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Arizona faces off against the Idaho Vandals on Saturday at Arizona Stadium.

By Arizona Athletics,
August 28, 2008

The Arizona Wildcats kick off the 2008 football season on Saturday when they face the Idaho Vandals at Arizona Stadium. The game starts at 7 p.m.

It might only be August but UA joins every Pac-10 team except UCLA with season openers on the slate this weekend.

Arizona and Idaho played 10 games from 1951 to 1964, and then just once since, in 2001. In that match-up, the visiting Vandals posted a furious fourth-quarter comeback before falling 36-29 to the Wildcats. The two state schools have met a total of 11 times since 1951, with the UA tallying nine victories.

Arizona is 74-25-5 all-time in the first game of the season and has won two of four such games under Head Coach Mike Stoops.

For the fifth time in seven years, UA will open their season at home in Arizona Stadium. The Cats have posted a 6-2 record in their last eight season openers and have won each of their home openers under Stoops (NAU in 2004 and BYU in 2006). Saturday's game will mark the first time the Wildcats have opened a season against Idaho.

The Wildcats will be looking to continue their success in August as they have posted a 4-1 record in the month that typically serves as a countdown to the arrival of the college football season.

While Coach Stoops is known for his defensive prowess, he has realized the need for a high-scoring offense in the Pac-10. Arizona only needs to look back on its 2007 season to understand the importance of scoring as the Wildcats are a perfect 5-0 when scoring more than 27 points in a game.

UA quarterback Willie Tuitama helped the team to finish No. 10 nationally in passing by tossing for 3,683 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2007, both school records. There is no reason he can't continue the assault in 2008, notably because Arizona returns its top receivers in Mike Thomas, Terrell Turner, Delashaun Dean and Terrell Reese, plus tight end Rob Gronkowski, who will miss the Idaho game due to illness.

Tuitama has not only written his name in the UA record books, he has etched his name into the Pac-10 records. With a similar season in 2008 to the one he had a year ago, he will find himself among the conference's best. His 2007 total of 3,520 all-purpose yards ranks him No. 11 all-time in the Pac-10 in single season total yardage.

Mike Thomas also is moving up the Pac-10 charts. With 83 receptions in 2007, he ranks No. 15 in single season receptions and his 11 touchdown grabs also place him at No. 15 for a single season. In addition, Thomas is within striking distance of several career marks, including career receptions.

Thomas, who has 185 catches in three years, is only 74 catches away from becoming the Pac-10's all-time reception leader. And while he currently stands at No. 39 in career receiving yards, a modest – by his standards – 732 yards this season will move him into the top-10. Lastly, with seven more touchdowns, he will find himself among the top-10 all-time leaders in receiving touchdowns.