A poor bowl showing notwithstanding, the Cats broke through in Rich Rodriguez’s third year with 10 wins (a first since 1998), a Pac-12 South division title and a final national ranking of No. 19. Arizona’s noncon is pillow-soft again, but with road trips to Stanford, USC and ASU, a repeat South title will be an uphill battle.
Offense
How the Wildcats beat you: Arizona scored 34.5 points per game in 2014 (No. 28 in the FBS) on the backs of QB Anu Solomon (then a redshirt freshman) and RB Nick Wilson (then a true frosh). And much of the tandem’s offensive success came via the zone-read, which the Wildcats ran on 47 percent of all rushing plays—the highest such rate among Power 5 programs. “He’s similar to the style of [Utah running back Devonte Booker],” Arizona State coach Todd Graham said of Wilson last year. “They’re a downhill, inside zone-based team; that’s what he is.” The running back bulldozed especially well on first down, gashing opposing defenses for 5.3 ypc, 16 rushes of 10-plus yards and 8 TDs.
How you beat the Wildcats: Few quarterbacks were as productive on the run as Solomon, whose 86 completions when scrambling were 35 more than any other Power 5 passer. Also tops? His passing yards (1,155), touchdowns (11) and 20-yard completions (15) when on the move. Still, when the Wildcats’ run attack malfunctioned last year, so too did Solomon. Arizona gained less than 3.2 yards per carry in four separate contests in 2014 (all losses)—and Solomon couldn’t pick up the slack, averaging just 5.2 ypa in those games (versus 8.0 the rest of the season).
Defense
How the Wildcats beat you: The up-tempo offense hogs headlines, and for good reason. Rodriguez’s D’s are often lackluster, and the Wildcats’ 2014 unit was no exception (451 total ypg allowed, No. 103 in the FBS; 5.7 ypp, No. 73). But Arizona hung its hat on creating negative plays—one notable bright spot—to give the ball back to Solomon & Co. The Cats averaged 7 TFL and 2.7 sacks per game in 2014 (both top-16 marks in the Power 5) while forcing a healthy 26 turnovers (No. 28 in the FBS)—13 fumbles and 13 INTs.
How you beat the Wildcats: The only downside to those negative plays? Junior LB Scooby Wright III, arguably the country’s best defensive player, was the driving force behind about a third of them: 14 sacks (37 percent of the team’s output), 29 TFL (30 percent) and 6 forced fumbles (33 percent). No other Wildcat came close to Wright’s production, and that lack of playmaker depth in the front seven hung the secondary out to dry. Case in point? When opponents forced Arizona to gang up in the box, opportunities over the top came aplenty: The Wildcats gave up 32 completions that gained 25-plus yards (No. 102). With pass breakup specialist Jonathan McKnight (13 last year) no longer there, the secondary will need more consistency from its line.