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2008 Arizona College Football Picks & Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd on August 29, 2008

The Arizona Wildcats have not won a Pac-10 title since 1993 when they were the co-champs. That goal is out of play again, but Arizona should be flirting with a bowl game for the third straight season. Will they land a date this time around to break a 10-year drought? Jimmy Boyd’s 2008 Arizona Wildcats predictions and season preview will provide the answer. The betting line on the Wildcats to win the 2009 BCS Championship is 125-1 at BodogLife.com.

Offense

Head coach Mike Stoops hasn’t got this program turned around as quickly as he would have liked. The offense averaged 308.5 passing yards per game in 2007, good for 10th in the country, but Stoops feels that the Cats need to go deep even more often to really put the pressure on the opposition. This is another way of saying there are only three defensive starters returning so we are going to have to out score you to win. Using a Texas Tech style offense moved the Cats in the right direction a season ago with QB Willie Tuitama leading the Pac-10 with 28 touchdown passes and ranking second with 3,683 yards. In 2006, the Cats averaged only 16 points per game so a jump to 28 points per contest was remarkable. The Cats have an abundance of speedsters to stretch the field with. The Pac-10’s leading receiver, Mike Thomas, returns after an 83-catch, 11-touchdown season. Terrell Turner, Terrell Reese, and Delashaun Dean are threats which cannot be ignored as well. Arizona also wants to get talented tight end Rob Gronkowski into the act more. With Arizona looking to spread out and stretch the defense, dragging him across the field and sliding him behind the linebackers will be good options to get him involved. Arizona’s Nic Grigsby gained 704 yards on the ground last season and is the only running threat. The passing game really opens up nice opportunities for him on draw plays. With four starting offensive lineman returning, there’s no reason why this offense shouldn’t be putting over 30 points a game on the board.

Defense

A lack of bulk and experience on the defense has Stoops relying on speed, blitzes, and gang tackling to get the job done. Free safety Nate Ness is the playmaker. He picked off five passes in 2007 despite not starting until midway through the year. Strong safety Cam Nelson is the second leading retuning tackler with 60 stops a season ago. That number will come close to doubling this season. The cornerback slots are open for the first time in four years with Antoine Cason moving on to the NFL and with Wiley Fontenot gone as well. Junior Devin Ross is being hyped as the next lock-down corner, but he’ll have to prove it to me on the field. The linebacker unit will dearly miss the intelligent Spencer Larson who led the conference in tackles. Ronnie Palmer, the lone returner in the front seven, will have to hold down the fort. He had 83 stops a season ago and will emerge as the top tackler. The starting front four is brand new and that likely means a field day for running attacks.

Special Teams

Keenyn Crier earned an All-Pac-10 punting distinction with his 43.7-yard average. Place kicker Jason Bondzio converted 21 of 26 field goal attempts and was eight of 10 from beyond 40 yards.

Prediction – 7th Pac-10

An easy non-league schedule should have the Cats starting the year off with three wins. That will go a long way in getting this team bowl eligible for the first time in 10 seasons. Arizona games will be fun to watch as they figure to be high scoring because of a high powered passing attack and an inexperienced defense. We think they’ll finish just behind Oregon State, California, and UCLA. The Wildcats are listed at 20-1 odds to win the Pac-10 at BodogLife.com.

Jimmy Boyd’s 2008 college football predictions will give you the inside scoop on all the BCS conference teams and top rated squads across the nation. Make sure you read up now so you can head into the season with a nice database of knowledge to beat your book.

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