The Wildcats made a splash during the offseason and added one of the top coaching candidates in the country in Kevin Sumlin. He had a good coaching tenure at Texas A&M recording winning season in each of his six seasons with the Aggies, and also winning two bowl games in his first two seasons with the program, winning the Cotton Bowl in 2012 and the Chick-Fil-A Bowl in 2013, both with Johnny Manziel as his quarterback. Manziel ended up winning the Heisman Trophy Award in 2012 and was a nominee in 2013. Coach Kevin Sumlin looks to do the same with Khalil Tate as Tate heads into the season as a top contender for the Heisman Trophy Award heading into 2018.

The Wildcats' schedule has a bit of a spark as they open the season at home on September 1st vs BYU at 7:45 p.m. on ESPN. This will be the first time they open up against BYU at home since 2006. The Wildcats follow up with a matchup at Houston, where coach Sumlin last coached there in 2011. He leads Houston to a 12-1 record that year. That game will be on ABC at 9 a.m. This will be the first game on ABC for the Wildcats since 2015 where College GameDay came to Tucson and televised the UCLA vs. Arizona game with UCLA winning that game 56-30. The Wildcats wrap up their non-conference schedule hosting Southern Utah at 8 p.m. on September 15th.

The Wildcats start off their conference schedule at Oregon State, the Wildcats won their matchup versus Oregon State last year convincingly. The Wildcats will host USC the following week and this game will live up to the hype. The Wildcats fell to USC last season and that can potentially change this season. The Trojans lost Sam Darnold, the team's starting quarterback, as he has moved into the NFL competing for the New York Jets starting quarterback spot. The Wildcats follow up with a game hosting Cal. Last season, the Wildcats had a memorable game-winning 45-44 in double overtime after the Cal Bears missed a two-point conversion to end the game.

The Wildcats have two tough road games at Utah and at UCLA right before a two-game home stretch vs. Oregon and vs. Colorado. Utah usually plays every team in the PAC-12 tough as they were the only PAC-12 team to win a bowl game last season. UCLA will be an Interesting game. UCLA added Chip Kelly as their head Coach this offseason. Kelly last coach for the San Francisco 49ers where he went 5-11 in 2016. His last coaching experience in the PAC-12 was with Oregon in 2012 as they won to the Fiesta Bowl that season.

Kelly has had double-digit winning seasons in his four seasons as a collegiate coach. This year's Oregon team should be phenomenal as Oregon has their starting quarterback Justin Herbert returning after suffering an injury last season that kept him out eight weeks of last season. The Wildcats host Colorado the following week, which was Khalil Tate's statement game last season as he broke the FBS single-game rushing record for a quarterback by recording 327 yards on the ground in a 45-42 win vs the Buffaloes last season.

Following the bye week, the Wildcats wrap up their road schedule with a game at Washington State and wrap up the regular season with a game vs. Arizona State at home on Thanksgiving weekend. With Arizona State adding Herm Edwards, this will be in the makings for an entertaining home matchup versus their in-state rival. Some keys to Arizona's schedule is that they avoid facing Washington and Stanford in the regular season. Those two teams along with Oregon will be favorites in the PAC-12 North this upcoming season to win their division and potentially the whole PAC-12.

With eyes on Arizona early in the season with nationally televised games, along with a somewhat smooth conference schedule, the Wildcats should be well on their way towards glory soon. The defense will be returning some key pieces this upcoming season. As a true freshman, Colin Schooler was one of Arizona's best linebackers last season. Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles will be a key part to Arizona's defense this season as he hopes to carry his big season from last season into this season. He and Jace Whittaker will be key parts to the secondary this season.

Kylan Wilborn will be a key part to the pass rushing game as he looks to rise as a pass rusher this upcoming season. Khalil Tate will capitalize on the run game and utilize his targets downfield like Shun Brown, Tony Ellison, and Shawn Poindexter. Bryce Wilma will be a big piece to the tight end game for Arizona this upcoming season. J.J. Taylor will be also in the spotlight of the backfield with Tate. They will be key parts to the Wildcats' running game this season and will be game changers this season as they both head into their junior year with something to prove.