It’s a notable game for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that it will mark Kalani Sitake‘s first game as BYU football’s head coach.
He’ll be coaching against a team that has historically given BYU some trouble. The Cougars and Wildcats have met 22 times in their history, with BYU sitting at 9-12-1. The schools last played in the 2008 Las Vegas Bowl, with Arizona picking up a 31-21 victory. The Cougars have opened their season five times against Arizona, earning a 2-2-1 record.
2016 shouldn’t be much different. The Wildcats are no slouch and they enter the season with a deep and talented offense that will challenge Sitake’s new man-to-man press coverage defense – a system that was never utilized under Bronco Mendenhall.