Arizona Football: Pac-12 Announces 2016 Schedule

Will there be a bye week for Arizona Football or not? That is the question.

We will answer the nagging question first: YES ARIZONA WILL HAVE A BYE WEEK! The bye week will land in late October, and the Wildcats will get to rest for a week mid-season, unlike this season.

Arizona’s bye week wasn’t a true bye week this season because it came in the last week. Coach Rich Rodriguez reminded reporters numerous times and at least once a press conference of his unhappiness with his teams situation. Who could blame him? Next season the bye week couldn’t come at a better time as the Wildcats will play seven games before and five games after their 2016 bye week.

For some reason, the Pac-12 has split the rivalry games between two weekends, probably to accommodate a few SEC opponent games.  That said, Arizona will end their regular season play against our rivals up north on the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend, and that should make the Wildcats fans happy.

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In week two, Arizona fans will be treated to the famous Grambling Tigers marching band who played Cal last season, don’t forget to buy your tickets for that game. Arizona will be playing USC at home this year, and Stanford, but will travel to play UCLA. The Wildcats will not play the Ducks for the second straight season, bummer.

No Pac-12 school will rest in the last week of regular season play; it seems the Pac-12 decision makers learned their lesson. USC and Stanford will not be playing against Pac-12 opponents in the last week, rather USC will take on Notre Dame, and Stanford will take on Rice.

Interesting that the Wildcats will take on BYU this year, BYU has been a rumored possible addition to the Pac-12, which would create a new rivalry game in the Pac-12 between BYU and Utah. These teams will be playing in the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl game this season, and this game was deemed to be the most important Pac-12 bowl game by ESPN’s Ted Miller.

Some fun facts from the Pac-12:

• The schedule pairs a competitive nine-game Conference schedule with a non-conference slate that includes four contests against teams currently ranked in the CFP Top 15 – No. 2 Alabama (vs. USC), No. 8 Notre Dame (2- vs. Stanford and USC), and No. 14 Michigan (vs. Colorado).
• In all, more than a third of the Pac-12’s non-conference schedule pits the league against a Power 5 conference opponent, as well as independents Notre Dame and BYU.
• California travels to Sydney, Australia to take on Hawai’i.
• California received a waiver from the NCAA to begin the season a week early, the actual season-opening games for the rest of the Conference will take place Thursday, September 1 through Saturday, September 3
• There will be some games on the first weekend between the Pac-12 and the SEC: UCLA visits Texas A&M, and USC meets Alabama at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
• In a rematch of the Pac-12 Football Championship Game, USC opens up league play at Stanford during the third week of the season.
• The 2016 Conference schedule features five games on four Thursday night dates
• Wildcats fans in Southern California will be travelling to Pasadena to the Rose Bowl and waiting in lines to see your Cats beat the Bruins next season
• The decision was made to schedule the cross-division UCLA at CAL game on the final week of the 2016 season in keeping with the terms of scheduling commitments approved by the Pac-12 Directors of Athletics to maintain the late-season games between Stanford/USC and Notre Dame.

2016 Pac-12 Football Schedule

(1) ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, (2) Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver, Colo., (3) University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz., (4) AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, (5) Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.

Next: Eight Crazy Nights in Arizona Wildcats History

BEARDOWN, WE HAVE A BYE WEEK!