Tyrone Willingham has already announced his intentions to resign from Washington, but the ignominious honor of Hottest Seat in the Pacific-10 Conference was bestowed upon Mike Stoops at Arizona.
Formerly the defensive coordinator of Oklahoma under brother Bob, Mike Stoops had an underwhelming record of 17-29 entering his fifth season as Wildcats head coach. An upset victory over then-No. 2 Oregon last year likely saved his job, and Stoops upped the ante by securing the school’s first bowl berth since 1998 with last week’s 59-28 victory over Washington State. At 4-2 in conference play (6-3 overall), a Rose Bowl berth isn’t out of the question – though the Wildcats’ remaining slate (at Oregon, hosting Oregon State and Arizona State) is sure to challenge.
For the 2007 season, Arizona implemented a spread offense under new offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes, and third-year starting quarterback Willie Tuitama has been a direct beneficiary. Tuitama, a senior from Stockton, Calif., threw for 3,683 yards and 28 touchdowns with a completion percentage of 62.4 percent. He isn’t likely to duplicate those numbers this year – through nine games, Tuitama has thrown for 1,993 yards and 16 touchdowns this year – but his completion rate has improved to 63.5 percent.
Tuitama has had plenty of support through the running game. Sophomore Nic Grigsby has a 5.9 yards-per-carry average and 11 touchdowns on the year, while his freshman backup, Keola Antolin, opened some eyes in an upset win over then-No. 25 Cal on Oct. 18. Antolin, standing tall at 5-foot-8, torched the Cal defense for 149 yards and three touchdowns as the Wildcats won, 42-27. A no-name offensive line has helped turn Arizona into the 10th-best scoring offense in the nation, though left tackle Eben Britton is projected as a possible first-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.
Arizona likes throwing the ball deep, and only one of the top six pass catchers has averaged less than 10 yards per reception on the year. Senior wide receiver Mike Thomas (51 catches, 655 yards, four TDs) is Tuitama’s top target, but Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti should be greatly concerned with sophomore tight end Rob Gronkowski. He’s big (6-foot-6, 260 pounds), physical and a threat in the passing game, having caught seven touchdown passes among his 22 receptions.
Defensively, Arizona is bereft of a Pac-10 household name but has performed very well on the year. The Wildcats are 13th in the nation in total defense (285 yards per game) and tied for 24th in the nation in scoring defense (19 points per game). The passing defense has been nothing short of stellar – despite losing safety Antoine Cason, a first-round NFL Draft pick of the San Diego Chargers, Arizona ranks third in the nation, and defensive players have intercepted 14 passes; redshirt freshman cornerback Trevin Wade has four of them.
Senior kicker Jason Bondzio has been very consistent, making all 41 of his extra points and 10 of 12 field goals. Bondzio hasn’t missed a field goal from less than 40 yards away this season.
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