As usual, offense will again carry the load for the Wildcats, who return seven starters on that side of the football in 2016. Close attention will be paid to two players in particular, quarterback Anu Solomon and running back Nick Wilson, who both missed significant time last season. Their return could make the Wildcats unstoppable offensively. Perhaps an underachieving 2015 will make for an even bigger chip in 2016.
Arizona Wildcats Regular Season Win Total Odds at BookMaker.eu
Wildcats Over 6 Wins -110
Wildcats Under 6 Wins -110
2015 ARIZONA WILDCATS SEASON REVIEW
There was plenty of reason for optimism heading into 2015. Coach Rich Rodriguez would finally have a returning quarterback in Solomon. On top of that, Arizona also brought back stud linebacker Scooby Wright and Wilson. What did the Wildcats have to show for it at the end of the year? Lots of injuries, and not a lot of production.
Arizona finished a disappointing 3-6 in conference play and stumbled into a bowl game with a 6-6 overall record. Every team has injuries, so it’s never a crutch to lean on, but it’s fair to say the bug hit the Wildcats particularly hard. Even so, it wasn’t what anyone envisioned for Rodriguez’s fourth season in Tucson.
Fans certainly missed out on seeing a lot of exciting players on the roster. With Jerrard Randall replacing Solomon, the Cats upset No. 10 Utah in double overtime to gain bowl eligibility, but they lost a week later to in-state rival Arizona State. Solomon recovered to lead Arizona to a win at the New Mexico Bowl, but the struggles on defense continued, leading to the firing of the entire staff.
WHAT CHANGED
Rodriguez fired his entire defensive staff and hired former Boise State coordinator Marcel Yates to rebuild the unit. They certainly needed a change after putting up some horrible numbers in 2015. The Wildcats need the defense to be a smashing success after the unit allowed at least 30 points in nine of the final 10 games.
Progress will have to be made without last season’s three best defenders. While the Wildcats are likely to be undermanned once again, there are plenty of quality athletes in the back seven. The offense will be fine, but Arizona’s potential is capped if the D remains awful. The Cats’ need to develop quickly under their new defensive coordinator and reaching last year’s win total before bowl season can make 2016 a nice rebound season in Tucson.
2016 ARIZONA WILDCATS REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
Sep. 3: vs. BYU
Sep. 10: vs. Grambling State
Sep. 17: vs. Hawai’i
Sep. 24: vs. Washington
Oct. 1: at UCLA
Oct. 8: at Utah
Oct. 15: vs. USC
Oct. 29: vs. Stanford
Nov. 5: at Washington State
Nov. 12: vs. Colorado
Nov. 19: at Oregon State
Nov. 25: vs. Arizona State
2016 ARIZONA WILDCATS SEASON PREVIEW
Rodriguez’s decision to start over on defense, with an entirely new staff and system, suggests the Wildcats might struggle to avoid their first losing season since 2011. Arizona’s only all-conference player in 2015 was a punter. This year’s club might not have any all-conference players.
Much depends on whether Solomon will be healthy enough to start every week, or if the Wildcats will have to start over at quarterback, as they are doing on defense. The Wildcats had a chance to evaluate other players at key positions on offense. At the very least a competitive environment should make everyone better.
Fed up with his kids getting shoved around, Rodriguez cleaned house on his defensive staff. Yates and his assistants aren’t miracle workers, but they do expect to initiate positive changes on a unit that allowed over 466 yards of offense and 35.8 points per game in 2015. It’s a group that has plenty of heart but not much size in Pac-12 standards.
The ‘Cats could open the season 3-0 before being a dog in their next six games. They finish off with three games they could be favored in. There probably will be an upset or two along the way and as long as Rich Rod is the head coach, he usually finds a way to get them to the postseason and outperform expectations.
College Football Odds: Arizona Wildcats Over 6 Wins
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