Game 1
UTSA (0-0) at No. 22 Arizona (0-0
Date: Thursday, Sept. 3
Time: 7 p.m. (MST)
Location: Tucson, Ariz.
Television: Pac-12 Network
Additional Game Information
Stadium: Arizona Stadium (56,029)
Surface: FieldTurf
Television: Pac-12 Network
All-Time Series: UA leads, 2-0
at Tucson: UA leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: UA 26, UTSA 23 (Sept. 4, 2014, at San Antonio)
Streak: UA has won each meeting
Television: Pac-12 Network
Play-by-Play: Roxy Bernstein
Analyst: Glenn Parker
Sideline: Jill Savage
Watch Online: Pac-12.com/Pac-12 Now
Radio: Arizona IMG Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Brian Jeffries
Analyst: Lamont Lovett
Sideline: Dana Cooper
Flagship Stations: 1290 AM, 107.5 FM
Statewide Affiliates: View here
Listen on TuneIn: www.arizonawildcats.com
Satellite Radio: XM (TBA), SIRIUS (TBA)
Spanish Radio: www.arizonawildcats.com
Play-by-Play: Jorge Leyva
Analyst: Marco Rincon
Hard Edge Notes
» In only his third season as head coach, Rich Rodriguez led Arizona to a 10-4 record and the Pac-12 South Championship in 2014.
» The 10-win season was only the third in program history (also 1993 & 1998).
» Rodriguez has led the Wildcats to a minimum of eight victories and bowl berth each of the last three years.
» Junior LB Scooby Wright returns as the reigning Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. He also won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Rotary Lombardi Award and the Chuck Bednarik Award, all given annually to the nation's top defender.
» Wright again finds himself on most all preseason watch list for defensive player of the year honors.
» For the first time since arriving in Tucson, Rodriguez returns his starting quarterback. Anu Solomon shattered all school freshman passing records in 2014.
» Solomon, who passed for 3,793 yards a year ago, is on preseason watch lists for the Maxwell, Manning and Davey O'Brien Awards.
» Following a 1,000-yard season, junior receiver Cayleb Jones earned a nod on the Biletnikoff Award preseason watch list.
» Running back Nick Wilson (Doak Walker Award watch list) also shattered the school's freshman rushing records with 1,375 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground.
» The Wildcats return both kicker Casey Skowron (123 points) and punter Drew Riggleman, a second-team All-Pac-12 honoree in 2015.
Some Game Themes: The dog days of summer are gone and that means football is finally here! We begin another season in the Old Pueblo with a meeting of two strangely familiar foes: Arizona and UTSA. The Wildcats have defeated the Roadrunners in each of the last two seasons, including a narrow escape from the Alamodome last September. This meeting is the third and final of what was a two-for-one series signed by Arizona's previous coaching staff. The current sheriff, Rich Rodriguez, has his squad poised for another run at the Pac-12 Championship and – hopefully – more. That's the goal following a 10-win regular season and a Fiesta Bowl berth in a campaign that caught many outside the program by surprise in 2014. What won't be a surprise this year is who will be the Wildcats' starter behind center. That will be Anu Solomon, a poised passer that broke school freshman passing records by the midpoint of an eventual 14-game season. He returns a bevy of weapons around him, including sophomore running back Nick Wilson and receiver Cayleb Jones, two playmakers on early watch lists. Also back are both kicker Casey Skowron and punter Drew Riggleman, as well as return man DaVonte' Neal. And who can forget that Scooby Wright guy – national defensive player of the year by most all outlets a season ago. But the tough question for this Wildcat squad will be how it handles a rigorous stretch of 12-straight games and the hotly-competitive Pac-12 South Division. The easy answer is to take things one game at a time, and that means it all starts with UTSA. Make no mistake, the Roadrunners will come into Arizona Stadium hungry. The Wildcats spoiled what seemed to be a make-or-break run at an upset a year ago, and that will surely serve as motivation for the Lone Star Visitors. Good news for those of us covering this Thursday's game: it's on a Thursday. And that opens up the rest of the weekend to watch the rest of the college football slate. So what are we waiting for? Let's kick this season off!
In the Polls: Arizona opens the season ranked No. 22 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the Amway USA Today Coaches Poll. It's the first time the Wildcats have been ranked in the preseason since 1999, and the previous history is rather brief. The other seasons UA opened the year in the preseason poll include: 1998, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1989, 1983, 1975 and 1974.
What the Wildcats Achieved: In 2014, Arizona won 10 regular season games and claimed its first-ever Pac-12 South Division Championship. It marked the second time in school history Arizona won 10 regular season games (1998) and only the third time it won double-digit contests in a single season (also 1993). The Wildcats' appearance in the Pac-12 Football Championship game against Oregon on Dec. 5 was the first-ever conference title game appearance in program history, and with the VIZIO Fiesta Bowl appearance, Arizona played in a 14th game for the first time ever.
To read the complete Arizona football weekly release, click here.
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