Arizona Wildcats 2019 College Football Preview

College Football Predictions – Arizona Wildcats 2019 College Football Preview

2018 Recap

Record – 5-7

ATS – 7-5

What could possibly go wrong?

The Wildcats looked to salvage a MEH season in the first year of the Kevin Sumlin regime in the season finale vs Arizona St. Up 40-21 in the 4th quarter. Win and you make a bowl game. OOPS. The Sun Devils pulled a rabbit out of the proverbial hat and won the game 41-40 as the Cats missed a potential game-winning FG to essentially end the festivities. We don’t recall having any SWEET ACTION on the game but make no mistake. That was the kind of game that takes two years off a gambler’s life.

Where do we go from here? They have a 15 returning starters and a legit QB. Will that be enough to contend in the competitive PAC-12 South?

2019 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating

South Division – #4

PAC 12 – #8

Arizona Wildcats 2019 Outlook

OFFENSE

QB Khalil Tate transformed from a devastating rushing threat (1,411 rushing yards in 2017) (!) to a pocket passer last season (2,530, 26-8 TD to INT). Tate was clearly dealing with an ankle injury BUT you also have to wonder what impact the change in offensive system had on his ability to drive defenses crazy with his legendary running ability. It remains to be seen how much damage Tate will do with his legs this season but it’s clear that the Wildcats have one of the most dangerous QBs in the PAC-12.

There is good news and bad news when it comes to the supporting cast of offensive weapons. We regret to inform you that the Cats will be without their top-four in receiving yards from 2018 including their fine WR Shaun Poindexter (42-759, 11 TD LY). If the Cats plan on making Tate dice teams apart with his arm that might be a BOLD STRATEGY. The good news is that the RB group is led by star JJ Taylor who ran for over 1,400 yards last season. Arizona rushed for more than 200 YPG (again) in 2018 and should have a really good campaign on the ground with 4/5 men returning on the OL.

DEFENSE

The Wildcats haven’t allowed fewer than 400 YPG since 2010. Amaze the obnoxious superiors at your next LAME WORK PARTY with that trivia nugget. There is some hope on the horizon as they return 8 starters to the stop unit and have some interesting pieces. Stud DT PJ Johnson is off to the NFL (Lions) but they have size on the interior of the line and our PAC-12 INSIDERS note that DE Jalen Harris could be in for a big year. Harris has put on some weight (muscle) and should have a big year in terms of harassing opposing QBs. The LB corps boasts the team’s top-two leading tacklers including Colin Schooler who achieved 2nd Team PAC-12 honors. The secondary returns three starters but it should be noted that the defense allowed a horrid 27-7 TD to INT ratio in 2018 whilst allowing 64% completions. Better things are ahead for the defense but it might be unreasonable to expect a notable improvement unless the Cats can find a way to tally more than 23 sacks (10th PAC-12).

SPECIAL TEAMS

P Dylan Klumph and PK Josh Pollack did a good job last season but both players have moved on. JJ Taylor bagged a KO return TD in 2018. It’s hard to forecast more than average performance from this group.

Schedule Analysis

Overall – The Cats need to get things done in the first five games as there are a LOT of winnable games in there (at Hawaii, N Arizona, Texas Tech, UCLA, at Colorado). The back-end of the docket includes road clashes with USC, Stanford, and Oregon.

Potential ATS Trouble Spot – at Stanford (October 26)

Season Win Total

Over 6.5 +100

Under 6.5 -120

MEGALOCKS says:

Arizona should be able to start 4-1 or better (?) but the back-end of the schedule is a bit nasty. We probably won’t get involved in this market.

MEGAmazing Tidbit

Where did the motto “Bear Down” come from, yo? Legend has it that in 1926, quarterback John “Button” Salmon died from injuries sustained in a car accident. According to people on the scene, his final words spoken to coach “Pop” McKale were “Tell them…..tell the team to Bear Down.” The student body proceeded to adopt “Bear Down” as the school’s athletic motto.

People with nicknames like “Button” and “Pop” just make stories more interesting, don’t they?