Rodriguez era begins with Arizona hosting Toledo
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New Arizona head football coach Rich Rodriguez speaks during a press conference Tuesday Nov. 22, 2011, in Tucson, Arizona at the McKale Center. (AP Photo/ Arizona Daily Star, Benjie Sanders) Image by AP
Reporter: Jason Barr, Sports Director
TUCSON (AP) - The Rich Rodriguez era begins at Arizona on Saturday night when his Wildcats are home against Toledo.
He hopes for a different outcome than in his first four debuts as a head coach, when he lost every time.
Rodriguez has a formidable challenge in the desert, taking over an Arizona squad that has potential on offense but is terribly thin on defense after Mike Stoops was fired last year midway through his eighth season as head coach.
Rodriguez was hired after what eventually was a highly successful stint at West Virginia followed by a less successful three seasons at Michigan.
Toledo, though, is no pushover. The Rockets lost 13 starters from last year's 9-4 team but return an experienced defense and the two quarterbacks who split time last season.
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