College football commences on Thursday, August 28th, which makes us very happy. Pac-10 play also opens up that same night, with Oregon State visiting Stanford. So from now until then, we'll break down every Pac-10 team, their strengths, weaknesses, and what we generally think of them and their chances for the upcoming season. Stay tuned to see what we think of your team.ARIZONA WILDCATS: FINISHED 5-7 IN 2007
It's been a pretty rough go for football in Tucson for a long time now. Last time the Wildcat faithful saw any sort of success in football was 1998, where they somehow, inexplicably pulled a 12-1 record out of their cactus-loving asses.
I tried a few Google searches to figure out what players they had on the team in '98, maybe to pin down how they were that good, but after about three minutes, it wasn't worth the effort. Suffice it to say, there is a reason the top two must-see sports in Tucson are 1) men's basketball and 2) women's softball. You won't find that scenario at very many other schools.
ANALYSIS
Last season was a semi-breakout season for Arizona. While there was nothing particularly stellar about their record of 5-7, but the greatest leap seemed to come with their offense. Senior QB Willie Tuitama finally "arrived" on the scene (more or less) last season and the offense improved considerably from the previous year. Last year, Zona's offense averaged 28.0 points per game, which was leaps and bounds better than the 16.6 ppg they averaged in the year before. Wideout Mike Thomas was one of the best receivers in the conference last year, and should make Arizona's passing attack one of the most feared in the Pac-10.
Word out of Tucson is that the offensive improvement is all the work of new offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes. Still, head coach Mike Stoops is said to be on the hot seat and must reach a bowl game to firm up his job security outlook. So if the Wildcats don't manage to sneak into a late December bowl game, both Stoops and Dykes will both be gone.
As with previewing any team in any sport before any season starts, it's nearly impossible to pick who upsets who and when. So when we look down Arizona's schedule, we just don't see them doing anything too spectacular.
PREDICTION: 6-6 (3-6 in conference)
Wins: Washington, Stanford, Idaho, Toledo, New Mexico, Washington State
Losses: UCLA, California, USC, Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona State
Other previews:
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