TUCSON, Ariz. -- Riding a two-game winning streak, the Arizona Wildcats will head to the Bay Area to face off with Cal on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m., on Pac-12 Network. Ted Robinson, Yogi Roth and Jill Savage will have the call. 

Below is a full preview: 

Some Game Themes: The halfway point of the season has come and gone, but Arizona and California hope their October momentum is just beginning. The Wildcats enter play this week riding a two-game win streak. Modest, sure, but it's thrust them to a 2-1 conference mark that firmly puts them among the early South Division contenders. Meanwhile, the Golden Bears are coming off one of the season's biggest upsets. It wasn't just the fact Cal upended Washington State last Friday night, it's how the Golden Bears so easily shut down one of the nation's prolific offenses. That will be a continuing storyline this week for Cal, which again plays host to a high-powered offense. Arizona's RPO-heavy system has been engineered the last two weeks by quarterback Khalil Tate, who has taken the college football scene by storm with record-setting and highlight-filled performances. He surely draws extra attention in the game-planning of first-year head coach Justin Wilcox and his coaching staff. On that staff is special teams coordinator Charlie Ragle, a member of Rich Rodriguez's UA staff in a similar capacity the past several seasons. Perhaps playing in favor of the Golden Bears is an extra day of rest following a nationally-televised Friday contest a week ago. Playing against the Bears may be its their eighth-consecutive week on the gridiron with their bye week not until November. Arizona has been relatively healthy this season, but a physical clash with the Bruins last Saturday left more bumps and bruises than previous games. That's football and as the weeks wear on, it's a next-man-up philosophy for everyone. If you want to consider these things at this juncture, a win puts one of these schools within a victory of bowl-eligibility. However, the more immediate focus should be on Saturday's showdown in Berkeley, a place Arizona has not visited since 2013. In fact, these teams haven't met since the unbelievable "Hill Mary" victory in Tucson in September of 2014, an unforgettable game-winning play that sparked the Cats to a 10-win season. Improbable and unexpected plays and games like that latest one are historically common in the Arizona-Cal series. From that end, the Wildcats have been victorious in the last three meetings, but those wins come by a combined 10 points. So buckle up, it could very well be another wild and wacky evening at California Memorial Stadium.

Last Week: Khalil Tate followed up his record-setting performance with another spectacular effort in leading Arizona to a convincing 47-30 victory over UCLA before a Family Weekend crowd of 48,380 at Arizona Stadium. The sophomore quarterback, in only his second career start (first of the season), 378 yards of offense and three touchdowns. Included was the sixth-best rushing game in UA history (230 yards), which made him the first FBS quarterback since 1997 to post consecutive 200-plus yard rushing games. He openend things up with 45-yard touchdown run just 74 seconds into the game and Arizona never looked back. The Wildcats held first-half leads of 10-0 an 17-7 before Jace Whittaker's second interception of the game was returned 42 yards for a touchdown. That put Arizona ahead 24-7 with 8:03 remaining in the second quarter and the teams traded scores before halftime for a 30-14 lead for the home side. The Bruins showed signs of a second-half comeback with two touchdowns (and two two-point conversions) in the third period, but Arizona always had an answer and the lead never shrunk to single digits. The UA defense turned up the heat on Josh Rosen, too, with true freshman Kylan Wilborn leading the charge with four sacks. The Wildcats totaled five sacks and eight tackles for loss in the game, while Whittaker has two interceptions and a pass breakup to lead a secondary that limited Rosen to his second-lowest passing total of his career (219 yards). As one would expect, Arizona's exclamation marks in the game came on the ground. After UCLA trimmed the deficit to 33-22 late in the third quarter, Tate opened things back up with a 71-yard touchdown run. The Bruins against answered with a touchdown drive to bring themselves within 10, but a 75-yard drive was punctuated by Nick Wilson's second touchdown of the game to cap the scoring early in the fourth quarter. UCLA couldn't muster any scoring in the fourth quarter, and the Wildcats ran out the final five-plus minutes of clock with possession of the ball. Wilson totaled 135 rushing yards and a pair of scores of his own, and the Wildcats rolled up 457 yards on the ground as part of a 605-yard day of total offense. The victory snapped a five-game losing streak to UCLA.

Pac-12 Player of the Week x 2: For the second consecutive week, quarterback Khalil Tate is the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week. Being worthy of the honor in consecutive games – in a historically well-regarded offensive league – is one thing. But also consider that Tate is only the second Arizona quarterback to be named the Pac-10/12 Offensive Player of the Week twice in the same season. The first to do so was quarterback Tom Tunnicliffe, who was recognized in 1982 for his performances in leading Arizona to wins against ninth-ranked Notre Dame and Pacific. Among all offensive players, the only other player besides Tunnicliffe to win a weekly honor twice in the same campaign was running back Ka'Deem Carey, who was twice selected the conference's top offensive performer in 2013 (vs. Utah and Oregon). Otherwise, a couple offensive players have won a Pac-10/12 Offensive Player of the Week and also a Pac-10/12 Special Teams Player of the Week in the same year. The last to do so was Gary Love in 2000 (vs. UTEP and Washington State) and previously Chuck Levy in 1993 (vs. Oregon and USC). In 2014, linebacker Scooby Wright III was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Week three times.

Takeaway Trends: The Wildcats opened the season forcing at least two turnovers in each of the first four games of the season for the first time since 2001. After not gaining a turnover in the win at Colorado, Arizona bounced back to intercept three passes and recover a fumble against UCLA, giving the Cats multiple takeaway games in five of their six games to date. All totaled, it's 13 turnovers gained by Arizona this season. A year, the Cats mustered only 14 takeaways in 12 games. When Arizona gains at least two turnovers in a game, it is 28-7 (.800) under Rich Rodriguez. That mark that improves to 15-1 (.938) if there are three or more takeaways in a game.

Perfect October Starts: Arizona has opened the month of October with a 2-0 record for the first time since the 2000 season. Yes, that's some 17 years since the last 2-0 start in October. Interestingly, 2000 was the second-consecutive 2-0 October start for the Wildcats, and the third in a four-season span. From 1997-2000, Arizona opened October with a 2-0 record in each season except 1998, which was a 12-1 season overall. So when was the last 3-0 October start? That would be the Fiesta Bowl season of 1993 when the Wildcats began the year 7-0 en route to a 10-2 campaign.

Perfect Road Starts: The Wildcats are 2-0 on the road season just one year removed from going 0-5 away from a home a season ago. Arizona most recently opened with a 2-0 road record during the 2014 season, one in which the Cats were 4-1 in true road games. The 2014 season also happens to be the last year the Wildcats had a 3-0 start to their road record.

Get Ahead, Stay Ahead: A common theme in Arizona's sixgames this season? The team that scores first has won the game. Not only that, but the first team to strike first has not trailed in a contest this season. In fact, this very trend has carried over from the second half of the 2016 season. In the Wildcats' last 12 games, the team that has scored first has not only gone on to win the game, but has never trailed. The last time this wasn't true: last Oct. 8 at Utah. Arizona opened the scoring with an early touchdown, but ultimately lost 36-23. The last time the Wildcats overcame a deficit to win? Last Sept. 10 against Grambling State. Arizona trailed 21-3 at halftime, before pitching a second-half shutout and rallying to win, 31-21, in that contest.

Clock Killers: Rich Rodriguez and the Wildcats are known for their up-tempo, often quick-strike offense. However, they've also had success eating up clock to preserve leads in the fourth quarter. Last week against UCLA, Arizona had possession of the ball for 11:08 in the fourth quarter, including running out the clock for the final 5:28. A week prior at Colorado, the Cats held the ball for 9:13, including running out the final 5:04 of game action in a three-point contest. Arizona's other FBS win this season – a rout at UTEP – saw the Cats chew up 12:33 of the final 15 minutes.

Points, Points and More Points: Through six games this season, Arizona has scored 257 points. That's the highest total for the Wildcats through six games since joining the Pac-10/Pac-12 in 1978. It's the highest total overall for the Wildcats since Arizona had 301 points in its first six games in 1921. The Wildcats opened that season with an 84-13 win over Bisbee Legion to give you an idea of the opponents. The 257 points are more than the Wildcats scored in any season from 2002 to 2006. Arizona's highest total in that span was 252 total points scored in 11 games in 2005. For more recent comparison, Arizona scored 297 points a year ago.

Points Scored	Year
257	2017
254	2015
245	1983
241	2008
225	2014

 
In a Rush: Through six games, Arizona is fourth nationally in rushing offense, averaging 342.3 yards per game. The Wildcats are behind traditional option teams Navy, Army and Georgia Tech. Perhaps more impressively, Arizona is averaging 6.94 yards per carry, which is the highest total in the country for a team with 250 or more carries. All total, Arizona has 2,054 rushing yards, joining Navy, Army and Alabama as the only teams in the country to surpass the 2,000-yard mark on the season already. At 296 rushes, the Wildcats have the fewest carries for a team already over the 2,000-yard mark.

School	Rushes	Rushing Yards	Yards Per Carry
Arizona	296	2,054	6.94
Notre Dame	268	1,848	6.90
Alabama	324	2,118	6.54
Army	416	2,649	6.37
Navy	385	2,385	6.19

Sack Attack: Led by Kylan Wilborn's four sacks against Josh Rosen and the Bruins (most for a UA player in a game since Joe Salave'a in 1997), Arizona has turned up the heat on quarterbacks in recent weeks. The Cats totaled five sacks in the victory over UCLA, a team that had allowed only three sacks in the previous three games combined. The Wildcats now have at least two sacks in their last four games, including nine in their two victories over Colorado and UCLA. Arizona had only 15 sacks in nine conference games last season.

Sack Attack, Or Lack Thereof: While Arizona's defense has begun racking up the sacks, Arizona's offense is doing a good job preventing sacks. Surely some of that comes from the Wildcats' prominent rushing attack and the elusiveness of quarterbacks Brandon Dawkins and Khalil Tate. But stats are stats, so let's look at them. Arizona leads the Pac-12 and ranks ninth nationally for the fewest sacks allowed at 0.83 per game. The Cats have not surrendered a sack in either of their last two contests, and have allowed multiple sacks just one time this year (vs. Utah). California has done well at times this year getting to the quarterback, averaging 2.86 sacks per game, good enough for sixth-best in the Pac-12.

He's Baaaaaaaack: With his 22-rush, two-touchdown, 135-yard performance against UCLA, Nick Wilson produced his first 100-yard rushing game since running for 116 yards on 24 carries against Grambling State in 2016. It's his first 100-yard game against a conference opponent in more than two years. The now senior rushed for 136 yards on 24 carries against UCLA as a sophomore in 2015. Wilson now has 13, 100-yard rushing games for his career. With his two rushing scores against the Bruins on Saturday, Wilson now has 30 for his career, which ranks third all-time at Arizona behind Ka'Deem Carey (48) and Art Luppino (44). Wilson also upped his career rushing total to 2,772 rushing yards, which ranks eighth all-time in school history. He's 186 yards away from passing Nic Grigsby for seventh all-time at Arizona.

Getting off the Field: The Arizona defense has been much better about getting off the field before allowing a first down this year. Through six games, Arizona has posted 25 three-and-outs, averaging 4.2 per game. Arizona's defense has forced a three-and-out on 25 of 78 drives this season, a 32.1 percentage. Last season, in 12 games, Arizona had just 30 three-and-outs the entire season. Arizona had at least three three-and-outs in each of the first four games this season, before posting just one in 10 possessions against Colorado. The Wildcats bounced back with four three-and-outs against UCLA.

Big Play Shun: Junior receiver Shun Brown hauled in a 53-yard pass from Khalil Tate last weekend against UCLA. It was Brown's fifth career catch of 50 or more yards and they've all come in the past two seasons. Brown leads the Wildcats in receptions with 21 and is second on the team with 279 receiving yards. Brown is averaging 13.3 yards per catch, highlighting his big play ability. Including returns, Brown has eight plays this season of 20 or more yards, including five pass receptions. The Shreveport, Louisiana native is also averaging 23.5 yards per punt return with two return touchdowns on the season. Brown is averaging just one punt return per game, and therefore does not qualify among the official NCAA leaders, where 1.2 punt returns per game is the minimum. If Brown, who is often punted away from, qualified, he'd be second in the country behind Washington's Dante Pettis.

Wilborn Willpower: True freshman defensive end Kylan Wilborn, who has started all six games for the Wildcats this season, continues to have a banner debut season for Arizona. Wilborn leads all Power 5 freshmen in sacks with five. Wilborn, from Northridge, California, had the finest performance of his young career Saturday against UCLA. Wilborn had four sacks, one forced fumble and five total tackles against the Bruins. All four of Wilborn's sacks came in the second half. His forced fumble came in the first quarter. Wilborn became the first Arizona player to have four sacks in a game since Joe Salave'a also had four against Arizona State in 1997. For the season, Wilborn has seven tackles-for-loss, five sacks, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one pass breakup and 19 total sacks. His three forced fumbles are the most by an Arizona player since Scooby Wright had six in 2014. The team leader each of the past two seasons had two with Parker Zellers leading the way last season and Will Parks in 2015. Wilborn is tied for third in the Pac-12 with USC's Josh Fatu with his five sacks. 

Jumpin' Jace: Junior cornerback Jace Whittaker started his 13^th straight game Saturday night versus UCLA and continues to establish himself as a force for the Wildcats. Against the Bruins, Whittaker had perhaps the finest game of his career. The junior from Oceanside, California had two interceptions, including one he returned 42 yards for a touchdown. It was his first career multi-interception game and his first interception return for a touchdown. Whittaker also had a pass breakup and now has seven on the season to lead the Wildcats. For his career, Whittaker has 22 pass breakups and is just two away from entering the Top 15 all-time at Arizona. Martin Rudolph is currently 15^th at Arizona with 24. Whittaker has 17 tackles on the season, including a ½ for a loss. Whittaker is second in the Pac-12, averaging 1.50 passes defended per game. Passes defended are interceptions, plus pass breakups.
Passes Defended Leaders in the Pac-12

Name	School	Passes Defended	Passes Defended Per Game
Isaiah Oliver	Colorado	11	1.57
Jace Whittaker	Arizona	9	1.50
Arrion Springs	Oregon	10	1.43
Jack Jones	USC	9	1.29
Uchenna Nwosu	USC	9	1.29

 
A Dane-dy Weapon: Prior to the season, senior Dane Cruikshank moved positions, switching from the boundary cornerback spot to the "Spur" safety spot for the Wildcats. The senior from Chino Hills, California embraced the move and has already been a two-time game captain for the Cats. The position change seems to have agreed with Cruikshank, who started all 12 games for the Wildcats a year ago. Cruikshank picked off his first pass of the season Saturday against UCLA and now has three career picks in two seasons. The defensive back also had a tackle-for-loss, while leading the Wildcats with six total tackles. Cruikshank didn't have any tackles-for-loss in his first 11 games as a Wildcat, but has four over his last seven games after notching one in last year's season finale against Arizona State. Cruikshank has 26 tackles in six games for the Wildcats this season.