Arizona Football: Week one Preview versus the Hawaii Warriors
Arizona Football is back, and we’re all for it! Bringing back our annual, weekly preview, we break down the Wildcats’ first opponent, Hawaii!
Finally football is back, and more importantly, ARIZONA FOOTBALL is back! After a long and tough off-season, it’s officially game week, which means the return of our annual, weekly preview!
It’s definitely been a long off-season, and there’s no doubt it’s felt even longer, with the sting of 2018 still leaving a bad taste in our mouths! Luckily, 2019 is a brand new year with new hopes and new expectations!
Arizona Wildcats
Kevin Sumlin returns for year two with the Cats, and more importantly, he returns with quite the bevvy of talent, size and athleticism!
As it stands, not many are expecting huge things out of Arizona, and perhaps that’s a good thing for the Cats! Come in to the season with lower expectations, and surprise the folks who counted you out.
However, the road in getting to a bowl game isn’t. Arizona will start the year with a very solid team in Hawaii, they will return home to take on NAU and Texas Tech to close out the non-conference slate.
The Wildcats will then later play Stanford, Oregon and Washington from the Pac-12 North, and of course will take on a loaded Pac-12 South.
As part of our annual breakdown, we will preview each opponent at the start of game week, starting with Hawaii, so with that said, here we go…
Know Thy Foe:
Team: Hawaii Warriors (0-0)
Conference: Mountain West Conference
2018 Record: 8-6 (5-3); lost to Louisiana Tech in the Hawaii Bowl by a 31-14.
Head Coach: Nick Rolovich enters his fourth season with the Warriors, and is 18-22 overall as head coach with two bowl appearances.
Key Returners/ Starters: Cole McDonald most notably returns for the Warriors, as the redshirt junior quarterback threw for over 3,800 yards with 36 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions last season. He will once again undoubtedly lead a potent offense that will challenge the Wildcats, and he’s probably Hawaii’s best player.
It’s also worth noting, that Hawaii returns their entire offensive line (and may have former Wildcat Michael Eletise immediately eligible following his transfer to Hawaii). Additionally, the Warriors return a majority of their offensive production last season, as guys like Cedric Byrd and JoJo Ward are going to challenge Arizona’s defense immensely, and they of course can’t forget a diverse player like Freddie Holly out of the back field!
Defensively, Hawaii was a bit of a mess last season, but they definitely have some talent and return a lot of players from last season, a lot being upper-class men!
Hawaii will likely depend on redshirt senior Solomon Matautia, and should be expecting big things from returners like; Penei Payihi, Ikem Okeke, Kalen Hicks, Kaimana Padello, Samiuela Akoteu and Rojesterman Farris II most notably.
Key Injuries: Nothing major at this time.
Game Information:
When: Saturday, August 24th, 2019
Time: 7:30 PM MST
Watch: CBS Sports Network
Where: Hawaii Stadium (Honolulu, HI)
Spread: -11.0 Arizona
Overall Series Record: 5-0 Arizona. The Wildcats have not played Hawaii many times, but they have had some great success versus the Warriors, with their last win coming in 2016 in Tucson!
Last Meeting vs. Arizona: Arizona beat Hawaii 47-28 in 2016 in Tucson as part of the honoring of the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
My Prediction: Arizona 38 Hawaii 30. This is going to a tougher game that many are anticipating. Hawaii was a pretty solid team last season, and quarterback Cole McDonald will be one of the better QB’s the Cats face this season.
I think Arizona will be ready, but I anticipate a slower start as Arizona jumps time zones and a chunk of the Pacific Ocean to take on the Warriors. Hawaii I think will keep it close and will be a real challenge to stop on offense, but Arizona I think just gets it done, escaping with a narrow victory!
light. More. On Arizona Football
At Zona Zealots, we are excited for the return of Arizona Football and can’t wait for the game against Hawaii! Hopefully the Cats can get the season started off on a strong not by beating the Warriors! As always, Bear Down, Arizona and Beat Hawaii!