Week One: Toledo versus Arizona

Toledo at Arizona: This is a matchup between Toledo of the Mid American Conference and Arizona of the Pacific 12 Conference. Toledo went 9-4 in 2011 with a thrilling 42-41 win over Air Force in the Military Bowl. Arizona struggled to a 4-8 record that saw the Wildcats fail miserably on defense giving up 34 or more points in 9 of their 12 games.

Offense: Arizona was a pass happy team in 2011 that ended the season ranked 16th nationally in total offense at 465 yards per game of offense. The running game was almost non-existent with 94 yards per game on the ground and 3.4 yards per carry. The Wildcats were able to find the end zone 17 times on the ground. The Wildcat passing game was good for a staggering 370 yards per game ranking them 3rd nationally behind Houston and Oklahoma State. Arizona found the end zone only 29 times while throwing 15 interceptions on the year. The Wildcats only ranked 38th nationally in scoring with 30.8 points scored per game. The Toledo Rockets used a balanced offensive attack in 2011 to become the 9th ranked offense in the nation at 481 yards of total offense per game. The Rocket rushing attack was good for 213 yards per game and a 5.0 yards per carry average that helped the Rockets to 32 rushing touchdowns on the season. The passing game found 267 yards and 34 touchdowns in 2011 as opposed to only 7 interceptions on the year. The Rockets turned the ball over only 14 times on the year. Toledo averaged 42.2 points per game including 60 and 63 points in separate games. EDGE: Toledo

Defense: Arizona had one of the absolute worst defenses in the nation giving up 460 yards per game to opponents. The Wildcats gave up 4.7 yards per carry for 161 yards per game and 30 touchdowns on the ground last fall. The pass defense gave up 298 yards per game and another 22 touchdowns while only able to force 11 interceptions. The Wildcat defense forced 16 total turnovers on the season from opponents. The Wildcats gave up 35.4 points per game on the season ranking them 107th nationally in scoring defense. Toledo was better about slowing down offenses but struggled to stop opponents from scoring at will last fall. The Rockets gave up 401 yards per game ranking them 76th nationally in total defense. The Rockets were solid on run defense giving up only 3.9 yards per carry for 132 yards per game and 17 touchdowns. The pass defense was not as successful giving up 268 yards per game and 34 touchdowns while only picking off 14 passes. The Rockets forced 30 overall turnovers on the season and gave up 31.7 points per game, good for 94th nationally. EDGE: Toledo

Coaching: Rich Rodriguez is the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats and is entering his first season as the head coach. Rodriguez started coaching in 1985 at West Virginia before moving on to Salem, West Virginia again, Glenville State, Tulane, Clemson, West Virginia again, Michigan and finally Arizona. Rodriguez was a head coach previously at Salem (2-8), Glenville State (43-28-2), West Virginia (60-26, 3 top 10 finishes), and Michigan (15-22). This is the first year for Rodriguez at Arizona. Matt Campbell is the head coach of the Toledo Rockets and is entering his first full season as head coach. Campbell started coaching in 2003 at Bowling Green before heading to Mount Union, Bowling Green again and Toledo. Campbell has only coached one game as head coach winning the Military Bowl as the interim coach last fall. EDGE: Arizona

Toledo and Arizona have played 3 times previously with Arizona holding a 3-0 record in the series. Arizona won the last meeting 41-2 in 2010 and has won by double digits in each of the meetings.

While both teams are replacing stars on offense, the loss of Nick Foles at quarterback for Arizona is the most significant loss. Coach Rodriguez is installing a new offense and there will be major bumps in the first year for the Wildcats that the Rockets hope to exploit to a big season opening win. Expect plenty of points to be scored but for Toledo to pull the game out late in the 4th quarter.