Arizona Wildcats picked to finish 4th in Pac-12 South

Rich Rodriguez’s Arizona Wildcats, coming off a 7-6 season and a win in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl last year, were picked to finish fourth in the Pac-12 South at the annual conference media days in Los Angeles, which got underway Thursday.

The Wildcats return several key starters, including quarterback Anu Solomon and running back Nick Wilson, who were both slowed by injuries last season. Solomon completed 205-of-330 passes for 2,667 yards and 20 touchdowns in his sophomore season, while Wilson ran for 725 yards and eight touchdowns on 133 carries.

Defensively, there is a scheme change to go along with a new coordinator. Marcel Yates takes over as DC after a stint at Boise State and will employ a more attacking style for their defense, which ranked 10th in the conference last season, yielding an average of 466.9 yards per game.

The Wildcats are picked to finish behind UCLA, USC and Utah in the South — all three of those schools received first-place votes from the 33-member panel.

Arizona opens the 2016 season Saturday, Sept. 3 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale against Brigham Young.

Pac-12 Preseason Media Poll

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