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The Arizona football team begins its 2013 season against Northern Arizona at Arizona Stadium on Aug. 30, which is 50 days away. From now until then, this Web site will count down the days with facts about the Wildcats, their players, coaching staff and opponents. This is not a ranking, only a list of 100 facts and observances related to the 2013 Arizona football team and coach Rich Rodriguez.
Rich Rodriguez has Arizona’s football team in the right frame of mind in only his second year in Tucson (YouTube still)
By season’s end, Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez can become the Pac-12 coach with the most career victories. Washington State’s Mike Leach holds the edge with 87 career victories. Leach (87-52 in his 12th season as a head coach) has four more wins than Rodriguez (83-53 and also in his 12th season).
Oregon State’s Mike Riley, the dean of Pac-12 coaches in his 13th season, is next with a career record of 81-67.
Two of the better coaches in the league — Stanford’s David Shaw and UCLA’s Jim Mora — have only a combined three years of head coaching experience at the college level. Conversely, young coaches Steve Sarkisian of Washington and Lane Kiffin of USC — Pete Carroll disciples while with the Trojans — have yet to prove themselves after four years each as a head coach.
Sarkisian (26-25) and Kiffin (32-19) have a combined record of 58-44. They average only 7.3 wins a season, which is nowhere near what their fans — especially USC fans — expect from their programs.
Kiffin has the excuse of enduring NCAA probation with recent bowl bans and drastic scholarship reductions. USC, however, continues to have one of the more talented rosters in the nation.
Sports Illustrated writer Stuart Mandel ranked Kiffin as one of the five worst coaches in college football earlier this week. You will not find an argument here.
The following is one man’s opinion of how the Pac-12’s coaches should be ranked entering the 2013 season:
Stanford coach David Shaw tops all coaches in the league with his proven success after only two years on the job
1. David Shaw, Stanford, 23-4 (third season)
Major Bowls: Fiesta (2011), Rose (2012)
Championships: One, Pac-12 (2012)
That’s a fact: Two seasons, two BCS bowls, despite having to follow a coach like Jim Harbaugh. Enough said (or written, in this case)
2. Rich Rodriguez, Arizona, 83-53 (12th season, second with Wildcats)
Major Bowls: Sugar (2005), Fiesta (2007)
Championships: Four, Big East (2003-2005, 2007)
That’s a fact: The Michigan experiment did not work but Rodriguez — a trend-setter with his read-option spread offense principles — experienced excellence with West Virginia, a program that is similar in stature as Arizona.
3. Mike Riley, Oregon State, 81-67 (13th season)
Major Bowls: None
Championships: None
That’s a fact: The classiest coach of the group made the once moribund Oregon State program what it is today (five seasons with at least eight wins in the last seven years).
4. Jim Mora, UCLA, 9-5 (second season)
Major Bowls: None
Championships: None
That’s a fact: The Bruins are no longer second fiddle to USC in Los Angeles, but UCLA fans should be concerned if the NFL comes calling for Mora.
Mike Leach has his share of off-the-field issues in the past, but there’s no denying his worth as a head coach
5. Mike Leach, Washington State, 87-52 (12th season, second with Cougars)
Major Bowls: Cotton Bowl (2005), Cotton Bowl (2008)
Championships: None
That’s a fact: Leach might be ranked higher if he did not grab headlines for the wrong reasons in his career, but there’s no denying how good he is based on what he did at Texas Tech.
6. Kyle Whittingham, Utah, 71-32 (ninth season)
Major Bowls: Sugar (2008)
Championships: One, Mountain West (2008)
That’s a fact: Whittingham’s job security is on the line this season after going 5-7 last year, which is unfortunate because his 33-6 run (21-3 in the Mountain West) from 2008-2010 made him one of the elite in the west.
7. Todd Graham, ASU, 57-34 (eighth season, second with Sun Devils)
Major Bowls: None
Championships: None
That’s a fact: Graham, who has coached four different programs over the last seven years, came close to winning three Conference USA titles while at Tulsa, but therein lies his situation (came close … just how good is he?).
8. Sonny Dykes, California, 22-15 (fourth season, first with Golden Bears)
Major Bowls: None
Championships: One, Western Athletic Conference (2011)
That’s a fact: A Leach protege with his spread offense, Dykes should climb this ranking in the next few years because he should continue the exciting brand of football we saw at Louisiana Tech.
Steve Sarkisian has coached Washington to three consecutive 7-6 seasons
9. Steve Sarkisian, Washington, 26-25 (fifth season)
Major Bowls: None
Championships: None
That’s a fact: Lauded for his recruiting ability, Sarkisian is stuck in neutral with that talent (three consecutive 7-6 seasons).
10. Mike MacIntyre, Colorado, 16-21 (fourth season, first with Buffaloes)
Major Bowls: None
Championships: None
That’s a fact: Rated low on this list only because he is new to the league, but MacIntyre has a solid background of coaching in the NFL as an assistant and turning around a San Jose State program that went from 1-12 to 10-2 in only three years under his guidance.
11. Lane Kiffin, USC, 32-19 (fifth season, fourth with Trojans)
Major Bowls: None
Championships: None
That’s a fact: After last year’s debacle on and off the field, the only way Kiffin keeps his job is if USC goes to a BCS bowl.
12. Mark Helfrich, Oregon, 0-0 (first season)
Major Bowls: None
Championships: None
That’s a fact: Much like MacIntyre, Helfrich is at the bottom because he has yet to prove himself as a head coach, but he learned under Chip Kelly and the Ducks believe in him.
Last year, on the 50th day before Arizona’s first game against Toledo, I started a Top 50 Games in the history of Arizona football series at this site and TucsonCitizen.com.
I will relive that list here with 50 days to kickoff and add one game to it: Arizona’s improbable 49-48 win over Nevada in the New Mexico Bowl last December. I will keep the ranking of that game secret in the new top 50 list until the day I publish it.
Game No. 50: Arizona’s first win over arch-rival Arizona State, then known as Territorial Normal
Note: Last year’s No. 50, the UA’s first win in the program’s history, a 22-5 triumph over the Tucson Indians, falls out of the top 50.
The best No. 50 to wear the Arizona jersey, according to TucsonCitizen.com’s Anthony Gimino is center Paul Hatcher (1954-56). He was a two-time All-Border Conference and member of UA Hall of Fame.
The Lou Groza Award and Ray Guy Award watch lists were announced Wednesday. The watch-list announcements will continue through July 19. This site will update after the announcements.
The current Pac-12 breakdown (by school) of players on the watch lists:
1. ASU 7
2. Stanford 6
USC 6
4. Oregon 5
Oregon State 5
6. UCLA 4
Washington 4
8. Colorado 3
9. Arizona 2
10. Utah 1
Washington State 1
12. California 0
2013 COLLEGE FOOTBALL WATCH LISTS
[table “” not found /]
WILDABOUTAZCATS.net publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He also writes blogs for Lindy’s College Sports, TucsonCitizen.com and Sports Illustrated-sponsored site ZonaZealots.com.
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