Scouting the Wildcats

When Arizona steps into the Glass Bowl on Friday night, they will be the first Pac-10 team to enter a Mid-American Conference stadium in league history.

The Wildcats fielded a strong team in 2009, finishing behind just Oregon in the hunt for the conference title. As head coach Mike Stoops enters his seventh year, he has UA contending to make another run at his first league championship. The year before his arrival, Arizona finished with a dismal 2-10 record. Wildcats fans didn't see drastically different results in his first four seasons (16-29), but Arizona has made strides in the last two years (16-10) coming off back-to-back eight-win seasons.

The offense received a big boost last year from quarterback Nick Foles, who started the year as the backup following the departure of Willie Tuitama. The junior completed 260-of-409 passes for 2,486 yards with 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions in his first season for UA. Foles has a good arm and is a load to take down at 6-5, 245 pounds.

At running back, the Wildcats have Nic Grigsby. Although the senior was limited last season due to injury, Grigsby is one of the more dangerous backs in the nation. The 5-10, 190-pound back averaged 5.58 yards per carry in 2008, rushing for nearly 1,200 yards on just 214 carries. In last season's injury-plagued campaign, Grigsby averaged 7.35 ypc, running for 581 yards on 79 carries. Arizona also has a capable backup in junior Keola Antolin, who rushed for 637 yards last season.

Making holes for Grigsby is the Wildcat's offensive line, which can be summed up in two words—big and experienced. All five Arizona starters are in their senior season and cumulatively average out at 6-5, 317 pounds. The best of the bunch include two 2nd team All-Pac-10 performers in tackle Adam Grant and center Colin Baxter. The UA offensive line ranked 10th in the nation last season in sacks allowed, giving up just one per contest.

The receivers are highlighted by a pair of juniors in Juron Criner and David Douglas. Criner made a name for himself last season grabbing 45 balls for 582 yards and nine touchdowns. Douglas will start at the other receiving slot, grabbing 31 receptions for 320 yards and two touchdowns for the Wildcats in 2009.

Arizona's offense is tremendous, but Toledo may be able to take advantage of the defense, which does have a few holes.

The biggest resides at linebacker, where the Wildcats lost all three starters and two of the team's top four tacklers. Looking to replace them will be a pair of junior transfers in Derek Earls and Paul Vassallo alongside sophomore Jake Fischer.

The Wildcats also lost both defensive tackles and will replace them with senior Lolomana Mikaele and redshirt freshman Sione Tuihalamaka.

The Arizona defense still has a lot of talent on the roster, which is mainly exhibited by junior Trevin Wade, one of the nation's best cornerback prospects. The 2nd team All-Pac-10 corner had 71 tackles last season with five interceptions, nine pass breakups and a touchdown for the UA defense. Wade's matchup with UT sophomore wide receiver Eric Page will be one of the most defining moments in the game.

The Wildcats also boast possibly the best tandem of defensive ends in the Pac-10 in seniors Ricky Elmore and Brooks Reed. Elmore earned honorable mention All-Pac-10 honors last season, while Reed earned them in 2008. Elmore finished the year with 10.5 sacks last season. Reed had two sacks last year but eight sacks in 2008.

Junior Robert Golden started all 13 games at strong safety last season, but it looks like UA will move him to cornerback to start the season. Golden had 41 tackles, two interceptions, one pass breakup and a touchdown for Arizona in 2009.

The Glass Bowl is one of the most underrated venues to enter as an opponent and come out with a victory. Since 2001, BCS schools are a combined 1-5 in the Glass Bowl against the Rockets, including a 35-31 UT victory over No. 9 Pittsburgh in 2003. Toledo holds a 45-13 record at home since 2000, but just a 13-11 mark over the past four years. However, the Rockets have had success against BCS teams in recent history, currently ranking third all time in consecutive years with wins over a BCS team by a non-BCS team (4). Arizona may be a candidate to continue Toledo's streak, as the Wildcats haven't won a non-conference road game since 2001.

The atmosphere will be a tremendous advantage for UT and should keep them in the game. After that, however, they must find a way to slow down a talented Arizona offense, whose offensive line will have an advantage of three inches and 51 pounds per man in the trenches. Turnovers will be especially important in this game, which should see its fair share of scoring.

Toledo will have a shot at pulling the upset in a game that will be much closer than the 41-16 UA victory in Tuscon in 2008. Arizona's biggest team strength may be the experience it possesses on both sides of the ball. For such a young Rockets team, pulling off a win over one of the Pac-10's best is a tall order. It can be done, but Toledo can't play anything less than their ‘A' game against the Wildcats.

— Zach Davis is the Sports Editor and a senior majoring in communication. He contributes to Fox Sports Ohio and Scout.com.