Arizona Wildcats
Pac-12
The Wildcats did not have any sort of stellar year. They did not fight for the Pac-12 South title. In fact, they had a losing Pac-12 record for the season. What the Wildcats did do was get a signature win while running all over the place. Arizona walloped Oregon 42-16 when Oregon had something to play for. They were able to play spoiler, and that alone should provide some level of satisfaction. They also ran Ka’Deem Carey over everybody en route to a great season that not many running backs experience. He may have been in the Heisman discussion if the Wildcats were a better team.
2013 Record: 7-5, 4-5
Coach: Rich Rodriquez
Coach Bowl Record: 3-4
Big Wins: 11/2 at California (33-28), 11/23 Oregon (42-16)
Bad Losses: 9/28 at Washington (13-31), 11/16 Washington State (17-24)
Strengths:
As mentioned above, the rushing attack was among the best in the land. Second only to Oregon in conference, Arizona was able to rack up 266 yards per game on the ground. The offensive line was great all year. They only gave about a sack per game. Plays rarely ended behind the line of scrimmage with that group. It helped that Carey was running behind them. Carey was an absolute man with the ball in his hands. He rushed for over 1,700 yards and 17 touchdowns. Only five running backs found the end zone more often than Carey. Most importantly, Carey shows up when it matters most. Against Oregon he had 206 yards and four of those touchdowns. He has been special for them all year. The defense is a pretty good unit, but they excel at reading opposing passers. The Wildcats picked off 16 balls this season. When they were unable to snag the ball away from the offense, they were able to hold teams to under 25 points per game.
Weaknesses:
Naturally, with such a great running game it only makes sense that the passing game is poor. Quarterback B.J. Denker did not have fantastic number this season. He threw 14 touchdowns to seven interceptions. This is obviously a running offense, but imagine if he and his receivers connected for more than 190 yards a game through the air. The Wildcats would have been in much better positions to improve on their record. A lot of matchups in the Pac-12 end up being shootouts. Arizona cannot compete in that regard. Denker had no go-to guy on the outside for him this season. No receiver averaged more than four catches per game. More startling is that none averaged over 42 yards per game. That is an indication that options are limited for Arizona in the passing game. Making them one-dimensional effectively stifles their offense.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Ka’Deem Carey, RB, 1,716 yards
Passing: B.J. Denker, QB, 2,241 yards
Receiving: Nate Phillips, WR, 503 yards
Tackles: Marquis Flowers, LB, 86
Sacks: Sione Tuihalamaka, DT, 5.0
Interceptions: Tra’Mayne Bondurant, LB, 4
2013 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 265.8 (12th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Passing Offense: 186.8 (98, 12)
Total Offense: 452.6 (35, 6)
Scoring Offense: 32.8 (45, 7)
Rushing Defense: 169.8 (70, 7)
Pass Defense: 235.5 (77, 7)
Total Defense: 405.3 (68, 8)
Scoring Defense: 24.7 (47, 6)
Turnover Margin: 0.3 (40, 6)
Sacks: 1.75 (78, 8)
Sacks Allowed: 1.33 (27, 2)
Recent Bowl Appearances:
2012 Gildan New Mexico Bowl Nevada (49-48)
2010 Alamo Bowl Oklahoma State (10-36)
2009 Holiday Bowl Nebraska (0-33)
2008 Las Vegas Bowl BYU (31-21)
1998 Holiday Bowl Nebraska (23-20)
1997 Insight Bowl New Mexico (20-14)
*all team stats through 11/30
