College Football: Ranking the 10 easiest Power Five schedules in 2017
By Zach Bigalke
Arizona has a good chance of rebounding from last year’s 3-9 finish thanks to one of the Pac-12’s easiest schedules. Rich Rodriguez’s team opens the year against FCS Northern Arizona (5-6 in 2016). The Lumberjacks last defeated Arizona in 1932, and their most recent showdown was a 77-13 mismatch two years ago. They follow that warmup game with a mixed bag of Houston (9-4) and UTEP (4-8) before opening Pac-12 play with Utah (9-4) and Colorado (10-4).
In cross-division play, the Wildcats avoided both conference champion Washington and perennial 10-win team Stanford. They do play Washington State (8-5) three days before Halloween, but after their showdown with USC (10-3) the rest of November provides an opportunity for an easy finish. Their last three opponents, Oregon State (4-8), Oregon (4-8), and Arizona State (5-7), all missed out on bowl games last year.
Even if they finish under .500 in Pac-12 play next year, the Wildcats are set up to return to the postseason after a one-year absence. Getting back to the Pac-12 title game for the first time since 2014 is probably a taller order, but the schedule lines up for as many as eight or nine wins.