Jedd Fisch says it's 'got to be touchdowns' in the red zone against USC

Arizona and USC have both had a bye week to prepare for each other, both coming off a tough loss in a close game. Wildcats coach Jedd Fisch highlighted the red zone against USC as one vital element on Saturday.

Drives have to end in seven points.

“Done a lot of great things in a lot of categories on offense this year, but when we get into that red zone it’s got to be touchdowns,” Fisch said. “It’s got to be touchdowns against USC if we’re going to win this game. Otherwise we’re going to have a long, hard battle ahead of us. So we’re looking forward to being as good as we can in the red zone and using this bye week to get better there.”

Arizona’s offense has done a complete 180-degree turn this year under Fisch, in no small part thanks to the addition of transfer quarterback Jayden de Laura. De Laura currently ranks fifth in the country in passing, throwing for 324.9 yards per game.

The Wildcats are ranked No. 5 in the nation in passing offense.

But as good as Arizona has been offensively, it hasn’t been particularly sharp in the red zone. Arizona ranks No. 114 nationally in red zone conversions, scoring on 73.5% of its drives into that vital area of the field. It’s touchdown conversion rate stacks up only marginally better, ranking No. 96 nationally at 55.9%.

Bottom line: Have to convert down there.

“They’re a top-10 team in the country and they do a lot of things extremely well and we recognize that, we know that,” Fisch said. “We need to do a great job of defending them when they’re on offense. We need to do a great job of moving the ball when we’re on offense and scoring touchdowns.”

Red zone against USC key, but Trojans defense not in panic mode

The USC defense had been quite good through the first six games of the season before Utah managed to score 43, upsetting the Trojans.

But defensive coordinator Alex Grinch didn’t want his unit panicking during the bye week. Does that mean Arizona will face a fired-up bunch? We’ll see.

“It wasn’t good enough. No. Thumbs down,” Grinch said of the Utah outing. “You know what, was the coverage good enough? No. Was the pass rush good enough? No. And then, as coaches, making sure we put the onus back on us from a preparation standpoint. Is there anything there that way? And then, all you’re trying to do is be better for it because the worst thing that can happen is obviously not getting the outcome that you want, say you’re close, and say, ‘Oh, we’ll just be better next time.’ That’s not our approach.”

Arizona and USC will kick off at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday with a broadcast on the Pac-12 network.