TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Arizona Wildcats will host their second straight home game this Saturday when they welcome in Cal on Family Weekend at Arizona Stadium. 

The Cats topped Cal in a double-overtime thriller last year in Berkeley with Colin Schooler breaking up a pass on a two-point conversion to secure the win for the Wildcats. 

Below is a preview for this year's matchup between the two programs:

Some Game Themes: The calendar turns to October and with it the midpoint of the season nears .. Yes, it seems like we just started, but Kevin Sumlin and his Wildcats are back at home for the sixth contest of his debut season … One could label Saturday's clash with California as "big", "pivotal" or "must-win", and there's some merit to those notions if you consider potential postseason implications. However, for the Wildcats the most important factor is one discussed here a couple weeks ago: simply get better ... Despite a slow-starting offense, UA was a blocked field goal and missed extra point away from a tie game against USC last Saturday … The reality is the Wildcats need to clean things up in all phases. Whether its untimely penalties, missed tackles, poor kicks or punts, every unit on the team has some simple things to tidy up that will make a big difference come Saturday … The good news is, things can turn around quickly as Arizona proved itself last October by cashing in a 4-0 record to distance itself from an uninspiring 2-2 start … Along the way to that perfect month was a thrilling double-overtime victory at California, the latest in a bizarre series between the two programs that dates back several decades now …  Justin Wilcox and his Golden Bears started fast with a 3-0 start, but their unblemished record took a hit with a home loss to resurgent Oregon last weekend … Now in his second year, Wilcox has Cal trending in the right direction even though they are nestled behind three clear favorites in the Pac-12 North … Down south, the Cats remain in the mix – as does just about everyone. Another win against a North Division foe would be a boost with plenty of familiar faces in the South Division race looming on the schedule … If Arizona is to make a push in the south and contend for a bowl this season, it will need to play better at home starting with Family Weekend this Saturday … Consecutive road games await in the middle of October, but otherwise four of the final seven are at Arizona Stadium … The Cats hope they heat up as the weather begins to cool just a tad in the Old Pueblo … A national TV audience tunes in on FS1, but we'll see you under the lights Saturday night. A new month of football is here.

Cats in the Pac: Even with a setback against USC last week, Arizona seeks to build on a steady record in Pac-12 Conference play the last couple season. Two weeks, the Wildcats defeated Oregon State, 35-14, marking a win in the Pac-12 opener for the first time since 2014. A year ago (5-4), UA produced only its fourth winning conference record in 19 seasons. Now, with a 1-1 start in 2018 and including the season-ending victory over Arizona State in 2016, the Wildcats have won seven of their last 12 Pac-12 Conference games. The recent run of success has erased the memory of a painful eight-game conference losing streak prior to their triumph over the Sun Devils in 2016.

Scheduling Odds & Ends: We've reached the point in the season where you begin looking for a bye week, and the Cats still have some waiting to do. The 2018 slate has Arizona playing 10 consecutive weeks before the bye week, which comes the second week of November … The Cats are wrapping up a mini two-game "homestand" this week, one of two such consecutive home game stretches on the schedule (also play at home vs. Oregon on Oct. 27 and Colorado on Nov. 2) … Next week will be a short turnaround for the Wildcats, who play a Friday night road contest at Utah on Oct. 12. It will be the first of two such quick turnarounds, with the other coming on Friday, Nov. 2 when UA hosts Colorado just six days after the Wildcats' Homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 27 … Arizona will be on the road for consecutive games at Utah (Oct. 12) and at UCLA (Oct. 20), before closing out the season with three of the final four games at Arizona Stadium.

Family Weekend: Arizona hosts California for the annual Family Weekend game this Saturday, Oct. 6, at Arizona Stadium … The Wildcats are 52-33-1 all-time in their annual Family Weekend games, including a 47-30 victory over UCLA last Oct. 14 … UA has won four its last six Family Weekend games … It's been quite some time since Cal has visited UA for the Family Weekend game, last doing so in 2004 when Aaron Rodgers, J.J. Arrington and Marshawn Lynch cruised to a 38-0 win over Mike Stoops' first Arizona squad. Interestingly, that remains the only other time the Golden Bears have been in town for UA's Family Weekend game.

Fumble Flurry: After forcing just one turnover in the first four games of the season, the Arizona defense created a trio of turnovers last Saturday. Interestingly, the Wildcats recovered three Trojan fumbles, which snapped a string of five consecutive games without a fumble recovery for Arizona. Prior to last Saturday, UA's last fumble recovery came against Arizona State in the regular season finale last November. Arizona had not recovered three fumbles in a game since collecting three in a win over Grambling State on Sept. 10, 2016.

School-er Zone: A consensus Freshman All-America selection last season, Colin Schooler has been a man on a mission the first five weeks of his sophomore season. He leads Arizona with 57 tackles through five games. Schooler already has 10 1/2 tackles-for-loss, which leads the Pac-12 and is tied with five others for tops in the country. Schooler, who had a ½ tackle-for-loss against USC, had multiple tackles-for-loss in each of the three games prior and set a new personal last month at Oregon State with four TFLs. The linebacker had Arizona's first 16-tackle game in four seasons in the opener versus BYU. He then had nine tackles apiece against Houston and Southern Utah over the next two weeks, before hitting 10 against the Beavers. Schooler led the Wildcats with 13 stops against USC. He has 24 career TFLs to his credit in just 18 career games and 15 career starts. Schooler is averaging 1.6 TFLs per start in his career. He's had at least three TFLs in a game four times over his last nine games dating back to last season. Schooler has also been either the team's leading tackler or second leading tackler in 10 of Arizona's last 11 games.

16+ Tackle Games by an Arizona Defender Since 2000

Name	Year	Opponent	Tackles
Scooby Wright	2014	UCLA	19
Scooby Wright	2014	California	18
Spencer Larson	2007	USC	17
Spencer Larson	2005	Oregon State	17
Colin Schooler	2018	BYU	16
Marquis Flowers	2011	Stanford	16
Lance Briggs	2000	Utah	16
Spencer Larson	2007	Oregon	16
Jarvie Worcester	2001	Stanford	16

 
Pac-12 Leading Tacklers Through 5 Games

Player	School	Total Tackles
Ben Burr-Kirven	Washington	59
Colin Schooler	Arizona	57
Evan Weaver	California	53
Cameron Smith	USC	47

 
More on his TFLs: Schooler's 10 tackles-for-loss are the most through four games by any Arizona defensive player since at least 1997. That season, Joe Salave'a had nine tackles-for-loss in Arizona's first four games. In that 22-season span, an Arizona defender has had more than seven tackles-for-loss in the first four games just five total times, including Schooler this year.

Most TFLS Through 5 Games by an Arizona Defensive Player Since 1997

Player	Season	TFLs Through 4 Games
Colin Schooler	2018	10.5
Joe Salave'a	1997	10
Daniel Greer	1997	10
Scooby Wright	2014	8

 
National Leaders in TFLs

Player	School	TFLs
Colin Schooler	Arizona	10.5
Gerald Willis	Miami (Fla.)	10.5
Sutton Smith	Northern Illinois	10.5
Jordan Bradford	Oklahoma State	10.5
Josh Allen	Kentucky	10.5
Chase Winovich	Michigan	10.5

 
Shun Does a Ton: A member of the Paul Hornung Award List for the country's most versatile player, Shun Brown does a little bit of everything for Arizona. A dynamic punt returner, Brown's primary responsibility for the Wildcats is as the team's leading receiver. Brown in catches and yards Saturday versus USC, catching five passes for 81 yards. He leads the team with 23 catches this season and has 304 yards and three touchdowns. Brown now has 99 career receptions for the Wildcats and is approaching heady status. Brown is 29 career catches away from entering Arizona's Top 12 all-time in receptions. He would need to average 4.14 catches per game over Arizona's final seven regular season games to get to that point. Brown has also entered Arizona's Top 14 all-time in receiving touchdowns with 12. He's two away from tying Cayleb Jones for 13^th all-time. Brown led Arizona with 43 receptions last year and finished with 573 yards, which was second most on the team behind Tony Ellison. This season, Brown has a Pro Football Focus "threat rate" of 35.3 percent, which is the highest on the team, meaning he is Khalil Tate's most targeted receiver. Tate and Brown have a completion percentage of 63.9, which is the highest of any Wildcat receiver.
 
Most Career Receiving Touchdowns in School History
1. Juron Criner; 32
2. Theopolis Bell, 30
3. Dennis Northcutt, 24
------------------------
14. Shun Brown, 12
14. Samajie Grant, 12
14. Rodney Williams, 12
 
Lefty Vets: Arizona's revamped offensive line has improved each week and spots have been solidified with the return of senior left tackle Layth Friekh. Friekh missed the first two games of the season, but returned against Southern Utah. When he was inserted back into the lineup, left tackle Donovan Laie moved to right tackle and redshirt junior Cody Creason moved from right tackle to left guard. The move seems to have paid big dividends. Over the past three games with Friekh and Creason on the left side of the line, Arizona has produced 1,550 yards of total offense and 117 total points. Against Oregon State, Creason led all Arizona offensive players with a Pro Football Focus game score of 87. That score was the highest by any Pac-12 offensive lineman last week and the second-best by any Power 5 lineman. Creason received a run blocking grade of 88.9 and a pass block grade of 83. Friekh had the second-best score of any Pac-12 lineman behind Creason with a score of 81. He received a pass blocking grade of 83.9. The two have combined for 49 career starts and 59 career games played. Friekh had the highest PFF grade of any Arizona offensive lineman last week. His season grade of 78.9 is second-best on Arizona's offense behind Shawn Poindexter. Creason is the second-highest rated offensive lineman through five games with a season grade of 73.7.
 
All over the Field(s): Sophomore linebacker Tony Fields has been a tackling machine since making his debut last season. Fields led Arizona with 104 stops last season, and currently sits second on the team with 36 stops and is tied for 12^th in the league through four games. In his 18 career games, Fields has 140 total tackles, which is now the second-most by any Arizona player through 17 career games. His teammate, Colin Schooler has 12 more tackles than Fields through their first 18. Fields has started every game of his career and has proven to be a stalwart for coach Marcel Yates' defense. The combination of Fields and Schooler at linebacker has been a lethal one-two punch. In fact, the two teammates have combined for 93 total tackles through two games, which is the second-highest mark of any conference teammates this season. The two combined for 199 last season with 21 tackles-for-loss and nine sacks. Fields collected his first tackle-for-loss of the season two games ago at Oregon State.
 
Taylor Time: J.J. Taylor enters this week's game against Cal as Arizona's leading rusher with 527 yards and three touchdowns. He's averaging 105.4 yards per game. Taylor had a breakout game two contests ago at Oregon State, putting together one of the best games ever by an Arizona running back. Taylor rushed for 284 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries against the Beavers, becoming just the 15^th player in school history to rush for 200 or more yards. More, Taylor's total of 284 yards rank fourth all-time at Arizona for a single-game rushing total and third by a Wildcat running back. Taylor had 102 yards on his two touchdown runs alone against the Beavers, scoring from 40 yards out and 62 yards. He was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for that game, becoming the first Wildcat offensive player since Khalil Tate last year to win the award. It was Taylor's fourth-career 100-yard game and first since totaling 129 yards against Oregon State last season. The 27 carries also marked a career high for Taylor. His 284 yards are the most ever by an Arizona running back in a road game. Only Tate's 327 yards at Colorado last season are more by an Arizona player in a road game. Last week against USC, Taylor had 50 yards on 18 carries.
Top Rushing Performances in School History

Player	Opponent/Year	Rushing Yards
Ka'Deem Carey	Colorado/2012	366
Khalil Tate	at Colorado/2017	327
Trung Canidate	Arizona St./1998	288
J.J. Taylor	at Oregon State	284
Ka'Deem Carey	Utah/2013	236

Lockdown Lo: Sophomore cornerback Lorenzo Burns, who had a breakout season last year as a redshirt freshman, has taken the next step in his development this year as a sophomore. In the season opener this year, Burns established a new career high with three pass breakups and finished with three tackles in the 14^th consecutive start of his career against BYU. He then started his 15^th straight game against Houston and had three stops, but wasn't tested much by Houston quarterback D'eriq King. Against Southern Utah, Burns was once again a menace in the defensive backfield, breaking up a pair of passes to give him five for the season. Burns had another pass breakup to go with seven tackles at Oregon State last Saturday. Burns had another pass breakup against USC, his dad's alma matter, and leads the team in that category seven this season. The next closest on the team is three by Tim Hough and Tristan Cooper. Burns ranks fourth in the Pac-12 in passes defended, averaging 1.40 per contest. Burns established himself as one of Arizona's most reliable defenders a year ago as a freshman. He tied for second in the nation in interceptions by a freshman with his five. The five picks were the most by an Arizona defender since Trevin Wade also had five in 2009. Burns now has 14 career pass breakups in 18 games.

Pac-12 Leaders in Passes Defended

Player	School	Passes Defended
Paulson Adebo	Stanford	12
Byron Murphy	Washington	9
Ugo Amadi	Oregon	8
Lorenzo Burns	Arizona	7

 
His Future is Bright-Well: Sophomore running back Gary Brightwell recorded his first 100-yard rushing game and his first career touchdown two games ago at Oregon State. Brightwell rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, averaging 8.7 yards per carry. He scored on an eight-yard run in the fourth quarter to make it 28-7. He didn't wait long to get back in the end zone either. Brightwell scored again, this time from one yard out, against USC on Saturday, getting to Arizona within four points late in the fourth quarter. For the season, Brightwell has rushed for 277 yards and two touchdowns on 48 carries, averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Against Oregon State, Brightwell also had a 43-yard run, which marked the longest by an Arizona player all season until J.J. Taylor scored on a 62-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Brightwell's early-season production is even more impressive when you consider he played slot receiver for the Wildcats as a true freshman last season, before being moved to running back. Brightwell and fellow running back J.J. Taylor have combined for 804 yards and five touchdowns in five games this season.
 
Stan the Man: Prior to the season, walk-on redshirt freshman Stanley Berryhill was awarded a scholarship by coach Kevin Sumlin. The receiver from Tucson is already making the most of it in his first five career collegiate games. Berryhill has five catches for 99 yards this season. He caught his first career touchdown Saturday against USC, hauling in a 33-yard score from Khalil Tate in the second half.  He has one catch in all five games this season. Berryhill received a game grade of 70.5 from Pro Football Focus against USC, which was the highest mark on the team. Berryhill is one of two Arizona receivers with 100 or more snaps this year to not have a drop, joining Cedric Peterson.

Who's Down With DFF?: Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, a local product from Mountain View High School and Tucson High, has played in all 43 games in his career, never missing a contest. The senior has become a model of consistency and experience for the Arizona defense, which still features a number of underclassmen. He made his 29^th career start Saturday versus USC and totaled seven tackles, which was third on the team behind Colin Schooler and Jarrius Wallace. Flannigan-Fowles had a career-high 81 tackles last season. He had five stops in the season opener versus BYU and three more against Houston. Against Southern Utah, he didn't start, but had his most productive game of the season. Flannigan-Fowles had five tackles, including one for a loss and also forced a fumble. He received a Pro Football Focus grade of 76.7, which was the highest of any Arizona defender with 50 or more snaps played. Flannigan-Fowles played 86 snaps, spending 44 in coverage and 42 in run defense prevention. With his five tackles against Southern Utah, Flannigan-Fowles reached 200 tackles for his career. He had one tackle and a pass breakup in 48 snaps played against Oregon State.  He received a game score of 72.9, which was the highest by any member of Arizona's secondary. He was the highest rated member of the secondary against Southern Utah and Oregon State and second-highest rated against USC, behind sophomore Scottie Young Jr.