This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Always willing to wear costumes and join in promotional gimmicks for his Arizona football team, coach Rich Rodriguez appears in battle armor in the Wildcats' newest material.

He's playing the role of Maximus, whose memorable line in the "Gladiator" movie was, "Are you not entertained?"

Entertaining people was the not an issue for Arizona last season. Stopping opponents was a problem, however. And that's why Rodriguez made staff changes, including the hiring of Marcel Yates from Boise State as defensive coordinator. The moves came after the Wildcats won a bowl game and finished 7-6 — but that's deceiving. They went 3-6 in the Pac-12, a year after playing in the Fiesta Bowl, and the defense needed an upgrade after allowing 484.7 yards in conference games to rank 10th.

The new scheme will be tested in Saturday's season opener vs. BYU at Glendale, Ariz. Cougar offensive coordinator Ty Detmer will try to have more success than predecessors Robert Anae (vs. Boston College in 2005 and Virginia in 2013) and Brandon Doman (vs. Mississippi in 2011) did in their first games in that position.

And in October, the Wildcats will bring a four-game winning streak into their annual meeting with Utah in the Pac-12 South. They outlasted the Utes 37-30 in double overtime last November, despite their defensive issues.

"In my determination, it was better just to start all over again — scheme-wise, personnel-wise, recruiting-wise — and that's hard to do … when you have guys that you respect and know they're really, really good coaches. It just wasn't working out," Rodriguez said during the Pac-12 Media Days in July. "Instead of just putting a Band-Aid on it, let's just go and start all over again. That's what we did."

The Wildcats have some decent defensive players, including linebacker Paul Magloire and cornerback DaVonte Neal, but they must overcome some poor performances from late in the 2015 season. Arizona lost 52-37 to rival Arizona State, for instance.

Yet the Wildcats were picked fourth in the Pac-12 South in the official media poll, one spot above ASU. That's a tribute to Arizona's offensive prowess. Regardless of whether veteran Anu Solomon or Brandon Dawkins is the quarterback, the offense will feature running back Nick Wilson. And the Wildcats have been consistently productive under Rodriguez, ranking third in the Pac-12 in total offense (494.9) last season.

kkragthorpe@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tribkurt —

Arizona

Coach • Rich Rodriguez (fifth season, 33-20).

2015 record • 7-6 (3-6 Pac-12).

2016 media poll • Fourth in South.

Schedule

Sept. 3 • vs. BYU*

Sept. 10 • Grambling St.

Sept. 17 • Hawaii

Sept. 24 • Washington

Oct. 1 • at UCLA

Oct. 8 • at Utah

Oct. 15 • USC

Oct. 29 • Stanford

Nov. 5 • at Washington St.

Nov. 12 • Colorado

Nov. 19 • at Oregon State

Nov. 25 • Arizona State

* - Glendale, Ariz.