Since firing Dick Tomey in 2000, the Arizona Wildcats have scored the fewest points in the Pac-10 and chewed through three offensive coordinators. The team's scoring troubles went from worrisome to ridiculous last season when quarterback Willie Tuitama suffered three concussions and the Wildcats finished 115th nationally in total offense.
In an eventful offseason, coach Mike Stoops purged most of his coaching staff, accompanied Tuitama to see brain specialists in Pennsylvania (the QB was cleared to play), and ordered yet another remake of Arizona's offense.
"We've got something very good going on here," Stoops says. "This new offense is night and day different from what we've had in the past."
The Wildcats spent roughly $275,000, the most the program has ever paid an assistant coach, to hire Sonny Dykes from Texas Tech.
Upon his arrival, Dykes didn't just tinker with the UA offense, he overhauled it.
The Wildcats will run a spread set that appears to be a cross between those at BYU and Texas Tech. In the first public scrimmage of the spring, Arizona threw 55 passes in 72 plays. In past seasons, those numbers were more likely to have been 55 runs in 72 plays.
"When I coached at Oklahoma I found out how difficult it was to stop Texas Tech's offense," says Stoops. "In the last six years, Texas Tech has never failed to average at least 30 points a game. For us, we've been lucky to average 20. This change is a no-brainer."
Somehow, even for all its offensive troubles, Arizona finished 6-6 last season, with upsets over Cal, Oregon, and Washington State in November.
"This is the best team we've had here," says Stoops, who is 12-22 in three seasons. "It's time for us to make a move."
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