Arizona Football: How far can Khalil Tate carry Wildcats?

Arizona football enters a new era in 2018 as Kevin Sumlin takes over for Rich Rodriguez in Tucson. Can the Wildcats get back to contention in the Pac-12 South?

Last year was a perpetual roller coaster for the Arizona Wildcats. They entered the 2017 season with coach Rich Rodriguez already on the hot seat after missing out on a bowl game in 2016. Though things turned around enough to return to the postseason, it wasn’t enough to save the coach’s job. Failures to progress on the gridiron were the subtext for a termination that was rooted in a sexual harassment case.

Rich Rodriguez couldn’t save himself once his longtime administrative assistant came forward with charges that the coach created a hostile work environment complete with a history of sexual harassment. Rodriguez eventually admitted to an extramarital affair, and a three-month internal investigation by the university resulted in his termination.

Enter a new coach with a history of both offensive innovation and performance inconsistency. Kevin Sumlin was fired by Texas A&M at the end of the 2017 season after losing five games for a fourth straight year in College Station. The days of Johnny Manziel, Heisman glory, and SEC contention faded in the rearview mirror as the Aggies slipped into mediocrity.

Can Sumlin turn around his career in the Pac-12? He inherits a roster that includes a dynamic Heisman dark-horse at quarterback, a veteran group on the other side of the ball, and plenty of potential. Let’s look at the offense and the defense before assessing the Wildcats schedule and predicting how things might turn out in the desert in 2018.