial score, which was capped with a Nick Wilson 3-yard plunge. The ground game was dominant throughout, rolling up 368 yards and five touchdowns, with Wilson accounting for a pair of touchdowns and freshman Orlando Bradford converting three. Yet the yardage winner was senior Jared Baker, who sprinted his way to a career-best 123 markers. Perhaps the credit goes to the big guys up front, including Freddie Tagaloa who successfully bumped inside to left guard while Layth Friekh assumed the left tackle spot. All told, it was 644 yards of offense and a welcomed feel-good game for the offense, which sputtered in a road loss at Stanford a week earlier. Not to be outdone, Arizona's defense turned in one of its finest performances in some time, limiting the Beavers to 249 yards of offense and only 98 through the air. A notable contribution came from Paul Magloire Jr., a safety dropped down into an outsider linebacker position much of the afternoon. Magloire had a game-high nine tackles, including two for loss. The defense also forced its first turnover in conference action when Anthony Fotu snared a pick from his end position, setting up the offense at the 1-yardline midway through the second quarter. With the ensuing touchdown, Arizona put the game out of reach and cruised to a 34-7 advantage at halftime. Casey Skowron booted his third field goal of the game to open the scoring in the third quarter, while Bradford punched home his third rushing score of the contest setting the score at its final, 44-7, with 4:37 to play in the third. But the damage was done by that point and the defense pitched a second-half shut out to secure Arizona's first win in Tucson over Oregon State since 1997. 

Pull Up the Map: Arizona may need a little help finding its way to Reser Stadium on Saturday night. It will be the Wildcats' first trip to Corvallis in the Rich Rodriguez era. It happens to be the only Pac-12 stop that Rodriguez has yet to make in his tenure. Arizona's last appearance at Oregon State was a 37-27 loss on Oct. 8, 2011. All-time, Arizona is 9-7-1 playing in Corvallis and Saturday will mark the latest in-season trip to Oregon State since 1980 when the Wildcats won 24-7 on Nov. 22 – their first contest played in Corvallis.

Late Night With the Cats: Once again, Arizona will be featured on #Pac12AfterDark. No, it's not an actual program, but the catchy hashtag might as well be a permanent fixture for all Arizona games. With the 7:30 p.m. (PST) kickoff this Saturday, the Wildcats are assured of playing 10 of their 12 games at 7:30 p.m. or later local time this season. Their two other games were 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m. affairs. That leaves a prime six and a half hours of the day where Arizona was not kicking off games. It was either grab some breakfast and head to the stadium or try and take a nap or two in the afternoon before gearing up for action.

State of the Backfield: Senior Samajie Grant was a four-year starter at wide receiver for the Wildcats before converting to running back three games ago to add needed depth at the position. Starting running back Nick Wilson, who opened the season with consecutive 100-yard rushing games, has been sidelined multiple times with ankle and knee injuries and will likely miss the final two games as well. His co-starter to open the season was sophomore Orlando Bradford, who was dismissed from the team after two games. The Wildcats then turned to true freshman sensation J.J. Taylor, who collected 167 yards in his first career start against Hawai'i and was poised for another triple-digit output in an upset bid against Washington in the conference opener. Taylor had 97 yards through two and a half quarters, but broke his ankle in the third quarter and Arizona eventually lost in overtime. While veteran Zach Green moved up the depth chart, the Wildcats needed to shuffle in receiver Tyrell Johnson to add depth to the position. After two starts, Johnson suffered a hamstring injury that has sidelined him the last two games. Which brings us back to Grant. He's essentially the fifth option at the position and now a three-game starter at running back who has shown growth in each performance. Pressing the correct holes takes some experience, but it seems each carry he is adjusting to the positon. His 113 yards on 16 carries against a physical Colorado defense was evidence of that. Arizona needs his playmaking ability these next two weeks.

Grant's Breakout: Samajie Grant's breakout in the backfield last week against No. 16 Colorado was a product of his unselfish commitment to learning a new position in the final weeks of his career. The former receiver has improved his rushing output each week, going from 64 yards against Stanford to 77 yards at Washington State and then the 113 markers against the Buffaloes. Added up, he's gained 254 yards on 43 carries in his three starts at running back, a hefty 5.91 yards per carry and 84.67 yards per game. That rushing average would actually be the fourth-best output of any Pac-12 player if you removed the games where Grant was used solely as a receiver, which reduces his season average to 25.4 yards. As for his 100-yard rushing performance, it was Arizona's sixth such effort of the season joining Brandon Dawkins (two), Nick Wilson (two) and J.J. Taylor (one). Only Stanford and Oregon (both seven) have more 100-yard rushing performances among Pac-12 schools.

No More Turnover "Rutt": Redshirt sophomore linebacker Brandon Rutt corralled his first career interception Saturday versus Colorado. Rutt's pick marked Arizona's first forced turnover since the Stanford affair on Oct. 29. In that game, Dane Cruikshank registered an interception, but fumbled the ball on his return. Rutt's interception is Arizona's third in conference play with Cruikshank totaling the other two. Rutt's interception led to a 2-yard touchdown plunge from Zach Green, giving Arizona its first points off turnovers of the conference season. Rutt has played in all 10 games this season and has eight tackles, one pass breakup and one fumble recovery to go with his interception. 

Turnover Takeaways: The Wildcats have forced only two turnovers in the last six games and just three in Pac-12 Conference play. That is troublesome for a program that thrives on turnovers. Under Rich Rodriguez, the Wildcats are 20-2 when they win the turnover battle and 10-7 when the category is tied. That means 30 of Rodriguez's 35 wins at Arizona have come when his team wins or ties the turnover margin. Equally as important, if Arizona forces multiple turnovers in a contest, it is 24-4 under Rodriguez.

The Zach Attack: Redshirt junior Zach Green scored his first career touchdown Saturday against Colorado. Green finished with 34 carries on 10 carries, including a 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Green, who received his degree in three years, has seen the most action of his career this season after the running back position has been depleted by injury. Green has rushed for 231 yards on 58 carries this season, averaging exactly four yards per carry. Listed at 5-feet-10-inches and 227 pounds, Green is a bruiser, who relies on his strength to churn out yards. Green's style can often be punishing. Of his 231 yards this season, 119 of them have come in the fourth quarter where he's averaging 4.3 yards per carry. He's most effective on first down, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. Green is a weapon in the red zone, where 30 of his 58 carries have come. He has 78 red zone yards and a touchdown.

Maul 'Em Paul: Senior linebacker Paul Magloire has led the Wildcats in tackles each of the past two games. Last weekend against Colorado, Magloire totaled nine tackles and a pass breakup. In the game before that, Magloire had a career-high 15 tackles. He became the first player to have 15 stops in a game for the Cats since Scooby Wright hit that number in the New Mexico Bowl last season. No player has had more than 15 tackles in a game since Wright had 19 against UCLA in 2014. Magloire leads the Wildcats in tackles this season with 67. He's second on the team to Michael Barton in tackles-for-loss with 5 ½ and is second on the team with 2 ½ sacks. The senior from Fort Lauderdale, Florida has had at least eight tackles in five of 10 games this season. He totaled 10 against BYU and eight each against Hawaii and Stanford, before making 15 stops against the Cougars and nine against the Buffaloes. The senior had an interesting journey to Arizona. Magloire began his collegiate career at Appalachian State as a quarterback. He then transferred to Arizona Western Junior College and changed positions to safety. Magloire then committed to Arizona, but again changed positions to linebacker, where he has been a steady force for the Cats. Entering the Oregon State game, Magloire is 10th in the conference with 6.7 tackles per game.

Cam Can Catch it: Junior Cam Denson finished last season tied for the team lead in interceptions, playing in all 13 games in the defensive backfield. But last spring, Denson, a local product from Salpointe Catholic High School, was moved to wide receiver. Over the first four games of the season, Denson had two catches for 19 yards, with both catches coming against Grambling State. However, the former high school receiver has officially hit his stride. Over his last six games, Denson has 11 catches for 182 yards and two touchdowns. The junior had the best offensive game of his career against Washington State. Denson hauled in a career-high four catches for 77 yards (also a career best) and his second career touchdown. His score came in the second quarter when he caught a 47-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Anu Solomon. Denson made his first career offensive start at Washington State. He started again against Colorado and had three catches for 33 yards. He had eight career starts as a defensive player, starting two in 2014 and six more last season. He's one of two active players on the Cats who have started games both on offense and defense. DaVonte' Neal, another defensive back, is the other. Neal made 10 starts at wide receiver, before making 16 career starts on defense.

Barton Bringing It: Following a 29-game career at California that produced 158 tackles, 2 ½ sacks and an interception, linebacker Michael Barton transferred to Arizona for his final season of eligibility. The 6-foot, 237-pound linebacker has produced right away for the Wildcats. Barton is fourth on the team with 50 tackles, 17 behind the leader, Paul Magloire. Barton has 35 solo tackles, 15 assists and seven tackles-for-loss in his first season in Tucson. He also has three sacks. Barton's seven tackles-for-loss lead the team and his three sacks are tied for the most on the Wildcats. Barton has taken over the starting middle linebacker spot after Cody Ippolito was lost with an injury. Barton had 12 tackles versus Stanford, which is the second most in his career. He had 13 in a game when he was at Cal. Barton missed the Washington State game with an injury, but returned against Colorado, where he had seven tackles, 1 ½ tackles for loss and a sack.

Fishing for Tackles: Fifth-year senior Aiulua "Fish" Fanene has been a revelation on the defensive line for first-year coordinator Marcel Yates and first-year defensive line coach Vince Amey. After having no tackles in his first three games this season and just one tackle in the first four, Fanene has become a fixture on the defensive line the past six weeks. Fanene has started four of six contests and has 12 tackles, two tackles-for-loss and a pass breakup the past six games versus Stanford, USC, Utah, UCLA, Colorado and Washington State. Fanene, who came to Arizona in 2010 from Tafuna High School in American Samoa, had eight tackles in 10 games as a redshirt freshman in 2011. Fanene then went on a two-year Mormon mission, before returning in 2014. He didn't log any stats the past two seasons, but has 10 tackles this season and has played in all nine games. At 6-feet-5-inches and 308 pounds, Fanene has provided the type of size and strength Yates seeks in his defensive linemen. He had three tackles Saturday against the Buffaloes.