Tucson, Ariz. -- Following a pair of victories at Arizona Stadium, the Arizona Wildcats will face their biggest challenge of the season to date when they take on No. 9 Washington at 7:30 p.m. Roxy Bernstein, Anthony Herron and Lewis Johnson will have the call on Pac-12 Networks. 
This is Arizona's third straight home game. Following the matchup with the Huskies, Arizona will head to UCLA to start back-to-back road trips at UCLA and Utah. 
Here are some themes to watch this week with the Huskies in town. 

Some Game Themes: The final Saturday in September marks the first Pac-12 action for Washington and Arizona … With three out-of-league games in the books for either side, the real season begins for these North vs. South division rivals … It surely won't be raining Cats and Dawgs, we hope, but much less certain is just where these teams are … Washington is ranked ninth the Associated Press Top 25 this week and is a popular favorite to win, or at least contend for, the league title. But the Huskies' first road trip of the year brings them to a place – Arizona Stadium – where they haven't won in their last four tries … The home side, meanwhile, hopes to keep that success rolling, not just against Washington, but against AP Top 10 teams. The Cats are 7-5 at home against top-10 teams since 2005 … The challenge for Arizona will be immense. Washington is very talented on both sides of the ball, and the Wildcats are young and a bit banged up after Week 3 … The pressing question on the home side is the quarterback position, where starter Anu Solomon has missed the last two games with a knee injury. Brandon Dawkins showed noticeable improvement from his first start to his second, and offers a willingness to run from the quarterback position that can be precarious for defenses to handle … Other questions are sure to be the status of junior running back Nick Wilson, who left last Saturday's game early, as well as linebacker DeAndre' Miller, perhaps the most important player in UA's defensive scheme … It's unknown how much the Wildcats will think back to last Halloween because it was a nightmare they'd rather not recall (49-3 loss in Seattle). Maybe it's an extra motivating factor or maybe it's not. The Cats need to put together four full quarters of football, something they have yet to do this season … If you're looking for a key stat to ponder, look no further than turnovers. UW and UA rank Nos. 1-2 in the Pac-12 in turnover margin, combining for 18 gained and only five lost thus far. The team that protects the football likely has an edge, if everything else is equal … It's the last of a three-game homestand for the Wildcats, who eagerly look forward to playing in front of their biggest home crowd of the early season … Indeed, Pac-12 play is here. Game on.

Last Week: Arizona opened with its best quarter of football this season, surging to an early 20-0 lead en route to a 47-28 victory over Hawai'i on a memorable Saturday night at Arizona Stadium that included several tributes to the U.S.S. Arizona and World War II veterans for the upcoming 75^th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack this December. In his second career start, Brandon Dawkins showed more comfort making his reads in the run and pass game, combining for 353 yards of total offense and four touchdowns. Running back Nick Wilson left the game early with an apparent injury, but true freshman J.J. Taylor filled the void and showed his explosiveness with 168 yards on 18 carries highlighted by a 61-yard touchdown burst. Shun Brown was one of nine targets to haul in a reception, and his 92-yard receiving output included a 56-yard score for his first career touchdown. Defensively, the Wildcats put together a strong first half even with the absence of linebacker Cody Ippolito, who had to serve a suspension following a targeting foul the week prior. However, it was a sloppier second half and some injuries crept into the two-deep rotation, allowing the Rainbow Warriors to score 21 points after halftime. Most concerning for Arizona was its uncharacteristic number of penalties: 11 for 105 yards. It was the first time in 46 games the Cats drew double-digit penalties. Still, Arizona protected the football, gained two turnovers and improved to 2-1 as it gears up for the gauntlet of the Pac-12 season.

Against Top 25 Teams: Saturday's contest will mark UA's first game against a ranked opponent this season after going 1-2 a year ago. Arizona is 47-110-1 all-time against AP ranked opponents, including earning at least one win over an AP Top-25 school in 11 of the last 12 seasons. Under Rich Rodriguez, Arizona is 7-12 in all games against ranked opponents, including posting a 5-3 home mark, while going 4-3 against top-10 foes. The Wildcats have a win over a top-10 in each of the last four seasons (39-36 vs. No. 10 USC in 2012, 42-16 vs. No. 5 Oregon in 2013, 31-24 at No. 2 Oregon in 2014, and 37-30 [2 OT] vs. No. 10 Utah in 2015).
 
Arizona vs. Washington: In somewhat of an oddity, Arizona and Washington will meet for the 22nd-consecutive season. It's an oddity because outside of rival Arizona State, the next longest streak of consecutive seasons UA has played the same Pac-12 foe is 14 against UCLA … The Huskies lead the all-time series, 20-11-1, but seven of the Wildcat's 11 victories have come since 2003 … The home team has won the last eight meetings between these schools with the last road win coming from Arizona (48-41 at Washington in 2007) … The teams have split 15 games at Arizona Stadium (7-7-1) with the Huskies' last victory being a 21-10 decision in 2006 … From 1998-2003, all six meetings were decided by eight points or less. However, the 12 meetings since have seen only three decisions by one-possession. Included are victory margins of 24, 34, 46, 35 and 46 for the schools … The last one-possession game in the series was Arizona's 27-26 victory on Casey Skowron's game-ending 47-yard field goal in November 2014.

Arizona Stadium Success: Historically, the Wildcats have enjoyed plenty of success at Arizona Stadium, but the last decade has produced a consistent run of success. Arizona has strung together nine consecutive seasons without a losing home record, accumulating a 43-18 record dating back to the start of the 2007 season. That is a winning percentage of more than 70-percent, a nice boost over the overall 60-percent winning percentage that dates back 66 years to the 1950 season (247-162-6). In four seasons under head coach Rich Rodriguez, the winning percentage is even higher (.759) as his squads have gone 22-7 at Arizona Stadium. Most impressive is scoring margin; Rodriguez's teams have outscored opponents 1,173-753 (+420) in four-plus seasons. That averages out to a two-touchdown victory margin (40.4-26.0 points per game).

Youthful Secondary: There may be some growing pains in the meantime, but the future of Arizona's secondary could be bright as some youngsters pick up significant playing time. Starting free safety Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles is a true sophomore, as is Jace Whittaker, a regular in the rotation at cornerback. Then there's a handful of rookies, including true freshmen Tristan Cooper, Isaiah Hayes, Chacho Ulloa and redshirt freshman Anthony Mariscal. That group of six combined for 18 tackles, two breakups and an interception (Flannigan-Fowles) last Saturday against Hawai'i.. Another newcomer to the group is Dane Cruikshank, a junior college transfer who sat out last season. Cruikshank, a junior, added a pass breakup.

For Starters: The Wildcats had three players – all freshmen – make their first career starts Saturday against Hawai'i. On offense, both first-time starters came on the offensive line. Redshirt freshman Cody Creason started at right tackle; a spot that was occupied by Gerhard De Beer the first two games of the season. Christian Boettcher, another redshirt freshman, started at left guard. Senior Freddie Tagaloa started there the first two games. Defensively, Tristan Cooper started at the SPUR safety position and had eight tackles, which was tied for the team-high with Paul Magloire Jr., and Michael Barton. Cooper also tipped a pass by Hawai'I quarterback Ikaika Woolsey in the first half, which led to an interception by Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles. Unlike Creason and Boettcher, Cooper is a true freshman, who arrived on campus in the summer.

Show 'em Shun: Sophomore wide receiver Shun Brown entered halftime of the Hawaii game with four catches for 82 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Dawkins. Solid numbers for any receiver, Brown's first half is even more notable when you consider his first 15 games. The Shreveport, Louisiana product entered the game with five catches for 31 yards in 15 career games played. In the first 15 minutes of Saturday's game, Brown nearly matched his career yards total, grabbing two passes for 28 yards, including a 23-yard gainer from Dawkins. In the second quarter, Brown and Dawkins hooked up for the 56-yard touchdown that gave Arizona a 27-7 lead with 7:17 to play in the first half. Brown added another catch in the second half to finish with five catches for 92 yards. He was the team's leading receiver and also shared punt return duties with J.J. Taylor and Nate Phillips.

The Freshmen 150: True freshman running back J.J. Taylor saw the biggest workload of his young career Saturday against Hawaii. The Corona, California product rushed for 168 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. He had a 61-yard touchdown run and averaged 9.3 yards per carry. The 168 yards are the eighth-most ever by an Arizona freshman running back. Taylor joins teammate Nick Wilson, who owns five of the 10 best freshman marks. Taylor becomes just the sixth freshman in Arizona history to rush for more than 150 yards in a game. He also needed the second fewest carries to reach the 150 mark. 

Dual-Threat Dawkins: In his two starts this season, Brandon Dawkins has rushed for 215 yards and five touchdowns on 31 carries. Through the air, Dawkins is 31-50 for 458 yards and a pair of scores. The five rushing touchdowns are the most by an Arizona quarterback over a two-game span in at least 20 years. In fact, with one more score, Dawkins will tie Matt Scott for the second most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a season since 1997. B.J. Denker, who found the end zone 13 times in 2013, is tops on the list. His highest two-game touchdown total was four when he scored twice apiece against UNLV and UTSA. Through the air, Dawkins has shown the most improvement in decision making. The redshirt sophomore from Oxnard, California, threw two interceptions in the first 30 pass attempts of his career. In the 58 attempts since, Dawkins hasn't thrown an interception. Dawkins has also shown the big play ability through the air. In the three games he's played in where he's thrown at least 10 passes, Dawkins has completed a pass of at least 56 yards. Against Arizona State last year, Dawkins found Trey Griffey for a 95-yard score. In his first career start this year against Grambling State, Dawkins hooked up with Samajie Grant for a 70-yard gain. Last game, he completed a 56-yard touchdown pass to Shun Brown.

Pick 'Em 6: Prior to the season, sophomore safety Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles traded in his No. 12 for No. 6. The move has agreed with the Tucson product through three games. Flannigan-Fowles has interceptions in back-to-back games and is third on the team with 15 tackles through three contests. Flannigan-Fowles is one of six Pac-12 players with two interceptions so far this season. Flannigan-Fowles had just one pick all of last season as a true freshman. 

Miller in the Backfield: Junior linebacker DeAndre' Miller has at least one tackle-for-loss in five straight games, dating back to last season. Miller extended his streak Saturday with a first-quarter sack. Miller has four tackles-for-loss this season, which leads the team. He's tied for the team lead in sacks with Parker Zellers. Miller's four tackles-for-loss are tied for the second-most in the Pac-12 Conference behind Troy Dye from Oregon and Greg Gaines from Washington. Over his last five games, Miller has a total of nine tackles-for-loss, including three multi-tackle-for-loss games.

The McCall Trio: Only one Arizona defender, safety Jarvis McCall, has a tackle-for-loss, a pass breakup and an interception this season. In three starts, McCall has one tackle-for-loss, one interception and a pair of pass breakups. McCall played cornerback his first two seasons in Tucson, but moved over to free safety before the season. The position change has agreed with McCall, who has become one of the stalwarts of Marcel Yates' defense.

Barton's Big Night: 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. Despite not recording a tackle in the opener against BYU, defensive coordinator Marcel Yates liked what he saw from Barton and made it a priority to find him more playing time. Against Grambling State, Barton rewarded Yates, who also serves as Barton's position coach. Barton finished with eight tackles, including two for a loss. He also added a sack. Barton has the ability to play multiple spots at linebacker and played both in the middle and the WILL spot against Grambling State. Barton again had eight tackles last week against Hawai'i. He tied for the team lead with Tristan Cooper and Paul Magloire Jr.