Tucson, Ariz. -- The Arizona Wildcats will honor the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor this weekend when the University of Hawaii visits Arizona Stadium. 
Arizona is paying tribute to remember the 1,177 lives lost in the Pearl Harbor attack some 75 years ago. UA's historic connection to the U.S.S. Arizona, a Pennsylvania-class battleship sunk and irreparably damaged in the bombing, has been well-chronicled in the years since and, certainly, never forgotten. 
Here's more information on this weekend's game and some themes to watch:

Some Game Themes: September continues to roll along as non-conference play draws to a close for the Wildcats, who are in the midst of a three-game homestand … For a pair of schools with limited playing history on the gridiron, there are plenty of storylines this week... The direct tie between these football programs is obvious: Dick Tomey is uniquely one of the winningest coaches in each school's history (all-time leader at Arizona). He led Arizona to a 1993 Fiesta Bowl championship and a near-perfect 12-1 record in 1998 that began with an opening victory over the Rainbow Warriors in Honolulu … A more recent link is UH's current sack leader, Makani Keme-Kaleiwahea, who began his collegiate career with the Wildcats before transferring closer to home … Both sides are coming off their first wins of the season, and coincidentally both needed second-half comebacks … The Rainbow Warriors – more accurately, road warriors – will have traveled 19,112 miles when they arrive in Tucson following trips to and from Australia, Michigan and soon to be Arizona … Hawai'i already has one game against Pac-12 competition under its belt, falling 51-31 to California in Sydney, Australia. It was a turnover-plagued contest for the Rainbow Warriors, which was also the downfall of the Wildcats in their opening loss to BYU … However, UA turned things around literally in the second half last Saturday, benefiting from six turnovers … Questions will surround the quarterback position again for Arizona, which was without third-year starter Anu Solomon who suffered a knee injury in practice last week. Sophomore Brandon Dawkins, who battled hard for the starting job leading into the season, made his starting debut last Saturday … It's a momentum game for Arizona, which needs a spark offensively and defensively before beginning a grueling stretch of games to open Pac-12 action next week.

Remember, Recognize, Honor: In conjunction with other events on the UA campus this semester, Arizona football will be paying tribute to the USS Arizona which was sunk and lost 1,177 crewmen and officers on Dec. 7, 1941, in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Saturday's game will include numerous special tributes, among them:

Game Program:  There will be a special edition of the game program including a commemorative cover, information on the University of Arizona's connection to the USS Arizona, and a list containing the names of the 1,177 crewmen and officers, who lost their lives aboard the USS Arizona.
National Anthem:  You will not want to miss this national anthem ceremony. It will include USS Arizona survivor Lauren Bruner, a giant U.S. flag on the field presented by members of the UA's ROTC programs, the national anthem performed by a current UA ROTC cadet, and a skydiver.
Team Entrance:  The Arizona football team will enter the field carrying a 48-star U.S. internment flag (provided by Flags for the Flagless). The flag will be presented at midfield to USS Arizona survivor Lauren Bruner prior to the coin toss.
Coin Toss:  The coin toss will use the squadron commander's coin from the 47th fighter squadron, stationed at Davis-Monthan. The 47th fighter squadron was originally the 47th Pursuit Squadron, and was assigned to Wheeler Field, Hawai'i. The squadron was credited with shooting down eight Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941, in defense of Pearl Harbor. Joining us to present the squadron coin on behalf of the 47th fighter squadron is Colonel Scott Campbell, Commander of the 355th Fighter Wing at DM Air Force Base.
WE REMEMBER Halftime:  USS Arizona survivor Lauren Bruner and several World War II veterans will join us for an on-field ceremony to remember Pearl Harbor, to pay tribute to those lost during the attack and the subsequent world war, and to be honored for their military service to our country. These distinguished guests will be joined by UA President Ann Weaver Hart, UA Director of Athletics Greg Byrne, University of Hawaii Director of Athletics David Matlin, and the Pride of Arizona.  

Arizona Stadium Success: Historically, the Wildcats have enjoyed plenty of success at Arizona Stadium, but the last decade has produced a consistent run of success. Arizona has strung together nine consecutive seasons without a losing home record, accumulating a 42-18 record dating back to the start of the 2007 season. That is a winning percentage of 70-percent, a nice boost over the overall 60-percent winning percentage that dates back 66 years to the 1950 season (246-162-6). In four seasons under head coach Rich Rodriguez, the winning percentage is even higher (.750) as his squads have gone 21-7 heading into the 2016 slate at Arizona Stadium. Most impressive is scoring margin; Rodriguez's teams have outscored opponents 1,126-725 (+401) in four-plus seasons. That averages out to a two-touchdown victory margin (40.2-25.9 points per game).

Second Half Surge: Arizona's first two games have truly been a tale of two halves. Thus far, the Wildcats are being outscored 30-3 in the opening half of games, while dominating the second half with a 44-9 scoring margin. The second half success includes a second-half comeback against BYU that gave the Wildcats a brief lead late in the fourth quarter, and of course last week's 28-0 run that erased a 21-3 halftime deficit.

Tale of Two Halves: The second half surge trend is something new for the Wildcats. Since 2012, Arizona has a knack for playing its best football in the second half. Consider over the last four-plus years, the Wildcats have a minus-31 scoring margin (925-956) in the first two quarters. The second half has been a completely different story evidenced by a plus-207 margin (960-753) in favor of Arizona (overtimes not included).

Grant Me a Win: Samajie Grant notched five catches for 95 yards in Saturday's 31-21 win over Grambling State. The 95 yards mark Grant's most since he opened the 2014 season versus UNLV with a career best 101 yards. The more Grant has been involved, the better it's been for the Wildcats. Grant has played in 40 career games since his arrival in 2013. When the senior receiver has 40 or more yards in a game, the Wildcats are 15-2. When he has 39 or less, the Cats are 9-14. More specifically, when Grant has 70 or more yards in a game, Arizona is a perfect 7-0. With his 95 yards Saturday, Grant now has 131 catches in his career, which is tied for 9th most all-time at Arizona with Syndric Steptoe. He passed Cayleb Jones and David Roberts, who were tied for 10th with 128 career receptions.

The Kid's Kid: The dean of the receivers room, Trey Griffey is entering his fifth and final season for the Wildcats, having played all five years for head coach Rich Rodriguez and receivers coach Tony Dews. The son of Major League Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., Trey was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 24th round (Ken's number) of June's Major League Baseball Draft. However, unlike his dad, Trey is purely a football player and hasn't played baseball competitively since before high school. As a result, he'll focus on the pigskin and look to lead the receivers this season. So far, that plan is going very well. Griffey leads the Wildcats with eight catches for 140 yards through two games. He enters Saturday's game with Hawaii with 999 career receiving yards and should have no problem going over the 1,000-yard plateau. Interestingly, a good amount of the production has come in Griffey's four most recent games. Dating back to last season, Griffey has 12 catches for 342 yards and two touchdowns over his last four games. Over the first 30 games of his career, Griffey had 657 yards. That means that 34 percent of Griffey's career production has come over his last four games. He has at least 64 yards in each game. He only went over 64 yards once – the 2014 Fiesta Bowl-- in the first 30 games of his career.
Griffey's Last 4 Games
Date      Opponent           Catches                Yards     Touchdowns
11/21/15              Arizona State     2              138         1
12/19/15              New Mexico      2              64           0
9/3/16   BYU        4              66           0
9/10/16 Grambling State               4              74           1

A Dashing Start: Nick Wilson entered his junior season having already established himself as one of the most accomplished running backs in Arizona history. In his first two seasons, Wilson accumulated 2,104 rushing yards on 370 carries with 24 touchdowns and an average yards per carry of 5.7. Already in the Top 10 on most career rushing lists at Arizona, Wilson picked up right where he left off in the season-opener against BYU. Wilson churned out 138 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. He averaged 8.1 yards per rush and also added two catches for 11 yards. He followed that up with another 100-yard output last weekend against Grambling State. Wilson finished with 116 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. It marked his 12th career 100-yard rushing game. He has rushed for more than 100 yards in exactly half (12 of 24) of his games played in his career. Wilson has three touchdowns on the season and 27 for his career. He's now tied with Ronald Veal for fourth all-time at Arizona in rushing touchdowns. With one more he'll pass Nic Grigsby for third
Rushing Touchdowns, Career
Name                Rushing Touchdowns            Years Active
Ka'Deem Carey             48                               2011-13
Art Luppino                   44                              1953-56
Nic Grigsby                   28                             2007-10
Nick Wilson                   27                             2014-present
Ronald Veal                   27                              1987-90
 
The Streak: Against NAU, in the very first game of his career, Nate Phillips didn't record any catches. Since, he's played in 35 career games and has at least one catch in each of those games. His 35-game streak of consecutive games with a reception is tied for fifth with Taquan Mizzell from Virginia for active streaks (research courtesy Bob Thomas, Florida State Sports Information). It's also tied for the longest for any player in a Power 5 Conference.
Active Streak of Consecutive Games with A Reception
Player, School                            Games
Robert Davis, Georgia State            39
Corey Davis, Western Michigan       38
Zach Pascal, Old Dominion             38
Zay Jones, East Carolina                37
Nate Phillips, Arizona                     35
Taquan Mizzell, Virginia                  35

Barton's Big Night: Following a 29-game career at California that produced 158 tackles, 2 ½ sacks and an interception, linebacker Michael Barton transferred to Arizona for his final season of eligibility. The 6-foot, 237-pound linebacker has produced right away for the Wildcats. Despite not recording a tackle in the opener against BYU, defensive coordinator Marcel Yates liked what he saw from Barton and made it a priority to find him more playing time. Against Grambling State, Barton rewarded Yates, who also serves as Barton's position coach. Barton finished with eight tackles, including two for a loss. He also added a sack. Barton has the ability to play multiple spots at linebacker and played both in the middle and the WILL spot against Grambling State. Barton's sack came on the first play of a fourth quarter Grambling State drive. Barton sacked quarterback Trevon Cherry on first down of a drive that eventually resulted in a punt.

Hard Edge Zellers: Prior to the 2016 season, the Wildcats received a visit from Master Chief Steve Gonzalez of the US Navy SEALS and participated in a unique training session to prepare for the year. The team did various exercises in the pool, beach volleyball courts and football field. The session emphasized team work and mental toughness. In August, Gonzalez sent the team a wooden sword to be presented to the team's Hard Edge Player of the Week, which coach Rich Rodriguez names on Sundays throughout the season. Defensive end Justin Belknap earned the honor after the BYU game, but handed off the sword this past weekend to fellow defensive lineman Parker Zellers, who earned Hard Edge Player of the Week honors this week. Zellers recorded the first two sacks of his career in Saturday's win and also forced a pair of fumbles. Overall, Zellers finished with four tackles. Entering Saturday, Zellers, in 26 games and seven starts, had 1 ½ tackles-for-loss and no sacks. The forced fumbles were also the first of his career.