Arizona football hosts a 2-0 team for the second week in a row in a matchup of teams both averaging around 40 points a game.
The Wildcats (3-0) open Pac-12 Conference play against California, looking for its first 4-0 start since 2010, when it beat Cal 10-9 in the fourth game of the season. The UA and UC play on Saturday night at 7 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks.
California has already doubled its 2013 win total and surpassed its total number of wins over FBS teams from a year ago. Last season, the Golden Bears went 1-11, only beating FCS Portland State.
However, Cal just close to Arizona, 33-28, in Berkeley, Calif.
“We had a close game with them last year, and we were fortunate to win that game,” UA head coach Rich Rodriguez said. “They moved the ball up and down the field and we didn’t block them very well, so I think it’s a situation where they remember the game from last year rather than their record.”
Cal receiver Kenny Lawler caught a school-record-tying three touchdown passes, and Cal quarterback Jared Goff set a career high in touchdown passes with four in that game.
This is Arizona’s first ever white-out. The Wildcats will wear white helmets, jerseys and pants; the band will wear white shirts for the first time ever; and free T-shirts and pom poms will be given to the ZonaZoo.
It’s always Sonny in Berkeley
Saturday’s game marks the return of Cal head coach Sonny Dykes to Tucson. Dykes was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Arizona from 2007 to 2009.
With Dykes running the Arizona offense, the Wildcats set five single-season records and ranked 10th nationally in passing yards in 2007. He was hired as head coach at Louisiana Tech, which was 4-8 the season before he got there, but 5-7, 8-5 and 9-3 during his three-year stint.
Dykes is the son of former longtime Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes and runs the Air Raid offense, which was called the Air Zona offense when he was at the UA.
Da Bears
The University of California was chartered in 1868 as the first UC school.
The golden grizzly bear is the symbol of the state of California, which is also often called the Golden State. The Golden Bears get their colors from the state nickname and from Yale blue, as it was founded by Yale men.
The Big “C” is a giant “C” on Charter Hill above Memorial Stadium in Berkeley built in 1905.
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Follow James Kelley on Twitter @jameskelley520
