A very early Week One preview of Arizona Football opponent, Utah

Arizona Football is back, and the Wildcats will enter Week One with a big match-up against Utah. With over a month to go, we do an early preview of that game!

The Arizona Football team is almost back in action, and at this point, we are still a little over a month away until the Wildcats will take on Pac-12 foe, the Utah Utes on the road to open the season.

It has been a long time coming, especially after the long, eventful, and wild off-season that we have had to endure. Even though football action is nearly back, I know that will draw mixed reactions among fans.

Arizona Wildcats

Already, I have been a big proponent of the Wildcats having a football season. Beyond the large financial constraints surrounding the Athletic Department, I also feel it is important developmentally for some of our young players.

And lastly, because it is the kids putting themselves at risk this year, if they want to play, then no one should take that away from them.

However, given the rather unusual and unorthodox year, we have had, I can see some fans’ apprehension in having a season, especially as there have been several transfers this off-season for the Wildcats.

Coming in, expectations for Arizona Football are not very high at this point, and with their brutal schedule being released on Saturday, it looks like the Wildcats could be in store for quite the difficult season, even if it may be condensed.

With that said, we take an early look at Arizona’s Week One match-up against the Utah Utes!

Know Thy Foe:

Team: Utah Utes (0-0, 0-0)

Conference: Pac-12 Conference

2019 Record: Finished 11-3 (8-1), winning the Pac-12 South. Utah closed out the season by losing 38-10 to Texas in the 2019 Alamo Bowl, as well as losing to Oregon in the Pac-12 Title Game.

Head Coach: Kyle Wittingham enters his 16th season in Salt Lake City. He has certainly cemented himself as one of the top coaches in the conference, especially after taking over for Urban Meyer back in 2004. Compiling a 131-64 (77-52) record with the Utes, Wittingham should once again have a very competitive group that will likely contend for a Pac-12 South title.

Key Returners/ Starters: This season, the Utes will have to replace a lot of talent, especially on the defensive side of the ball. They will also have big shoes to fill in the absences of QB Tyler Huntley and RB Zack Moss, but they should once again be a talented group.

So far, it is hard to say who will be under center just yet, however, it seems like it could be a battle between incoming transfers Cameron Rising or Jake Bentley. Also, don’t count out former walk-on Drew Lisk either, as he has seemingly been in this battle as well.

To me, their defense will be their biggest question heading into this season. This is a group that is a year removed from finishing in the Top 10 nationally and will have to replace a lot of talent as well.

I still imagine that this team will still be a very stout group moving forward just as they always are, and one that will be likely be led by guys like LB Devin Lloyd, DE Mika Tafua, DB R.J. Hubert, and DE Maxs Tupai.

Key Losses: 

QB – Tyler Huntley (Graduated)
CB – Jaylon Johnson (Draft)
S – Julian Blackmon (Draft)
RB – Zack Moss (Draft)
S – Terrell Burgess (Draft)
DT – Leki Fotu (Draft)
DE – Bradlee Anae (Draft)
DT – John Penisini (Draft)
CB – Javelin Guidry (Undrafted)
LB – Francis Bernard (Undrafted)
CB – Josh Nurse (Undrafted)
CB – Tareke Lewis (Graduated)

Key Injuries: 

Utah

• N/A

Arizona 

• Jabar Triplett – LB (Achilles) The freshman is out for the season after suffering from a surgically repaired Achilles this off-season.

Game Information: 

When: Saturday, November 7th, 2020

Time: TBD

Watch: TBD

Where: Rice-Eccles Stadium – Salt Lake City, UT (45,807)

Spread: TBD

Overall Series Record: 24-19-2 Utah. The Utes control this series, and they certainly have seen recent dominance in this series, winning seven of the last 11 match-ups, including four-straight.

Last Meeting vs. Arizona: Utah won the previous meeting between the two schools, coming away with the lopsided, 35-7 win over the Wildcats in Tucson in 2019. We will see if Utah can duplicate those results in Salt Lake City.

My Prediction: This game is too far out to predict, and once we get a bit closer to kick-off, I will create another preview. Especially as we see what news comes out from both teams.

Prediction record so far: N/A

At Zona Zealots, we’re hoping Arizona can have successful season! As always, Bear Down, Arizona and beat the Utes!