Arizona's latest injury updates are great news for West Virginia football

The West Virginia Mountaineers are reeling after two consecutive losses to Oklahoma State and Iowa State, which saw the defense give up nearly 1,200 yards of total offense and 86 points to opposing offenses.

West Virginia will hope to get their defense back on track and get back into the win column after starting the season undefeated. And a quick look at the initial player availability reports released by each team is favorable for the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Arizona missing several starting skill players for West Virginia game

The Wildcats will be without wide receivers Giovanni Richardson, Chris Hunter III, and Tre Spivey – which just so happens to be their top three wide receivers in the starting rotation. They'll also be missing Cole Rusk, who is the team's starting tight end.

You never want to cheer on a player getting injured, but in terms for game plan and strategy, the injury report does bode well for West Virginia. They're dealing with trying to fix a defense that has been the worst in the Power 4 to this point during the season, and there is a ton of pressure on defensive coordinator Zac Alley.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats enter with a veteran starting quarterback in Noah Fifita, who is in his second season in his head coach's offensive system. And Arizona's offense may be the toughest among any on West Virginia's schedule this season. So for the Mountaineers to be able to play that quarterback and that offense with them missing four of their starting skill players on offense is a massive break.

However, given how West Virginia's defense has looked recently, there's no guarantee that even a depleted Arizona offense won't be able to have it's way with the Mountaineers. And one wide receiver who will likely see extra targets due to the injuries is Rodney Gallagher, who spent the previous three seasons with West Virginia and will be looking to make a statement in his return to Morgantown.

But if West Virginia is hoping to stop Arizona's offense and right the ship defensively, it will certainly be beneficial not to be dealing with the team's typical starting pass catchers. Now, we'll just have to see if they can take advantage of the situation on Saturday.

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