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Poll: How Will the Arizona Wildcats Fare in 2015?

By Mark Barrera

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The 2014-15 season was a statement year. Arizona football is alive and we are not backing down. What about next season?

It’s time to start thinking of the Arizona Wildcats as College Football Playoff contenders. Was last season a fluke? What do the Wildcats fans think?

ZonaZealots want to find out.

September 3, 2015 is 67 days away. That’s 1,608 hours. This is how long we have to wait until Arizona football is back. It seems like an eternity.

The Wildcats play UTSA in their first game of the season. This game will launch the new season and give us the opportunity to build off of last seasons successes.

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The expectations are high in Tucson. Rich Rodriquez has provided a big spark over the past couple of years that have gotten fans excited. He has gotten the national media to recognize that Arizona is for real. The 2014-15 season brought the Pac-12 South title to Tucson. It brought the Territorial Cup back to Tucson. The season ended on back-to-back losses that were hard to swallow. They are still hard to swallow to this day.

So what are we to expect for the 2015-2016 season? Another 10 win season? Another Pac-12 South title? A Pac-12 Conference title? Or nine wins or less?

Nov 28, 2014; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats offensive lineman Mickey Baucus (68) hoists the territorial cup in celebration after beating the Arizona State Sun Devils 42-35 at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

You can bet that the first three games on the schedule (UTSA, Nevada, Northern Arizona) are wins. But with the ever-increasing talent in the Pac-12, almost each game could potentially be a battle. Arizona went 10-4 last year with losses to USC, UCLA, Oregon (Pac-12 Conference championship), and Boise State (Fiesta Bowl). The USC, UCLA, and Boise State games were flat-out blown by our team. Will the same happen this year?

I believe Arizona will have an 11 win regular season: UTSA, Nevada, Northern Arizona, UCLA, Stanford, Oregon State, Colorado, Washington State, Washington, Utah, and that other Arizona school. I hate to say it, but I think we drop the USC game in L.A. The only reason I am giving USC the edge is because it’s in L.A. If it were in Tucson again, we’d have the winning edge. I still get upset thinking about how we blew the game last year in Tucson, there is no question about it.

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With an 11 win regular season, and the lone loss coming against USC, one would think the Pac-12 South title, and a conference championship, are out of the question. Logically that makes sense, but based on USC’s schedule, I think they lose in Tempe, and in Eugene. With two losses, and Arizona owning the tie-breaker win, that means the Wildcats will win the Pac-12 South for a second year in a row!

The next game will be in the Pac-12 Conference title game in Tucson, against Oregon, with the W going to ARIZONA! Rich Rod is bringing home a conference title this season.

Anu Solomon is going to have an even better year leading our offense. We’ve talked about it before, but he is going to be surrounded with one of the best receiving groups in the nation. Scooby Wright III will be leading a very stacked, tough, and fast defense. This year’s team definitely has the talent, strength, and aggressiveness to go undefeated in the regular season. But if I am going to be a true and honest analyst, I think there will be one slip up.

Do you agree? Will Arizona win 11 games? Will they go undefeated? Will they lose more than last year? Go ahead and cast your vote!

Next: Time for Change in Pac-12 Alignment

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