The Wildcats begin this season with a heavy heart as they remember former teammate Zach Hemmila who passed away in August. Hemmila died in his sleep and the first game of the season will be preceded by a ceremony remembering the young man and honoring his family prior to kickoff. The team will then proceed to turn their attention to the BYU Cougars, and hopefully be able to carry the weight of such a tragic loss throughout not only the game but the rest of the season
Rich Rod Undecided on Quarterback
This year for coach Rich Rodriguez is expected to be one where he needs to not only continue building the Arizona offense into the consistent threat it has been the last two years, but one that goes beyond even that bench mark. In 2014 and 2015 the Wildcats ranked in the top twenty in offense and has been identified by their high tempo run-pass option offense where the running game has dominated many an opponent on a Saturday in Tucson. However, this season looks to start off with a bit of a challenge as the quarterback position has not been solidified yet by a single starting quarterback. Last year was a challenge as Anu Solomon battled injury after injury it seemed throughout the year that kept him sidelined for what felt like almost half the season. Now Rodriguez is hinting at the idea of running not just Solomon, but bringing in Brandon Dawkins in spurts during the game against BYU to incite a fire under Solomon to get more out of his talent. Doing that last year however made Solomon’s time under center shaky at best as he never truly found a solid rhythm during high pressure situations and was prone to mistakes. Only time will tell if that has changed for Solomon over the offseason.
New Defense for Cats
The injury bug found a nest for itself in the Arizona defense last year. In the first game of the season the Wildcats found themselves without their top defensive star and Bronko Nagurski award winner Scooby Wright III for almost the entire season. Other linebackers went down and it forced the team to go towards a heavy defensive back set up and even move some safeties into the box to try and fill out the ranks to stop the ball. This resulted in the team having one of the worst defensive squads statistically in all of college football. Former Boise State defensive coordinator Marcel Yates looks to bring in more stability to that side of the ball with his experience coaching a top tier defense at his former school. Yates’ scheme specializes in turnovers and that is certainly a welcome addition to a team that struggled to get the ball back last year.
Matching Up In the Trenches
There is only so much one can say about Taysom Hill for the BYU Cougars. The quarterback is a 26 year old senior who is looking to bounce back after a tough lisfranc injury that took away his entire campaign last year. He was considered to be one of the top running and passing quarterbacks in college football and if his injury has healed up as well as the reports suggest then the Cats will have their hands full. Yet that isn’t the biggest problem for U of A. That would be the huge offensive line that BYU brings into this season. Of the starters listed going into the game, none weigh less than 278 pounds and none are below six feet tall. Arizona’s biggest starting defensive lineman tips the scale at 271 pounds and most range around 6′ 1”. The Wildcats could have their hands full with the wall that BYU brings to the table in this game. They will have to utilize their first step almost to perfection if they expect to get in the backfield and stymie both the run and the pass with quick pressure on Hill.
Prediction: Arizona 35 – BYU 31
The game will start at 7:30 PM Arizona time at University of Phoenix Stadium on Fox Sports 1.