It’s way too early to have a good sense of how things will play out next season, but well past the point where it’s OK to start trying anyway. With some teams in the middle of spring practice, some just getting started and others set to begin in a few weeks, it felt like a good time to try to gauge expectations for next season. Over the next two weeks, we’ll take stock of each team in the Pac-12 and see how things are shaping up for 2017. First up: Arizona.
Wildcats' role in the division race: It’s not what Arizona wants to hear, but every team in the conference -- at least at this point -- expects to beat the Wildcats. That’s the result of two years of regression and the inability to play competitive games for most of last season. Colorado showed last season that worst-to-first is possible in the Pac-12 South, but there were signs Colorado was improving -- that’s not the case with Arizona. That said, as bad as Arizona was last season (3-9, 1-8 Pac-12), it did go to overtime with a playoff team (Washington) and ended the season with a resounding victory against rival Arizona State to keep the Sun Devils out of a bowl game. That’s to show it would be foolish to write the Wildcats off all together. The reality is they’re likely destined to finish in the bottom half of the South, but beat a couple teams who are superior on paper.
What constitutes success: When posed this question a couple of weeks ago, coach Rich Rodriguez wasn’t ready to admit that anything short of a conference title was worth shooting for. That, of course, is to be expected from a coach in an interview, but he knows how unlikely an Arizona conference title is. After last season, we’re just looking for progress from the Wildcats. That’s often one of those know-when-you-see-it things, but that’s boring. No one wants to hear a 2-7 conference record with seven losses by six points or less is progress, even if it is. So, instead, let’s assign them a tangible goal: qualify for a bowl game. It’s not that ambitious considering that could theoretically mean finishing the season 5-8, but with what’s coming back and what happened last season, any bowl appearance would be satisfying.
Spring priorities: The quarterback situation will undoubtedly draw a lot of attention, but it won’t matter unless there is significant improvement on defense. This isn’t just one or two positions, either. This is across the board. The team should benefit from Marcel Yates being in his second season as the defensive coordinator, but after allowing 43.7 points per game in Pac-12 play last season, that’s just a start.