The Arizona Wildcats look to keep the momentum moving forward under head coach Mike Stoops in his 7th season. The Cats finished last season with an 8-4 record that was good enough to earn an invitation to the Holiday Bowl. Nebraska blasted Arizona 33-0 in a game that was dominated by the Cornhusker defense. With 8 returning starters on offense, points should come in bunches in 2010 behind QB Nick Foles. Wildcat nation has reason to be optimistic about the possibility of a conference title. Arizona is listed at +500 to win the Pac 10 this season. View the full conference breakdown in our 2010 Pac 10 college football predictions.
The Pac 10 boasts some of the top quarterbacks in the nation with the likes of Matt Barkley, Jake Locker, and Andrew Luck. Arizona's Nick Foles has to be named in that list also after a 2500 yard 19 touchdown performance as a sophomore in only nine full games as the starter. The Michigan State transfer has all the tools to be a prototypical NFL QB and has plenty of talent surrounding him. Nic Grigsby is a gifted running back that saw his numbers decrease in 2009 mainly due to injury. He rushed for 1153 yards as a sophomore, but managed only 567 yards last season. If the Wildcats get his production from two years ago the Pac 10 defenses are in for a long season. Former offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes took his spread offense to Louisiana Tech. Arizona runs the spread offense and it flourished under Dykes averaging over 28 points/game the past three seasons. The passing game spreads the ball around to multiple receivers and relies on spacing to create openings. WR Juron Cri ner had a team high nine touchdown receptions and was second with 45 catches. Delashaun Dean should fill the void left by Terrell Turner and become the number two option. It will be interesting to see if the offense maintains the level of production from the past two seasons with two new offensive coordinators in 10'.
Mike Stoops will have to use his defensive background to instruct a group that returns just four starters and lacks experience. This side of the ball will also be led by new coordinators and could take some time to make the transition. Mike's brother Mark Stoops left to take the same position at Florida State. The front four should be a strength with DE Ricky Elmore leading the way. The senior sack artist recorded 10.5 last year and will be keyed on by opposing offensive lines. Ohio State transfer Willie Mobley should move into a starting slot at DT. The secondary is anchored by lockdown CB Trevin Wade. His five interceptions in 09' led the team as he teamed with Devin Ross to form one of the more dynamic coverage units in the Pac 10. Big things are expected from FS Adam Hall after seeing considerable action as a true freshman. Passing will be difficult on this Wildcats defense, but inexperience at linebacker could cause concerns with rushing defense.
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Arizona should start the season 2-0 before hosting potential top ten Iowa on Sept 18th. The Wildcats will try to avenge a 10 point loss to the Hawkeyes a year ago. They start the season on the road at Toledo looking to break a string of losing eight consecutive road openers. Their first two conference games will be at home vs. Cal and Oregon State and five out of their nine Pac 10 dates are played in Arizona. The schedule sets up nicely, but the conference is wide open and should be extremely competitive. I believe U of A matches last season's win total of 8 and heads to another nice bowl game.
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