The Arizona Wildcats started off the 2010 season with a 7-1 record before dropping five straight games to finish off the year, including a 36-10 blowout loss to Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl.
Arizona does return plenty of offensive power, including the deadly combination of seniors Nick Foles and Juron Criner. The Wildcats finished fifth in the conference and 53rd nationally in scoring 28.2 points per game.
Foles has started 21 games and thrown 39 career touchdowns in his two seasons under center, as he threw for 3,191 yards in 2010. Criner was his main target throughout the season and the All-Pac-10 receiver finished with 1,233 yards receiving.
The entire receiving core is undoubtedly a strength, returning members that caught 277 passes, as only eight teams nationally attempted more passes than the Wildcats in 2010.
In the backfield, senior Keola Antolin gained over 850 total yards rushing and receiving last year. He made eight starts and rushed for a team-high 668 yards on a team-high 142 carries. Arizona is still likely to use a rotation of backs in the running game, as he’s shown the propensity of getting injured.
Most of the discussion around camp has been centered around the offensive line, as all five starters are gone from a year ago. Many experts have suggested that he may not be a huge problem for the school due to running a spread offense.
The Wilcats have no returning starters, no seniors on the two deep and only one player who has ever started a game. Head coach Mike Stoops projects that two redshirt freshmen will be the bookends for the offense when things kick off against Northern Arizona at home on Sept. 3.
On the other side of the ball, Arizona isn’t exactly loaded on the defensive line either. Concerns abound about the lack of pass-rushing ends, but the group should be strong against the run with sophomores Sione Tuihalamaka and Justin Washington at the tackle position.
The linebacking core returns two starters, Derek Earls and Paul Vassallo, but lost a major contributor in Jake Fisher with a torn ACL suffered during the program’s spring game. Vassallo led the team with 102 tackles and earned Pac-10 honorable mention honors for his efforts.
A planned strength for the unit was the secondary until junior free safety Adam Hall also suffered a torn ACL. He may return in October and lead a group of four players that have combined for more than 100 games of experience and 50 starts.
Bettors have not profited in backing the Wildcats since the 2008 season, producing a 10-14 ATS mark over the last two years. Stoops has offered little edge in his eight years, going 39-39-1 ATS during his time in Tucscon.
Don’t miss out on potential home underdog opportunities for the team in back-to-back weeks, hosting Stanford and Oregon in the final two September contests. Arizona is 4-0 ATS when getting points as a host over the last four years.