After back-to-back losses to Boise State and Oregon dampened an otherwise solid season last year, the Wildcats will look to make a statement in their series opener as they host a UTSA Roadrunners team that nearly upset them last year.
ODDS
Arizona is the heavy favorite in the early going with the initial line at 32-points. It has since dropped marginally to 31.5-points. The total has not yet been published, but should fall somewhere around 53.
The line is starting to drop a bit as more than 30-points is a lot to give in any game. With such a huge lead, the Wildcats are likely to relax in the last quarter which, while a smart football move, hinders the chances of the team to keep piling on the points.
Arizona barely eked out the 26-23 win over UTSA last year, dropping the game ATS as 7.5-point road favorites. The Wildcats are at home, which does make a big difference, and UTSA did lose a large number of starters which also helps to support the high line.
KEY MISMATCH
Anu Solomon returns at quarterback for the Wildcats and this time around, the sophomore should be even better given the experience he accrued last year.
In his inaugural season, Solomon completed 58% of his passes for 3,793 yards and 28 touchdowns and tossed just nine interceptions.
Solomon should have a field day against a UTSA defense that returns only three true starters from last season. The team’s top-2 leaders in tackles are gone. Jason Neal and Drew Douglas move into leadership roles. While both are solid players, they’ve got next to nothing around them.
KEY STAT
6,491 yards – This is the total number of yards gained by the Solomon led offense last year. The offense has been pretty balanced with 3,945 yards coming in the air and 2,546 on the ground.
Defensively, UTSA was in the middle of the pack, allowing 229.8 yards per game. Again, the loss of so many on the defensive side of the ball is bad news for the visiting Roadrunners.
BETTING ANGLE
Their 38-30 loss to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl last year should have the Wildcats hungry to get off to a good start in 2015.
Arizona dominated UNLV last year in its opener, but then barely beat UTSA in a near upset.
Don’t look for the Wildcats to overlook UTSA again this year. That alone, should lead to a larger lead for Arizona, but an improvement for Solomon is also big. The youngster struggled last year against UTSA, throwing for just 231 yards and a touchdown, while posting a 31.8 QB rating.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
I expect an easy win, but 31.5-points is still too much to give. Too many other factors could come into play, with Arizona giving some time to backups and playing more to run out the clock than run up the score.
UTSA is unlikely to win much out of Conference-USA, but it’s fared very well ATS in the past, going 9-3 ATS in their last 12 non-conference games. The Wildcats, meanwhile, are 1-4 ATS in their last five against Conference-USA opposition.
Overall, the Wildcats rank No.22 in in preseason polls with a talented young quarterback and running back, in Nick Wilson, who are coming off impressive freshman campaigns, likely to grow and be even better here in 2015.
Between the two of them—along with receivers like Samajie Grant and Cayleb Jones—they can do plenty of damage on offense.
On the defensive end, the Wildcats are strong, with one of the best defenders in all of college football in Scooby Wright III. They’ll have their hands full on the ground with Jarveon Williams likely the Roadrunners’ biggest weapon.
Arizona 42, UTSA 17
The college football odds for this game were first available at BookMaker Sportsbook. The Wildcats were pegged as 32-point chalk while the total has not yet been published. Minute-by-minute spreads, totals and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
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