Pac-10 Preview | Heat is on at Arizona for 'Cats coach Stoops

One of the beauties of college football is that it remains one sport where each regular-season game can truly alter a season.

Consider last year's Arizona team.

The Wildcats entered their season finale against Arizona State as one of the hottest teams in the Pac-10, winning three straight against California, Oregon and Washington State — the latter two on the road — by a combined 78-47.

But then came a thud against ASU, a 28-21 home loss to the Sun Devils that not only stopped the winning streak but also kept Arizona out of the postseason as the Wildcats finished 6-6.

If Arizona had beaten ASU it would have had a chance at an eight-win season, and with all but three position starters back from last season, might be entering this year regarded as a top-25 contender.

Instead, the Wildcats were picked seventh at Pac-10 media day.

"The perception [of Arizona] would have been a lot different," Arizona coach Mike Stoops said of what the loss to ASU cost the Wildcats. "But I still think people respect how close we are to getting over that hump."

They'd better leap over it this season, for Stoops' sake. The coach is 12-22 in three years in Tucson, and with 10 senior starters, it might be now or never for the younger brother of Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops to make a head-coaching name.

But if defense means anything, and it usually means a lot in college football, Arizona might truly be on the verge.

The Wildcats ranked third in the Pac-10 in points allowed (19.6) despite not getting much help from an offense that was next to last. Among those defensive starters returning is cornerback Antoine Cason, regarded as a potential NFL first-round pick in 2008.

Cason, who has started all 34 games he has played at Arizona, debated leaving early for the NFL but decided to come back, saying he wanted to leave a legacy of helping the Wildcats get to a bowl game for the first time since 1998.

Leading the line is defensive end Louis Holmes, who didn't quite fulfill his all-world hype last year after transferring from a junior college but is considered a legitimate first-day draft prospect, while all three linebackers also return, led by Spencer Larsen.

"This is by far and away the most experienced and talented football team we've ever had," Stoops said. "Defensively, we had a good year [in 2006] and we hope we can take another step in our consistency and ability to dominate games. And offensively, if we can score points it will make our defense that much more effective."

The offense was rarely able to do that a year ago, held to 16 or fewer points seven times. The Wildcats couldn't run (84 yards per game), and promising sophomore quarterback Willie Tuitama was in and out of the lineup while battling recurring concussions.

There was some fear that Tuitama's career might be over, but he was cleared to play in the offseason and seemed revived in the spring by a massive change in Arizona's offensive system.

Hoping to reignite the offense, Stoops brought in four new offensive coaches, including coordinator Sonny Dykes. Dykes is the son of former Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes and spent the past two years there as a co-offensive coordinator, orchestrating a Raiders attack that averaged 363 passing yards in 2006.

Whether Arizona has the personnel to make it work is still in question, though junior receiver Mike Thomas is a star waiting to burst. But Stoops is confident that the offense will blossom under Dykes.

"The history of this offense has been pretty good," Stoops said. "That's what I'm going on, the track record. When you bet on a horse, you bet on the track record."

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com. Read his blogs on Washington football and basketball at www.seattletimes.com/huskies