The belated, abbreviated Pac-12 schedule is out, and the Arizona Wildcats have a tough road ahead.
Arizona will open the season on Nov. 7 at Utah, which won the South Division last year. After that, the UA hosts USC, which is the South favorite this year.
The Wildcatsβ crossover game is among the most difficult in the league: at Washington on Nov. 21. Arizona plays three road games among its first four, with a trip to UCLA on tap the next week. The Wildcats are the only Pac-12 team to have three of its first four games on the road.
Arizona Wildcats football head coach Kevin Sumlin tested positive for COVID-19, the school announced Monday. Sumlin has entered the isolation period as the team prepares to begin full team practices starting Friday.
The final two known games on the UA schedule are at home vs. Colorado on Dec. 5 and vs. Arizona State on Friday, Dec. 11.
The second cross-division game is still to be determined and will take place the weekend of Dec. 18-19.
As had been rumored, the Pac-12 will be part of Foxβs βBig Noon Kickoffβ right out of the gate β except the local kickoff time will be 9 a.m. Thatβs when ASU will face USC at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 7.
How many wins do you think Arizona will have by the end of the regular season?
— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) October 3, 2020
Although the morning kickoff time is unusual β and, some would argue, inconvenient β it will provide valuable exposure for the conference on the East Coast and in the Midwest. Itβs also easier to rationalize with no fans being allowed to attend games.
Tayvian Cunningham seems like the logical choice to return kicks for UA whenever the season starts. He took six kickoffs back for touchdowns in his junior college career.
Some other pertinent elements of the seven-game Pac-12 schedule:
- The Pac-12 Championship Game will take place at the home stadium of the highest-seeded team. The game was supposed to have been played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. That new partnership will begin next year.
- Details on the Week 7 games other than the title game βwill be determined in the near future,β according to a Pac-12 news release. The league also will reveal βupdated tiebreaking proceduresβ to nail down those matchups.
- Every game through the first six weeks will be televised by an ESPN or Fox outlet. Fox will televise the Pac-12 Championship Game.
- All South Division rivalry games will take place during Week 6 (Dec. 11-12), while all North Division rivalry games will kick off on the Friday of Week 4 (Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving).
This is the third version of the Pac-12 football schedule. The original slate was negated in summer, when the league implemented a 10-game all-conference format to mitigate COVID-19 issues. The Pac-12 then postponed the β20 season until January before reversing course last week.
Arizona ended last year on a seven-game losing streak to finish 4-8 in Kevin Sumlinβs second season. Hereβs a snapshot look at the Wildcatsβ six known opponents in 2020:
WEEK 1: UTAH
When: Nov. 7
Where: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City
Last matchup: Utah 35, Arizona 7 on Nov. 23, 2019, in Tucson
Last time at venue: Utah 42, Arizona 10 on Oct. 12, 2018
Utes in a sentence: Utah lost several defensive standouts to the NFL β plus tailback Zack Moss, the 2019 Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year β but Kyle Whittingham is among the top coaches in the league, and the Utes have won the past four meetings.
WEEK 2: USC
When: Nov. 14
Where: Arizona Stadium
Last matchup: USC 41, Arizona 14 on Oct. 19, 2019, in Los Angeles
Last time at venue: USC 24, Arizona 20 on Sept. 29, 2018
Trojans in a sentence: Last season ended with Clay Helton on the hottest of seats, but thereβs a renewed sense of optimism about the Trojans with Todd Orlando on board as defensive coordinator and Kedon Slovis back at quarterback after a stellar freshman campaign (3,502 passing yards, 30 TD passes, 71.9% completion rate).
WEEK 3: WASHINGTON
When: Nov. 21
Where: Husky Stadium, Seattle
Last matchup: Washington 51, Arizona 27 on Oct. 12, 2019, in Tucson
Last time at venue: Washington 49, Arizona 3 on Oct. 31, 2015
Huskies in a sentence: Washington is undergoing a transition at the top, from Chris Petersen to Jimmy Lake, but it should be a smooth one with Lake already having been on staff since the 2014 season; he was named as Petersenβs successor in early December of last year.
WEEK 4: UCLA
When: Nov. 28
Where: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
Last matchup: Arizona 20, UCLA 17 on Sept. 28, 2019, in Tucson
Last time at venue: UCLA 31, Arizona 30 on Oct. 20, 2018
Bruins in a sentence: The Chip Kelly era hasnβt gone according to plan, with UCLA posting a 7-17 record in his two seasons, but the Bruins do return quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who showed flashes of greatness as a sophomore last year (25 total touchdowns).
WEEK 5: COLORADO
When: Dec. 5
Where: Arizona Stadium
Last matchup: Arizona 35, Colorado 30 on Oct. 5, 2019, in Boulder
Last time at venue: Arizona 42, Colorado 34 on Nov. 2, 2018
Buffaloes in a sentence: Colorado had a challenging offseason, with Mel Tucker leaving for Michigan State in February, and new coach Karl Dorrell never got a chance to work with his team on the field in spring before practices were shut down because of the pandemic.
WEEK 6: ARIZONA STATE
When: Dec. 11 (Friday)
Where: Arizona Stadium
Last matchup: ASU 24, Arizona 14 on Nov. 30, 2019, in Tempe
Last time at venue: ASU 41, Arizona 40 on Nov. 24, 2018
Sun Devils in a sentence: If USC isnβt the favorite in the Pac-12 South, ASU might be; dynamic sophomore QB Jayden Daniels should be bigger and better in 2020 after posting a 17-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio as a 175-pound freshman.
