One of the most intriguing aspects of the upcoming Arizona Football season is undoubtedly the schedule. There are several positives to consider starting with the three bye weeks. On the other hand, the Wildcats pick up Washington and Stanford out of the Pac-12 North and must play five of their nine conference games away from Arizona Stadium, where a once-a-year upset has become quite common for the Cats.
Simply put, Arizona must start fast this season if it hopes to reach a bowl game or emerge as an underdog contender in the South. The back half of the schedule is loaded with too many teams talented enough to contend for the conference title for the Cats to make up ground at the end. With that said, the opportunity is there for a fast start and for Arizona to emerge as a spoiler in what may become a last-one-standing type of race in the Pac-12 South.
Let’s break down the 2019 schedule for a closer look at how this journey may shake out.
First Things First
A fast start to the season would mean opening the season with a Week 0 road win at Hawai’i on Aug. 24 (only other FBS game on this date is Florida vs. Miami). This won’t be an easy task my any means. The Warriors won eight games and earned a berth in the Hawai’i Bowl last season, and figure to have another high-powered offense that will test the Cats’ defensive improvement right out of the gates.
Yet, the biggest challenge may be overcoming some of the intangible factors leading into the game. For starters, it is the first game of the season. No coach in the country knows exactly what his team is going to look like when it finally faces another team instead of beating up on your own guys for four weeks of camp. That’s a significant difference between college and the NFL; in college, even good teams can start slowly because game speed tests every single element that it takes to be successful from tackling to communication to in-game adjustments.
Not only will Kevin Sumlin & Co. be anxious to see what their team looks like against another opponent, the Cats will be traveling nearly 3,000 miles. Along with this, the team will leave a day or two earlier than it normally would for a game, giving this trip a semi “bowl feel” which none of the subsequent 11 game weeks are going to be like. Arizona will be on the ground longer to get acclimated to the time change and climate, while also taking a team trip to a historic site on the island. How the staff is able to balance the mental, physical and emotional components to stay focused on starting the season off with a bang will be very interesting.
Last but not least, there will be emotion on both sides surrounding this game. It’s no secret the impact Dick Tomey had one these two programs, and there will be plenty of tributes paid leading into the contest. While that shouldn’t affect the players too much, it will be something that cannot be ignored. Anything from patches on jerseys or helmets to any pre-game ceremonies to honor the late coach will touch the players in some way.
And for Hawai’i, emotions will run even deeper as it takes the field without one of its own due to the passing of linebacker Scheyenne Sanitoa in July. Those, like myself, who were around the UA program in 2016 when Zach Hemmila passed away know how uncertain that leaves a team feeling for an indefinite period of time. There are highs and lows as it relates to the camaraderie within a football family when you are challenged with such adversity. Teams – and individuals – can respond in a wide range of ways. How the Warriors respond and perform in the wake of losing a teammate is a great unknown as it relates to the football game, which pales in significance to the grieving period they have been working through this summer.
Homemade September Statement
Win or lose at Hawai’i, Arizona will have a chance to position itself for Pac-12 play in the month of September. The Cats will be rested and surely fine-tuned following their first bye heading into the home opener on Sept. 7 against NAU. Then, the Wildcats will face arguably their biggest non-conference threat against Texas Tech on Sept. 14 before another bye week and then the conference opener against UCLA to close out the month on Sept. 28. All three games are at Arizona Stadium.
The week off following the trip to Hawai’i will be much welcomed. It will allow the Wildcats to re-adjust to their normal body clocks, while providing ample time to make critical early-season adjustments based on the results of the first game where many questions will be answered. There was some internal discussion a couple years ago to approach NAU to re-work its schedule so the Cats could use a bye week leading into the Texas Tech game. That never materialized and it leaves Arizona in good position to get a hard reset after the Hawai’i trip, work out more kinks against the Lumberjacks and then gear up for remainder of the schedule against Power 5 foes.
When the Red Raiders arrive at Arizona Stadium, they will be the first non-conference Power 5 team the Cats have played in the regular season since upsetting No. 19 Oklahoma State in Rich Rodriguez’s first season (2012). Uncertainty will loom in this matchup as Texas Tech has a new head coach in Matt Wells. Expectations are for a potent offense, but the Red Raiders did start to make defensive improvement in Kliff Kingsbury’s last season. It will be interesting to see the physical talent the Red Raiders have compared to say Houston, which was significantly bigger, faster and stronger than the Wildcats each of the last two seasons (even though UA should have won at home in 2016 if it didn’t turn the ball over).
Regardless of how non-conference play wraps up, Arizona again gets a timely reset before opening conference play against UCLA on Sept. 28. This break will again allow Sumlin & Co. to evaluate the roster and schemes. If any of the true freshmen have shown promise in the early action, this is where their more significant reps are going to be increased. There will likely be some depth chart shakeups at this point if necessary, because a six-week grind awaits before the next bye week.
When the Bruins arrive at Arizona Stadium, the Cats should feel good about the matchup. It will be interesting to see what strides UCLA has made in Year 2 of Chip Kelly’s tenure, but it’s still a young roster in transition that lacks depth (Arizona knows all about the struggles of re-building a roster). Still, Arizona went toe-to-toe with the Bruins in the Rose Bowl with Rhett Rodriguez running the offense last season and should have won. That proved to be a confidence-building moment for the Cats, who began to turn their season around after that loss. This year, a loss at this point of the schedule will temper momentum and really put the Cats behind the eight-ball entering the meat of the schedule.
Ominous October
It’s not unrealistic to think the Wildcats could enter October with a 4-0
record. Yes, we are talking about a 5-7 team from last year opening the season
at surprising Hawai’i and also playing Texas Tech and UCLA in September, but
quite frankly Arizona is good enough to beat each of those teams, plus NAU.
Whatever the record is entering October, it’s a daunting slate ahead. There are
three road games and the lone home contest is the Family Weekend game vs. one
of the conference favorites, Washington. So just like it will be important for
Arizona to start the year fast, it needs to start October fast to keep momentum
rolling.
The Cats open the October slate at Colorado, which welcomes in new head coach
Mel Tucker. Like Texas Tech, there are questions (prior to the start of the
season) what this team will look like with a new staff. For Arizona, Boulder
has become a place of good fortune with rather remarkable performances in 2013,
2015 and 2017. No one will forget what transpired here two Octobers ago when
Khalil Tate set the FBS single-game rushing record by a quarterback.
This game is a good chance for Arizona to possibly improve to 5-0 on the
season, but despite recent success, Boulder is not the easiest place to play.
It’s a good gameday environment in an intimate setting, and I expect the
Buffaloes fans to be very supportive of Tucker and his staff in Year 1. They
will see Arizona as a big opportunity to make a statement of their own early in
conference play.
From there, Arizona returns home to play the Huskies. There isn’t much to say
there. Washington will be good and should be the first ranked team on the
schedule, while it remains to be seen where the Cats will be. It could be a Top
25 matchup if Arizona gets off to a fast start and exceeds the expectations of
many pundits. And remember, Arizona Stadium is a place where we often see a Top
25 team go down. In fact, it has happened in six of the last seven seasons. The
lone season it didn’t? That would be 2016, when an eventual 3-9 Arizona squad
took ninth-ranked Washington to overtime before losing, 35-28.
A pair of road games then await the Cats when they venture to USC and Stanford
to close out October. The Trojans are always talented and may be playing for
their coach’s job if Clay Helton remains on the hot seat. The Cats typically
battle the Trojans close, and if Khalil Tate is still running the show for the
Cats, this will be his last chance to beat his close friends back in his home
area.
Stanford rejoins the UA schedule this season, and while it may not be a vintage
Cardinal team entering the season, this will be another difficult matchup with
a contrast in styles for the Cats. Expect David Shaw and his staff to get the
Cardinal back in contention this season even with lowered external
expectations. It’s hard to believe Arizona hasn’t beaten Stanford in a decade
dating back to a thrilling 43-38 comeback win at Arizona Stadium in 2009. In
the meetings since, the Cats have been competitive only once – when Matt Scott
engineered an incredible offensive performance in a 54-48 overtime loss during
Rodriguez’s inaugural season.
Finish Strong
No matter where Arizona sits entering November, finishing the season strong
will be critical, but not easy.
Once again, a timely reset is built in as the month starts with a visit from Oregon State, which is improving but is likely a year or two away from contending under Jonathan Smith. It will be Homecoming in Tucson and this matchup provides the Wildcats the opportunity to reassert themselves for the closing stretch, especially if they struggle in October.
The third and final bye week comes before a difficult closing quarter to the schedule. Arizona ventures to Autzen Stadium to face one of the league favorites and potentially an NFL top draft pick in Justin Herbert. The Ducks will be seeking revenge for the upset handed to them last October in Tucson. There’s no question this has emerged as an under-the-radar rivalry for these programs with the Cats having a penchant for playing Oregon tough, plus there are plenty of relevant subplots in recent recruiting circles. Of course, the top storyline will be the Schooler brothers squaring off once more. But, don’t forget the hit that Tristan Cooper delivered last year because the Ducks haven’t forgotten (just like any UA fan will never forget the hit levied on Michael Jolivette years ago).
Arizona’s home schedule concludes when Pac-12 South favorite Utah visits Tucson on Nov. 23. After a run of success from 2012-14, the Cats have lost three in a year to the Utes who have simply been too physical along both lines for Arizona in recent games. That will again be the mantra for Utah this season, and if the Utes are still in contention entering this game, it will be another shot at a Top 25 win for Arizona. If the Cats have thrust themselves into contention in the Pac-12 South, then this could be a big time game to close out the year at Arizona Stadium. And then there’s the Territorial Cup at Sun Devil Stadium on Nov. 30. Nothing else needs to be said, but it is worth noting that this game was originally scheduled for Friday before ESPN claimed this game in spring TV negations. The extra day of rest and preparation is welcomed for each side. Time and channel designation (ESPN/ESPN2/ABC) will be determined closer to the gamer date.
In Review
A manageable non-conference schedule and three bye weeks give the Wildcats plenty of reason to be optimistic about the 2019 season from a scheduling standpoint. However, Arizona must play five of its nine conference games away from home and is likely to be the underdog in as many six of the last seven games. So a fast start and a surprise or two in the second half of the season will be required to break through into Pac-12 South contention. Regardless, the early-season schedule with two bye weeks and three September home games will allow the coaching staff to play a bunch of players and thoroughly evaluate the roster from top to bottom. The four-game redshirt preservation rule that went into effect last year is great for teams like Arizona who will have ample time early in the season to not only play young guys, but give them additional reps during the bye week practices. This staff will put a premium on getting talent on the field this season and has the luxury of coaching it up through September before letting the chips fall as they may against the big boys the rest of the way.
2019 Arizona Football Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time (TV) |
| Aug. 24 | at Hawai’i | 7:30 p.m. (CBSSN) |
| Sept. 7 | NAU | 7:45 p.m. (P12N) |
| Sept. 14 | Texas Tech | 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) |
| Sept. 28 | UCLA | |
| Oct. 5 | at Colorado | |
| Oct. 12 | Washington (FW) | |
| Oct. 19 | at USC | |
| Oct. 26 | at Stanford | |
| Nov. 2 | Oregon State (HC) | |
| Nov. 16 | at Oregon | |
| Nov. 23 | Utah | |
| Nov. 30 | at Arizona State | TBD (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2) |
| Dec. 6 (Fri.) | Pac-12 Championship | 6 p.m. (ABC) |
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