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Rich Rodriguez has a tall order ahead of him in the desert at Tucson. Not only do the Arizona Wildcats have to change their entire offensive scheme to get things rolling with his spread option offensive attack, but his defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel has to revamp an inexperienced and depleted defensive unit that wasn't particularly good from last year. There's a lot that needs to be fixed in a short period of time.
However, there's a lot to like about Arizona, and the team could end up doing a little better than expected. They play in the Pac-12 South (which is the easier division) and they avoid some tough Pac-12 North teams. If everything is running smoothly, their offense is dynamic enough to beat anyone on the right day, although their defense is just as capable of giving it away.
Here's why Bud Elliott of SB Nation picks Arizona to do a little bit worse than expected.
Arizona Under 5.5 Wins (+100), 5Dimes: I do think Arizona has a solid chance of reaching five wins. It's getting to fix that looks tough. Oklahoma State and USC are both likely to be favored by double digits in Tuscon. Arizona does project as a touchdown favorite over rival Arizona State.
As SB Nation's Bill Connelly points out, Arizona has six very winnable home games in Toledo, South Carolina State, Oregon State, Washington, Colorado and Arizona State. The Wildcats figure to be favored in all. That's good, because they'll be underdogs in all four road games. Still, I'm not ready to trust this Arizona team.
Check out Arizona Desert Swarm for more Wildcat football coverage. Hit up the SB Nation college football YouTube channel for more action.