👋 GOOD MORNING - Happy Thursday. We’ve almost made it to the end of what has become a truly odd week in Arizona sports.

I guess we’ll take odd over depressing, disheartening, etc. Hopefully Marvin Harrison Jr.’s appendectomy doesn’t claim too many weeks.

In the meantime, we’ve got some college matchups to examine.

Let’s get to them!

— Alex D’Agostino, PHNX Sports Daily Editor

The hard part is over… for the time being. Whether you’re a Wildcat or Sun Devil fan, your team is bowl eligible. Congrats!

Now begins the process of determining just which bowl that might be. An exciting one with some amount of stakes? Or one sponsored by a company you’ve never heard of, in a city you’d never visit.

Good thing both teams can (somewhat) control their own destiny in that regard, even if it may be a pretty tough road to the Big 12 championship for either squad. A path to the College Football Playoff does exist, however unlikely.

Crazier things have happed in football…

Arizona State (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) vs West Virginia (4-6, 2-5 Big 12)
Game info: Saturday, 11:00 a.m.
Last Meeting: L, 43-42 (January 2, 2016 - Cactus Bowl)

It’s homecoming for Kenny Dillingham and the Arizona State Sun Devils, which means it’s time to put the best foot forward after a lengthy bye week… or maybe it just felt like it.

The Sun Devils have been battered by injury and faced plenty of adversity this season. For a team that had CFP aspirations, it’s a bit disappointing to be sitting at 6-3 with a backup QB in Jeff Sims — though to still be one of the better teams in the conference speaks to their depth and fundamental soundness.

In fact, that backup QB lit up a tough Iowa State opponent in ASU’s last game. It’s tough to ever truly count out Dilly and the Devils, and they’ll get an even more beatable squad this Saturday — Rich Rodriguez and the West Virginia Mountaineers.

The key for ASU:

We all know Sims can run. He ran for a school record 228 yards and two scores on 29 attempts against Iowa State. He’s been significantly less effective through the air, however, and that’s perfectly fine, but West Virginia has been much better against the run than the pass defensively this season.

The Mountaineers are giving up the second-most average passing yards in the Big 12 — just shy of 260 per game. Meanwhile, their 141.4 rushing yards allowed per game is the sixth-best figure in the Big 12.

The Devils shouldn’t necessarily alter their gameplan in its entirety. After all, Sims is at his best when he’s carrying the football. But if the QB carries aren’t getting it done, West Virginia’s passing defense is a weakness to exploit.

That may be tough, as news broke yesterday that star WR Jordyn Tyson was ruled out for the upcoming matchup. Or… it may mean opportunity for the rest of ASU’s wideouts.

Arizona (6-3, 3-3 Big 12) @ No. 22 Cincinnati (7-2, 5-1 Big 12)
Game info: Saturday, 10:00 a.m.
Last Meeting: Never

The Wildcats, fresh off an exciting comeback win over the Kansas Jayhawks to clinch bowl eligibility, will face their first-ever matchup with the Cincinnati Bearcats (on the road).

Cincinnati has been quite successful this season, ranking No. 22 in the nation with a 7-2 record. They’re clearly one of the best teams in the conference.

That immediately presents a challenge for Brent Brennan and the Wildcats, though Arizona has gone toe-to-toe with some of the tougher squads in the Big 12, but come up just short. They’ll need to win that extra inch on Saturday if they want to take down the Bearcats, though.

The key for Arizona:

There are some strategic focuses present in this game. For example, the Bearcats’ pass defense is stout, while their run defense is 12th in the conference. Getting the Wildcats’ RBs going without putting too much early pressure on Noah Fifita will be key, as will limiting Cincy QB Brendan Sorsby, who’s thrown for 2,064 yards, 21 TDs and two interceptions.

But the intangible factors are big for a matchup like this. The Wildcats were expected to be one of the worst teams in the conference this season (understandably so) and they’re far from that reality regardless of their quality of opponent.

Playing loose, adapting to the adverse situations and knowing that they’ve already accomplished a bowl appearance can take some of the pressure off this matchup — and that may play right into Arizona’s hands paws.

“I don't know about y'all, but six (wins) ain't enough for me.” — Brent Brennan

WR-ectomy: The Cardinals got some strange WR news yesterday. Marvin Harrison Jr. will miss Sunday’s game, but not for an injury. The second-year wideout had to have surgery for appendicitis, which may or may not hold him out more than one game. As if this season couldn’t get any more bizarre. Speedy recoveries, MHJ.

Arizona’s WR room is now going to be quite depleted in their matchup with the 49ers. Zay Jones (achilles) and Simi Fehoko (arm) are both out, which means it’ll be Michael Wilson leading the way alongside Trey McBride, Greg Dortch, Xavier Weaver and Andre Baccellia (I knew he’d come in handy someday!).

Sun-biosis: The Suns recovered from a sloppy start against the Mavericks to complete a well-rounded 123-114 win in Dallas (the Mavs’ first game since firing GM Nico Harrison).

Devin Booker snuck by Grayson Allen with a team-high 26 points and nine rebounds, but it was a balanced attack, as six different Phoenix players had double-digit points. Jordan Goodwin had 13 points and 6 rebounds in just 20 minutes off the bench.

Stephen’s breakdowns are second to none.