TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Arizona Wildcats are set to return to Arizona Stadium this weekend when they host No. 15 Washington State in a critical Homecoming matchup. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m., and will be televised by the Pac-12 Network. Roxy Bernstein, Anthony Herron and Lewis Johnson will have the call. 

A full preview is below:

Homecoming Tailgating Info: Starting at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Tents on the Mall will give alumni, fans, students, and faculty/staff the opportunity to interact before the game with a number of colleges, Greek organizations, and clubs hosting tents. View the set-up map by clicking HERE. At 1:45 p.m., participants will begin lining up for the Parade, which will get underway at 2 p.m. The Parade will start on south Cherry and go around the UA Mall. View the Parade map by clicking HERE.
 
If you plan on tailgating this weekend, make sure to arrive early so you are in place prior to the Parade line-up. We suggest being in place by 1 p.m. If you are not parked by 1:45 p.m., you will not have access to the tailgate grounds until the conclusion of the Parade at approximately 2:45 p.m., when normal gameday traffic patterns will resume.

Some Game Themes: Riding a three-game October win streak, Arizona returns home to host 15th-ranked Washington State in what is the Wildcats' 100th Homecoming football game … Plenty is at stake Saturday night, notably first-place contention in the respective divisions of these two teams. Arizona is tied with USC and Arizona State – two teams it has yet to play – in the loss column atop the Pac-12 South Division. Meanwhile, the one-loss Cougars are tied atop the North Division standings with Stanford and Washington, a pair of teams that also loom on the November slate … That tells us there's plenty of football still to be played regardless of how this week shakes out, but make no mistake: this will have a big game feel to it in Arizona Stadium … The Wildcat fans, rightly so, are riding a wave of momentum sparked by Arizona's October surge. Quarterback Khalil Tate has deservedly garnered national attention for his incredible play in recent weeks, but plenty of other key players have factored into the success. For the first time this season, UA may be facing some injury concerns with several key players either out or leaving last week's road win at California … Coming to town is the always high-powered Mike Leach offense led by potential all-conference quarterback Luke Falk, who has over 800 career passing yards in his last two outings against the Wildcats … But the real storyline for the Cougs has been the emergence of a quick, athletic and at times dominant defense that stands as Arizona's stiffest test of the season. The Cats are the league's highest-scoring offense with three straight games of 45 or more points, but Wazzu is the second-best scoring defense and hasn't allowed more than 27 points in its four conference victories to date … A couple interesting factors to considers: WSU is playing its ninth-straight game without a bye and of its first eight games this season, only two have been played away from home … The Wildcats hope to reverse a trend that has seen WSU win two straight and three of the last four times in this series … Arizona would also like to treat the home crowd to a Homecoming victory for the first time since 2014. Two years ago, Wazzu spoiled the festivities and a year ago it was Stanford … But those were different seasons. What matters is Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Who's ready for some football?

Last Week: Arizona and Cal were up to their usual antics in the latest thriller of what is historically a bizarre, improbable and sometimes unbelievable series. Long story short: the Wildcats were holding onto a 45-44 lead in the second overtime as the Golden Bears called a timeout to set up a potential game-winning two-point conversion. The ensuing play saw Cal quarterback Ross Bowers, with a 300-yard passing day in hand, threw toward Jordan Duncan in the back of the endzone, but Arizona linebacker Colin Schooler, with 15 tackles to his credit, knocked the ball away and preserved a resilient road victory for the Wildcats in Berkeley. The back story is a bit deeper as Arizona faced some serious attrition. Starting free safety Scottie Young Jr. missed the game due to injury and starting defensive lineman Parker Zellers had to serve a first-half suspension (targeting in previous game). Then the Cats lost two players to targeting in the first quarter. Safety Troy Young, starting in place of Scottie Young Jr., was flagged as was running back JJ Taylor, who already had a 30-yard touchdown run in the game. To make matters worse, starting tailback Nick Wilson left the game due to injury in the opening quarter as well. Later, top freshmen defenders Tony Fields II and Kylan Wilborn would leave the game for good with injuries as well. The steadying force for the Cats was quarterback Khalil Tate. In his third career start, he totaled 303 yards of offense (137 rushing and 166 passing) and three touchdowns. He formed a physical backfield duo with third-string running back Zach Green, who toted the rock a career-high 20 times for 130 yards and a pair of scores. Along with first-half interceptions from defensive backs Jarrius Wallace and Lorenzo Burns, UA held a 21-7 lead at halftime. But the Golden Bears flipped the scoring in the second half and had the game tied 28-28 in the fourth quarter. Arizona's Josh Pollack kicked 36-yard field goal with 5:07 remaining to regain the lead for the visitors, but Cal's Matt Anderson answered with a 52-yarder at the 1:41 mark to tie the game. In overtime, Cal struck first on a five-play touchdown drive. However, Arizona quickly answered. Zach Green scooted 25 yards on UA's first offensive play. With the game tied, UA opened the second overtime with Tate throwing a 22-yard touchdown pass to tight end Bryce Wolma on the second play of the possession. Cal dug in and answered again as running back Vic Enwere punched in a 1-yard touchdown on fourth down, setting up the dramatic two-point conversion decision. Schooler's breakup improved the Cats to 3-0 on the road in 2017.

Pac-12 POW Three-Peat: For the first time since 1988, a player has been named the Pac-10/12 Offensive Player of the Week three consecutive weeks. Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate, who led Arizona with 303 yards of total offense and three touchdowns, was named the winner of the weekly honor for the third straight week on Monday. The last conference player to win the offensive honor three consecutive weeks was USC quarterback Rodney Peete to close the 1988 regular season. In Tate's three-game stretch, he's rushed for 694 yards, passed for 468 yards, totaled 1,162 yards and accounted for 11 touchdowns in wins against Colorado, UCLA and California. The last player to win three offensive weekly honors in the same season was Washington State's Luke Falk, who did so over a nine-week stretch in 2015.

Pac-12 Defensive POW: True freshman linebacker Colin Schooler was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. Making his third career start, Schooler totaled 15 tackles, 1.5 for loss and was credited with a forced fumble.  Most significantly, Schooler broke up a pass in the back of the end zone on California's attempt to win the game on a two-point conversion in double-overtime. The play clinched Arizona's 45-44 victory, which was its first ever in an overtime game on the road. Schooler is the first Wildcat defender recognized with the weekly honor since Scooby Wright III, who collected it three times in 2014 including in the final week of the regular season.

Tate's Trifecta: Sophomore quarterback Khalil Tate has produced a sensational three-game stretch of play beginning with his relief appearance at Colorado on Oct. 7 and his two subsequent starts. In the three-game win streak, the 19-year old (as of Monday) has garnered numerous citations, including national player of the week accolades and two consecutive weekly conference player of the week honors, as well. Here's a look at his incredible statistics over the last three weeks:

	RUSHING	PASSING	TOTAL OFFENSE
OPPONENT	Att-Yards-TD	C-A-YDS-TD	Plays-Yads-YD
at Colorado	14-327-4	12-13-154-1	27-481-5
UCLA	15-230-2	9-13-148-1	28-378-3
at California	17-137-1	10-15-166-2	32-303-3
Total	46-694-7	31-41-468-4	87-1,162-11
Avg./Play	15.1 ypc	11.4 ypp	13.4 ypp
Avg./Game	231.2 ypg	156.0 ypg	387.3 ypg

Youth Movement: Arizona is surely one of the youngest teams in the Pac-12, if not the country, entering 2017. The Wildcats' roster included 61 freshmen (including redshirts) on the 120-man roster. Yes, over half the roster is a freshman eligibility-wise and there are more freshmen than sophomores, juniors and seniors combined. Through seven games, Arizona has played 27 freshmen, including 17 true freshmen. That tally of 17 true freshman ranks tied for fourth-most among FBS programs according to research done by Brett Moore of the Illinois Sports Information Department.

Most true freshmen played (17 or more)
21 Illinois
20 LSU
18 Texas A&M
17 Alabama
17 Arizona
17 Baylor
17 Miami

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 force four turnovers against UCLA and two more at California, giving the squad multiple takeaways in six of the seven games to date. All totaled, it's 15 turnovers gained by Arizona this season. A year ago, the Cats mustered only 14 takeaways in 12 games. When Arizona gains at least two turnovers in a game, it is 29-7 (.806) 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 3-0 record for the first time since the Fiesta Bowl campaign of 1993 (last 2-0 October start was in 2000). In that 1993 season, the Wildcats began the year 7-0 en route to their final 10-2 record. Arizona's last perfect 4-0 October start coincided with the emergence of the Desert Swarm defense in 1992. That year, the Wildcats rolled up wins against UCLA, Stanford, California and New Mexico State in October, before opening November with an emphatic 16-3 upset of No. 1 Washington.

Perfect Road Starts: The Wildcats are 3-0 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 3-0 road record during the 2014 season, one in which the Cats were 4-1 in true road games. When's the last time Arizona won its first four road games of a season? That would be in 1998, when the Wildcats were 6-0 in true road games and 1-0 in neutral site games (Holiday Bowl victory) as part of a 12-1 season that saw the program finish ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press Top 25.

Freshmen Starters: With six players apiece, Arizona is tied with Oregon for the most true freshmen that have started a game among the Pac-12 teams this season. The tally of six true freshmen is sixth-most nationally, according to research collected by Brett Moore in the Illinois Sports Information Department. For the Wildcats, five of the players have started on defense, which is second nationally behind Illinois' seven defensive starters. Top playmakers Kylan Wilborn and Tony Fields II have each started all seven games for the Wildcats, while Scottie Young Jr. missed his first start of the year last week at California. Colin Schooler has started the last three games at linebacker and safety Troy Young made his starting debut in place of Scottie Young Jr. a week ago. Offensively, tight end Bryce Wolma only has one official start to his credit, but he's been one of the top two options at the position all season.

Points, Points and More Points: Through seven games this season, Arizona has scored 302 points. That's the highest total for the Wildcats through seven games since joining the Pac-10/Pac-12 in 1978. It's the highest total overall for the Wildcats since Arizona had 411 points in its first seven games in 1921. The Wildcats opened that season with an 84-13 win over Bisbee Legion to give you an idea of the opponents and also faced New Mexico Junior College and the Phoenix Indians. The 302 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. The Wildcats also failed to eclipse the 300-point mark in 12 games last season, scoring 297 points in 12 games. The most points the Wildcats have scored in a season under coach Rich Rodriguez is 496 points in 2012. Points Scored    Year
302                      2017
292                      2015
284                      2014
283                      2008
255                      1983
 
Scoring Session: The Wildcats have posted 45 or more points in three straight games for the first time since 1920. Arizona, currently riding a three-game winning streak, scored 45 points against Colorado, 47 against UCLA and 45 against California. The three-game stretch in 1920 came against the Phoenix Indians, Camp Harry Jones and UTEP. On the season, Arizona is averaging 43.1 points per game, which leads the Pac-12 and is fifth in the country. School   Number of Touchdowns
Ohio State            44
Alabama               43
West Virginia        41
Arizona                 40


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 against UCLA and now has three career picks in two seasons. He followed that up with a season-high nine tackles against Cal and his first pass breakup of the season. Cruikshank didn't have any tackles-for-loss in his first 11 games as a Wildcat, but has 4 1/2 over his last eight games after notching one in last year's season finale against Arizona State. Cruikshank has 35 tackles in seven games for the Wildcats this season.

Can't Burn Him: Redshirt freshman Lorenzo Burns earned a starting spot with a strong performance in training camp, which allowed the Wildcats to move Dane Cruikshank to safety. Burns leads the Wildcats in tackles this season through seven games with 49 total stops and had a strong performance Saturday against Cal. Burns had 12 tackles, an interception, which he returned 21 yards and a pass breakup. He has four pass breakups on the season – second to just Jace Whittaker on Arizona – and has two interceptions, with the other one this season coming against Houston. Burns also has a ½ tackle-for-loss. Burns tied with Cruikshank as the team's leading tackler against UCLA with six stops. He also had a pass breakup. He has one pass breakup in three straight games. The redshirt freshman is 11th in the Pac-12 in passes defended per game at 0.86. He's also second in the Pac-12 among freshmen in total tackles with his 49 stops. Only David Morris from Oregon State has more tackles with 51.
 
All of the Starts: Experience certainly isn't an issue for the big boys up front for the Wildcats this season. The Arizona offensive line features six players who have started at least seven games each. All total, the Wildcats have 125 career starts and 159 games played among their top six linemen. Redshirt senior right guard Jacob Alsadek leads the way with 42 career games played and 40 starts. Senior left tackle Layth Friekh has 33 career games and 28 starts to his credit. Another senior, Gerhard De Beer, has played in 29 games over the past three seasons with 16 starts. Additionally, redshirt sophomore Nathan Eldridge started all 12 games at center last year, while fellow redshirt sophomore Cody Creason has 19 games and seven starts on his resume. Finally, redshirt junior Christian Boettcher has played in 19 games with 14 starts. The offensive line has helped pave the way for a rushing offense averaging 342.7 yards per game and has helped the Wildcats lead the Pac-12 in scoring offense at 43.1 points per game. Additionally, the offensive line has allowed just five sacks on the season, which is the best mark in the Pac-12 and tied for the eighth-best figure in the country.

Wallace's World: Redshirt freshman Jarrius Wallace saw the first extended playing time of his career Saturday against California. The Villa, Louisiana native came into the game once freshman safety Troy Young was ejected in the first half for targeting. Wallace had nine tackles, two pass breakups and a critical interception in the end zone to prevent a Golden Bears touchdown. Wallace picked off Cal quarterback Ross Bowers on third-and-four from Arizona's seven-yard line late in the second quarter. Cal had put together a 15-play, 75-yard drive and looked like it was going to cut the lead to 21-14. Instead, Wallace came up with the interception to thwart the drive.
 
Wow, Wolma: True freshman Bryce Wolma has made quite an impression so far this season for the Wildcats at the tight end position. Wolma has played in all seven games, but didn't notch his first reception until Week 2 versus Houston. Against the Cougars, Wolma had five catches for 38 yards, providing an active target for quarterback Brandon Dawkins. He upped his production against UTEP, grabbing six balls for 41 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown catch from Dawkins. Wolma, from Saline, Michigan, had four catches for 29 yards against Utah, including a career-best 18-yard reception. He stretched his streak with a catch to four games against Colorado with two catches for 17 yards. Both of those receptions came from Khalil Tate for the first time this season. Wolma then had two catches for 13 yards against UCLA. Wolma had three catches for a career-high 51 yards against California and scored the eventual game-winning touchdown in double overtime when he hauled in a 22-yard pass from Tate. Through seven games, Wolma's 22 receptions are second on the team to Shun Brown's 23, and he's third in yards with 192.
 
Another Tight Option: Bryce Wolma isn't the only tight end making an impact for the Wildcats this season. Redshirt junior Trevor Wood, who missed two games with an injury earlier this season, caught his first career touchdown against UCLA. Wood hauled in a six-yard pass from Khalil Tate for a second-quarter touchdown, 11 seconds before halftime. Wood entered the season with seven career catches. The touchdown reception marked Wood's first catch of the season.
 
Wilborn Willpower: True freshman defensive end Kylan Wilborn, who has started all seven 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 two games ago 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 fourth in the Pac-12 with USC's Josh Fatu with his five sacks. 
 
Touchdown Tony: In his fourth year in the program, redshirt junior wide receiver Tony Ellison has emerged as a serious threat for the Arizona offense. Through six games, Ellison is second on Arizona in receiving yards with 329. He has 20 catches, which is third on the team, and two touchdown catches, which is tied for the second-most on the Cats. Ellison, who had just three catches for 32 yards in his first two seasons with the Wildcats, hauled in his second touchdown of the season and his career against Utah. A week later against Colorado, Ellison had a 60-yard reception from Khalil Tate in the fourth quarter. Against UCLA, Ellison had two catches for 59 yards, including a crucial 44-yard reception in the fourth quarter. Ellison also had a 43-yard touchdown catch in the season opener versus NAU, which was Arizona's longest pass play of the season until the 60-yard reception against the Buffaloes. Ellison is averaging 16.5 yards per catch on the season, which leads the Wildcats. He's averaging 47 yards per game, which is second in the program to Shun Brown.