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Arizona Football: Ranking the Wildcats’ Top Five opponents for 2019

By Eric Townsend

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TUCSON, AZ – SEPTEMBER 29: Jead coach Kevin Sumlin of the Arizona Wildcats looks on during the first half of the game against the USC Trojans at Arizona Stadium on September 29, 2018 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ – SEPTEMBER 29: Jead coach Kevin Sumlin of the Arizona Wildcats looks on during the first half of the game against the USC Trojans at Arizona Stadium on September 29, 2018 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /

We’re less than 50 days until the kick-off to the 2019 Arizona Football season, and because we’re so close, we break down Arizona’s Top Five opponents.

I know we’re all too familiar by now, but unfortunately the 2018 season didn’t quite go the way many had hoped. Perhaps things will be better in 2019, as the Arizona Football team returns a large contingency of their talent and now enter year two under head coach Kevin Sumlin.

We’ve already discussed the expectations for Arizona Football and the possible, likely outcome for the Cats in 2019 as well. However there are numerous variables at play here, and a lot of different things can happen.

A lot will be riding on the health and play of senior quarterback Khalil Tate, but that surely cannot be outdone by the questions regarding Arizona’s offensive line and defensive unit. Should the Wildcats exceed expectations in those areas of concern, perhaps the sky is the limit.

However, all boiled down to how the Wildcats will really do, I think ultimately lies within the schedule. The stark difference and major thing to note, is that when comparing the Wildcats’ schedule from last year to 2019, it seems the Wildcats had an “easier” road in 2018.

Just how easy? Well, let’s recap…

  • BYU (7-6)
  • @ Houston (8-5)
  • Southern Utah (1-10)
  • @ Oregon State (2-10)
  • USC (5-7)
  • California (7-6)
  • @ Utah (9-5)
  • @ UCLA (3-9)
  • Oregon (9-4)
  • Colorado (5-7)
  • @ Washington State (11-2)
  • ASU (7-6)

Competitive… But the Wildcats will have a daunting road ahead playing teams like Stanford, Washington, Oregon, Utah and Texas Tech among others.

Arizona will open up the season on August 24 against Hawaii, a team that looked pretty good in 2018, but should be beatable on the road. Then Arizona will have a bye week before taking on intra-state rival, NAU.

It’s worth noting, that the Wildcats will also have two more bye weeks in addition to the one following Hawaii, giving them a grand total of three.

Could be a huge benefit for Arizona, but I think they’re going to need it! So with that said, we preview the Top 5 toughest opponents the Wildcats will face in 2019.

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