Arizona Wildcats football notebook: Defense could play more guys vs. Colorado, will double down on tackling drills

Arizona has been playing games during nonconference play. The Wildcats have used 24 players on offense and 27 on defense. Arizona lost 49-31 at Cal. Colorado has lost all four games. Coach Jedd Fisch wants to play his best players. Defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen wants his younger players to get more reps. Arizona has 21 true freshmen or redshirt freshmen scholarship defenders. They have played for a combined 476 snaps on the defense, including 49 of safety Isaiah Taylor's 58 snaps. It's possible that the defensive coordinator will play more players against Colorado. He wants them to develop on practice.

Arizona's defense has been criticized for its lack of technique. Arizona will double its tackling drills this week to correct it. The team has missed 49 tackles in four games, including 17 against Cal. Jerry Roberts missed three tackles against the Cal team. He was given a 28.3 tackling grade by Pro Football Focus.

Arizona is a 17.5-point favorite against Colorado. Arizona has been the underdogs in the four previous games. The Wildcats lost 34-0 at Colorado last year. Arizona is pretending the 2021 season never happened.