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Arizona Wildcats vs Northern Arizona Lumberjacks Football Preview

In the state of Arizona, underachieving college football programs are a way of life. Arizona State, though, has two Rose Bowls to its credit. Arizona is still looking for numero uno, and with the USC Trojans ineligible for the first-ever Pac-12 South Division title, it's Arizona's big chance to make the inaugural Pac-12 Championship Game, the gateway to a potential Pasadena pageant.

No pressure, Wildcats. No pressure at all.

When a new season starts against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, Arizona will need to show that it's ready to outclimb Utah and everyone else in the South Division. A perpetually frustrated program must send a message in early September that it is capable of reforming its ways.

The Cats want to get 2010 out of their minds. What started as a 4-0 record and a top 10 ranking ended with a five-game losing streak capped by a blowout Alamo Bowl defeat at the hands of Oklahoma State. With the return of quarterback Nick Foles and All-Pac 10 receiver Juron Criner, the upcoming season may offer the U of A the best time and place in which to bounce back. 

The offense will need to be firing on all cylinders for a breakthrough to occur in Tucson. Breaking in an entirely new offensive line, though, will make that difficult to imagine. The Wildcats will be able to score given the talent of Foles, Criner, and company, but to match last year’s gaudy passing stats, coach Mike Stoops will need to coax a complete team effort from his boys each and every Saturday. The Cats just might be up to it, but that false hope has echoed through Tucson before. It’s the ability to come good on gamedays that matters in the Southwest.

> Browse the selection of Arizona Wildcats apparel online as well as Pac 10 Football Scores through Pac 10 Fans and partner sites.

Hopes for this team in 2011 might have more to do with the Arizona defense than anything else. While returning seven starters, the U of A’s defense will still need to make a drastic improvement. The Wildcats lost to their two best defensive ends and will need to defend the pass better to have a chance in the Pac-12. The conference arguably has the best set of quarterbacks in the country, at least in its top tier with Darron Thomas at Oregon and Andrew Luck at Stanford. Any deficiencies in the secondary will surely be magnified; addressing that element of competition will acquire primary importance for the Wildcats in this opener against Northern Arizona, which will not be able to hurt the U of A the way Pac-12 offenses will.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer