BYU football: Raising Arizona

LAS VEGAS — Not long ago, the "A" emblazoned on the Arizona football helmet could have stood for "anemic."

As in, anemic offense.

But thanks to the influence of a relatively new offensive coordinator, a revamped scheme, a senior quarterback and a bevy of weapons, the Wildcat offense has been, at times this season, amazing.

For years, Arizona had established a solid defensive reputation under coach Mike Stoops, but it lacked a consistent offense. At the end of the 2006 season, when the 'Cats averaged a lackluster 16 points a game, Stoops hired away Texas Tech co-offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes, who installed a new spread offense.

Dykes' debut came in the 2007 season-opener at BYU. Arizona's offense stumbled along that day, narrowly averting a shutout. It scored only one touchdown, and that came with 53 seconds remaining in the game, as the Cougars prevailed, 20-7. The Wildcats recorded only 11 first downs and 255 yards of total offense.

They've come along way since then.

As Arizona gets set to collide with BYU on Saturday at the Las Vegas Bowl, Cougar coach Bronco Mendenhall knows that the biggest difference in the Wildcats, from then to now, is their offense. After two full seasons of running its spread offense, Arizona doesn't look anything like what it did at the beginning of 2007.

"Not even close," Mendenhall said. "If you put it on film, you wouldn't think it's the same offense. ... This certainly is not the offense that we faced last season in the opener. Their numbers show that. But if you watch them play, their execution and their talent and their confidence is much different. How they're playing the game is quite different."

This season, Arizona is No. 16 in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 37 points per game. The Wildcats have scored at least 31 points in each of their seven victories.

"We will find out how much better we have gotten," said Dykes, who is the son of Texas Tech coaching legend Spike Dykes. "Hopefully, we can get more than 100 yards against (BYU). It is going to be a challenge."

Like Stoops, Mendenhall also hired his offensive coordinator, Robert Anae, from Texas Tech.

"Both teams have a Texas Tech influence, and now Arizona has a BYU influence," Mendenhall said. "The way our offense has played the last two years is probably the best gauge of the way Arizona's offense is playing. They're very similar in philosophy."