Arizona Wildcats 2009 Football Betting Preview

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Arizona 2008 Record: (8-5, 5-4)
Arizona 2008 Bowl: Las Vegas Bowl vs. BYU (W 31-21)
Arizona Coach: Mike Stoops (25-34 at Arizona, 25-34 overall)
Arizona Offensive Coordinator: Sonny Dykes
Arizona Defensive Coordinator: Mark Stoops
Arizona Returning Stats Leaders:

• Rushing: Nic Grigsby, RB, 1,153 yards
• Passing: Matt Scott, QB, 84 yards
• Receiving: Rob Gronkowski, TE, 672 yards
• Tackles: Cam Nelson, S, 67
• Sacks: Brooks Reed, DE, 8.0
• Interceptions: Trevin Wade, CB, 4

Notable Arizona Returning Players: RB Keola Antolin, C Colin Baxter, DE Ricky Elmore, HB Chris Gronkowski, DT Donald Horton, LB Xavier Kelley, DT Earl Mitchell, CB Devin Ross, WR Terrell Turner

Arizona Key Losses: OT Eben Britton, CB Marquis Hundley, G Joe Longacre, LB Adrian McCovy, S Nate Ness, LB Ronnie Palmer, WR Mike Thomas, OT James Tretheway, QB Willie Tuitama

Mike Stoops entered 2008 as a 5th year head coach who had yet to earn a bowl berth. Entering last season, a lot of people expected the Wildcats to get to the postseason or Stoops would lose his job. Luckily, Stoops came through, finishing the regular season 7-5 and posting his first winning Pac Ten record. The year was capped off in dramatic fashion as the Wildcats defeated a ranked BYU team in the Las Vegas Bowl to finish with a strong 8-5 record. Stoops’ job is no longer in jeopardy but he needs to build off of last season’s success. Can the Wildcats make it to consecutive bowl games for the first time in a decade?

Arizona will have to make due this fall without record setting quarterback Willie Tuitama. Along with Tuitama, leading receiver Mike Wallace graduated after setting the Pac Ten record for career receptions so there will be some big holes to fill in the passing game. The good news is that three players are back who had more than 40 catches last year and tight end Rob Gronkowski (47 catches, 10 TDs in 2008) is the best at his position in the entire conference. Expect the new quarterback to have plenty of options in the passing game. The running game should also be a positive as last season’s top two tailbacks, junior Nicolas Grigsby and sophomore Keola Antolin, are back after combining for nearly 1,700 yards and 23 touchdowns! They will have to get some help up front though, as only two starters return. While the Wildcats lost two 3 year starters on the line, Stoops has recruited well and there are a number of highly thought of upperclassmen ready to step in.

Overall, there is a great supporting cast at the skill positions but replacing both tackles and a 4 year starter at quarterback won’t be easy. Expect the Cats to try and lean on the run while the quarterback situation plays itself out. There are at least three solid candidates to take charge under center and once Stoops settles on a starter, I can see Arizona fielding a good offense. However, I don’t expect them to be as productive as last fall, when they put up nearly 37 points per game.

Defensively, the losses aren’t as bad. The entire defensive line is back and will start all upperclassmen. Look for a very strong effort this fall as this is a very stout and veteran line that has produced three straight solid run defenses. At linebacker, senior Xavier Kelley is the only starter back after making 51 tackles last fall. However, senior Sterling Lewis was very good last year in a reserve role and actually made more tackles than Kelley, so I think that this should be a strong group. The secondary also features one of the conference’s best cornerbacks in senior Devin Ross, who made 50 tackles and snagged 3 picks to earn second team all-conference honors. Senior safety Cam Nelson is also the team’s top returning tackler and should be a solid presence next to one of the underclassmen that is expected to man the other safety spot. Overall, I think that the Wildcats should once more field a solid defense which is strong from front to back.

The schedule is not as easy as 2008, as the Wildcats have 5 conference road games. That definitely makes thing hard as they’ve had winning records in Tucson in two consecutive years. The non-conference schedule is highlighted by a trip to Big Ten foe Iowa, who should be ranked in the top 25. If Arizona wins that game, they could find themselves ranked nationally for the first time in years. The toughest portion of the schedule will undoubtedly be the season’s final four games, where the Cats face Cal, archrival ASU and conference bully USC on the road while hosting Oregon. If the Cats can come out of that stretch with a 2-2 mark then I fully expect Stoops and company to go bowling.

Overall, there are some questions about the Cats offense since they’re replacing one of the best quarterbacks in school history. However, a solid defense and plenty of talent at the skill positions on offense should help offset that loss and I think that Arizona will have staying power in the conference. I will be disappointed in Stoops if the Arizona Wildcats are not a bowl team this year.

Arizona Big Games: Sept. 19th @ Iowa, Sept. 26th @ Oregon St, Oct. 10th @ UW, Oct. 24th vs. UCLA, Nov. 14th @ Cal, Nov. 21st vs. Oregon, Nov. 28th @ ASU, Dec. 5th @ USC

Arizona’s Strength:

Arizona’s offense won games last year, but it was the play of the defense that made the team so dangerous. And the team returns quite a bit of talent to the unit that ranked a surprising third in the Pac-10 in scoring defense. The strength is on the front line where all four starters return. Brooks Reed tallied a team high eight sacks as a sophomore and is ready to explode onto the national radar. While the opposition worries about Reed, Ricky Elmore will do plenty of damage from the other end. With seniors Donald Horton and Earl Mitchell clogging the middle, it will not be easy for anybody to run against the Wildcats. The play of the front four made it possible for the secondary to excel. And with corner Devin Ross and safety Cam Nelson returning, the secondary should be just as good as it was last year. The biggest concern will be replacing Ronnie Palmer in the middle of the linebacker corps, but at least there are experienced linebackers returning like Xavier Kelley.

Arizona’s Weakness:

How will the offense function without quarterback Willie Tuitama? Last season the signal caller completed nearly 65 percent of his passes and threw for over 3,000 yards. His ability to keep the turnovers down, as seen by his 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions, made the offense extremely explosive. The good news is that the offense should be pretty explosive anyway. Running back Nic Grigsby rushed for 1,153 yards and 13 touchdowns and Keola Antolin had some superb games, ending the campaign with a total of 525 yards and ten trips to the promise land. The playmakers continue with the return of Delashuan Dean and Terrell Turner, but can those two even come close to replacing Mike Thomas? Thomas was one of the most prolific pass catchers and punt returners in school history. Making matters worse is the absence of three starters on the offensive line, most notably tackle Eben Britton.

Our Prediction for the 2009 Wildcats:

The offense should be decent even without Britton, Thomas and Tuitama. But can this group turn into something special without those three? At the least, it will take time. Coach Stoops will not ask much from his new quarterback, but he needs to get some consistent play from somebody. The leading candidate is sophomore Matt Scott who lacks arm strength but can make plays with his feet. The other option would be Nick Foles, a more traditional passer. No matter who plays, Arizona needs their quarterback to be a leader on the field and keep the turnovers to a minimum.

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