Arizona Football: Ka'Deem Carey Keeps Wildcats Offense Humming

Back to business against Colorado. What really pleased you about Arizona’s performance, and what do the Wildcats have to fine-tune?

Scott Coleman, SB Nation Arizona: If there was ever a doubt, Ka’Deem Carey proved he is well on his way to being one of the best running backs not only in the Pac-12, but in the entire country. Yes, it was against Colorado, but every team gets a fair crack at the lowly Buffaloes. Carey absolutely shredded their defense and could’ve broken the NCAA record if RichRod kept him out there through the end of the game.

The defense is still a mess. And, honestly, until Rodriguez and his staff get a few years down the road with recruiting, I don’t see the defense improving very much.

Adam Butler, Pac Hoops & Pacific Takes: I really liked that the Wildcats got to play against the tragic mess that is the current Buffaloes. It allowed them to get their groove back and Ka’Deem Carrey got to carry the load with a suspect BJ Denker (who played very well) under center. As for fine tuning, let’s just say the defense is leaving something to be desired.

Kevin Zimmerman, Arizona Desert Swarm: You’ve got to be intrigued by how efficient the Wildcats’ offense was without Matt Scott. Sure, Ka’Deem Carey’s talent had something to do with it. But Arizona only found itself in third down situations six times yet rolled up 574 yards and 56 points, so there’s not much to complain about there. A big worry looking far into the future is how the Wildcats will do without a quarterback like Scott, and Saturday was relieving.

Of course, the defense looked flat out bad, and it could be the worst they’ve played thus far. Colorado hadn’t put up more than 20 points since the Sept. 22 Wazzou game -- and it was against Wazzou.

Kyle Kensing, Arizona Desert Swarm: Ka'Deem Carey is where discussion of Colorado has to start. Sure it was a lesser opponent, but that was the most dominant offensive performance I can remember in my time watching Arizona football. I was also pleased with BJ Denker. He had every reason to play horribly, particularly after the opening fumble. He did a nice job rallying and putting together a solid effort. The defense still looked shoddy, though. It improved in the second half somewhat, but went pretty lax after going up big.

What adjectives would you use to describe Ka’Deem Carey? What are his greatest running attributes?

Scott Coleman, SB Nation Arizona: People in Tucson call him "Choo-Choo" because he runs over everyone like a train. I think that’s a pretty fair assessment. Carey seldom goes down without fighting for an extra few yards and does a phenomenal job of hitting the lane.

Adam Butler, Pac Hoops & Pacific Takes: Physicalitydocious. He runs so hard and finishes those runs. He seeks contact and absorbs it well, two skills that certainly complement one another. His running ability is a tremendous weapon in this RichRod attack as he can fulfill a number of roles, even picking up blocking schemes as necessary.

Kevin Zimmerman, Arizona Desert Swarm: Natural. He’s fast, strong and can make all the cuts. But he’s so natural in doing it, and that’s what makes him so gosh darn good.

Kyle Kensing, Arizona Desert Swarm: Hmmm, first adjective that comes to mind for me may not be the most apropos, but I'd say opportunistic. He's incredible at finding holes and getting to them quickly.

The Wildcats have been dynamite at home but have struggled on the road. What is the biggest factor for these shifts in performance?

Scott Coleman, SB Nation Arizona: It’s an incredibly young team and one that does not have much experience, let alone experience in big games on the road. That’s really about it; the unit isn’t very good regardless of where they’re playing, and being hundreds (or thousands) of miles away from home is never a good thing.

Adam Butler, Pac Hoops & Pacific Takes: I don’t think it helps when the Wildcats’ road games have come against third, eighteenth, and twenty-fourth ranked teams. No excuses. But they are a young and inexperienced team learning a completely new system. No excuses.

Kevin Zimmerman, Arizona Desert Swarm: If there’s one knock on the Wildcats and specifically Matt Scott, it’d be the lack of experience. Scott has yet to have a strong road game this year when you think about it; he put up some yards at Stanford, but the choke-job in the final quarter was partially on an offense that went into hibernation.

Kyle Kensing, Arizona Desert Swarm: There are certain mental hurdles teams have to clear when rebuilding (which I still consider this season despite earning bowl eligibility). It may seem hokey, but there's 100 percent truth to the idea winning on the road requires a certain mental toughness or confidence. While not all of them, many on this team are getting their first tastes of significant contribution, so there's still that need to build confidence.