Game Day: Sept. 1
Head coach: Bronco Mendenhall (third year)
2006 record: 11-2 (8-0 Mountain West Conference)
Key losses: QB John Beck, RB Curtis Brown, TE Jonny Harline, OL Jake Kuresa, LB Cameron Jensen
Key returners: RB Fui Vakapuna (No. 1; junior; 92 carries, 445 yards, eight TDs); WR Austin Collie (No. 9; sophomore; 53 receptions, 771 yards, eight TDs); LB Bryan Kehl (No. 41; senior; 70 tackles, three sacks)
Medenhall said: “”We are raising the bar for every position and expect more from every position than we saw last year.”” – www.byucougars.com
Last meeting: Arizona 16, BYU 13
(Arizona Stadium, Sept. 2)
Game Day: Sept. 15
Head coach: Rocky Long (10th year)
2006 record: 6-7 (4-4 Mountain West Conference)
Key losses: QB Chris Nelson, TE John Mulchrone, S Quincy Black
Key returners: WR Travis Brown (No. 81; senior; 64 receptions, 867 yards, four TDs); CB DeAndre Wright (No. 2; junior; 47 tackles, four interceptions); DE Tyler Donaldson (No. 55; senior; five sacks, nine tackles for losses); WR Marcus Smith (No. 4; senior; 53 receptions, 859 yards, nine TDs); RB Rodney Ferguson (No. 21; junior; 252 carries, 1,234 yards, seven TDs)
Long said: “”We think that we potentially have a very good football team coming back. We thought we had some legitimate holes that maybe the younger guys aren’t ready to fill yet.”” – www.golobos.cstv.com
Last meeting: Arizona 20, UNM 14 (Arizona Stadium; Insight.com Bowl; Dec. 27, 1997)
Game Day: Sept. 29
Head coach: Bill Doba (fifth year)
2006 record: 6-6 (4-5)
Key losses: WR Jason Hill, TE Cody Boyd, DE Mkristo Bruce, LB Scott Davis, FS Eric Frampton
Key returners: QB Alex Brink (No. 10; senior; 2,899 yards, 19 TDs, 10 interceptions); RB Dwight Tardy (No. 31; sophomore; 145 carries, 667 yards, four TDs); WR Michael Bumpus (No. 5; senior; 60 receptions, 558 yards, one TD); WR Brandon Gibson (No. 4; junior; 49 receptions, 731 yards, four TDs)
Doba said: “”Alex Brink is about to break every school record as a quarterback at Washington State. And then he’s got a good receiving corps.””
Last meeting: Arizona 27, WSU 17 (Pullman, Nov. 4. 2006)
Game Day: Oct. 13
Head coach: Pete Carroll (seventh year)
2006 record: 11-2 (7-2)
Key losses: WR Dwayne Jarrett, WR Steve Smith, RB Emmanuel Moody, PK Mario Danelo, C Ryan Kalil
Key returners: QB John David Booty (No. 10; senior; 3,347 yards, 29 TDs, nine interceptions), LB Keith Rivers (No. 55; senior; 85 tackles, three forced fumbles), DE Lawrence Jackson (No. 96; senior; 43 tackles, four sacks), LB Brian Cushing (No. 10, junior; 13.5 tackles for loss), TE Fred Davis (No. 83; senior; 38 receptions, 352 yards, three TDs), RB C.J. Gable (No. 2; sophomore; 111 carries, 434 yards, four TDs), OT Sam Baker
Carroll said: “”We’re just a bunch of guys trying to put together a terrific team. We’ll see how far that takes us.””
Opponent said: “”They may be the best team in the history of college football. I think their current team is that good.”” – Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh
Last meeting: USC 20, Arizona 3
(Arizona Stadium, Sept. 23. 2006)
Game Day: Oct. 27
Head coach: Tyrone Willingham (third year)
2006 record: 5-7 (3-6)
Key losses: QB Isaiah Stanback, LB Scott White, WR Sonny Shackelford
Key returners: RB Louis Rankin (No. 9; senior; 142 carries, 666 yards, four TDs) DE Greyson Gunheim (No. 7; senior; six sacks, 14 tackles for loss)
Willingham said: “”The first thing we have to do is stay healthy. We’re not blessed with the most depth in our conference.””
Last meeting: Washington 21, Arizona 10 (Arizona
Stadium, Sept. 29, 2006)
Game Day: Nov. 15
Head coach: Mike Bellotti (13th year)
2006 record: 7-6 (4-5)
Key losses: WR Jordan Kent, TE Dante Rosario, FS J.D. Nelson, LB Blair Phillips
Key returners: RB Jonathan Stewart (No. 28; junior; 183 carries, 981 yards, 10 TDs; WR Jaison Williams (No. 4; junior; 68 receptions, 984 yards, six TDs); QB Dennis Dixon (No. 10, senior; 2,143 yards, 12 TDs, 14 interceptions); S Patrick Chung (No. 15; junior; 84 tackles, four interceptions); CB Jarius Byrd (No. 32; sophomore; five interceptions)
Bellotti said: “”Defensively we have some holes to fill and we need to figure out some things. … At nose tackle we don’t have great depth and don’t have great size.””
Last meeting: Arizona 37, Oregon 10
(Eugene; Nov. 18, 2006)
Game Day: Sept. 8
Head coach: Jerome Souers (10th year)
2006 record: 6-5 (4-3 Big Sky Conference)
Key losses: QB Jason Murrieta
Key returners: WR Alex Watson (No. 3; senior; 82 receptions, 1,017 yards, 15 TDs); RB Alex Henderson (No. 30; sophomore; 188 carries, 1,014 yards, five TDs)
Souers said: “”With as many guys as we have returning, we are excited about what our offense is going to look like.”” www.nau.newtier.com
Last meeting: Arizona 31, NAU 12 (Arizona Stadium, Sept. 10, 2005)
Game Day: Sept. 22
Head coach: Jeff
Tedford (sixth year)
2006 record: 10-3 (7-2 Pacific 10 Conference)
Key losses: RB Marshawn Lynch, DB Daymeion Hughes, DT Brandon Mebane, LB Desmond Bishop
Key returners: WR/PR DeSean Jackson (No. 1; junior; 59 receptions, 1,060 yards, nine TDs; four TDs as PR); QB Nate Longshore (No. 9; junior; 3,021 yards, 24 TDs); RB Justin Forsett (No. 20; senior; 119 carries, 626 yards, four TDs)
Tedford said: “”The one question we do have to answer offensively is our depth at the running back position. We’ve been very fortunate over the last few years to have quality depth there, but this year, after Justin (Forsett) we’re very young.””
Opponent said: “”I don’t see that big of a gap between us (and Cal).”” – USC head coach Pete Carroll
Last meeting: Arizona 24, Cal 20
(Arizona Stadium, Nov. 11, 2006)
Game Day: Oct. 6
Head coach: Mike Riley (seventh year)
2006 record: 10-4 (6-3)
Key losses: QB Matt Moore, TE Joe Newton, SS Sabby Piscitelli, DT Ben Siegert, OT Adam Koets
Key returners: RB Yvenson Bernard (No. 26; senior; 296 carries, 1,307 yards, 12 TDs); DE Jeff Van Orsow (No. 49; senior; 10 tackles for losses, three sacks); LB Derrick Doggett (No. 45; senior; 87 tackles, 14 tackles for losses, three interceptions); LB Alan Darlin (No. 43; senior; 13.5 tackles for losses, six sacks)
Riley said: “”I’m proud of the growth in that (offensive line). A lot of guys have gotten better. The key is left tackle Tavita (Thompson). That thing is as good as its weakest link. He has to hold up to the level if we want it to be as good as we think it can be.”” – Corvallis Gazette-Times
Last meeting: OSU 17, Arizona 10
(Arizona Stadium, Oct. 21)
Game Day: Oct. 20
Head coach: Jim Harbaugh (first year)
2006 record: 1-11 (1-8)
Key losses: QB Trent Edwards, LB Michael Okwo, S Trevor Hooper
Key returners: WR Evan Moore (No. 8; senior; 14 receptions, 242 yards, three TDs); WR Mark Bradford (No. 4; senior; 10 receptions, 111 yards, one TD); QB T.C. Ostrander (No. 13; senior; 918 yards, three TDs, five interceptions)
Harbaugh said: “”This senior group is committed to winning football games and they’re tired of getting their butts kicked. … As far as having a crystal ball as to how many games we’re going to win, I don’t have one.””
Last meeting: Arizona 20, Stanford 7
(Palo Alto; Oct 14, 2006)
Game Day: Nov. 3
Head coach: Karl Dorrell (fifth year)
2006 record: 7-6 (5-4)
Key losses: PK Justin Medlock, DT Justin Hickman
Key returners: DE Bruce Davis (No. 44; senior; 47 tackles, 12.5 sacks) RB Chris Markey (No. 28; senior; 227 carries, 1,163 yards, two TDs), SS Chris Horton (No. 14; senior; 95 tackles, three interceptions), Patrick Cowan (No. 12; junior; 1,782 yards, 11 TDs, nine interceptions)
Dorrell said: “”Quarterback play is really important. We’re really going to emphasize for that guy to handle a lot of information. We’re very fortunate that we feel we can do that given that Ben Olson and Pat Cowan are returning starters.””
Last meeting: UCLA 27, Arizona 7 (Pasadena; Oct. 7, 2006)
Game Day: Dec. 1
Head coach: Dennis Erickson (first year)
2006 record: 7-6 (4-5)
Key losses: TE Zach Miller, LB Beau Manutai, FS Zach Catanese,
Key returners: QB Rudy Carpenter (No. 12; junior; 2,523 yards, 23 TDs, 14 interceptions); RB Ryan Torain (No. 26; senior; 223 carries, 1,229 yards, seven TDs); DE Dexter Davis (No. 58; sophomore; 10.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, three forced fumbles); S Josh Barrett (No. 19; senior; 82 tackles, three incerceptions)
Erickson said: “”When your biggest strength about your offensive football team is the offensive front, you’ve got to have a good feeling. Defense is a question mark. Our weakness there is depth.””
Opponent said: “”I think it was a good move. He’s a former Pac-10 Coach of the Year, and that says something about the quality job that he’s done.”” – Willingham on the hiring of Erickson
Last meeting: ASU 28, Ariz. 14 (Arizona Stadium; Nov. 25, 2006)
