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The Pac-12 just released the Arizona Wildcats' 2016 football schedule, and it has a few very nice surprises for Arizona fans:
- Arizona has a bye week, with no game scheduled the weekend of October 22.
- Arizona plays Arizona State the day after Thanksgiving, as it should be.
- Did I mention Arizona has a bye week?
The schedule isn't perfect - the Wildcats still don't play a Power 5 team out of conference (though they do play BYU, which is pretty close), and the Washington State and Oregon State games will probably start at a ridiculously late hour, but Arizona doesn't have to play Oregon, gets to play Stanford and USC at home, and even gets an extra week of preparation before the Stanford game. That's pretty favorable, all things considered.
Check out the full schedule below and at Pac-12.com:
| Date | Away Team | Home Team |
| September 3, 2016 | BYU | Arizona (at University of Phoenix Stadium) |
| September 10, 2016 | Grambling State | Arizona |
| September 17, 2016 | Hawai'i | Arizona |
| September 24, 2016 | Washington | Arizona |
| October 1, 2016 | Arizona | UCLA |
| October 8, 2016 | Arizona | Utah |
| October 15, 2016 | USC | Arizona |
| October 29, 2016 | Stanford | Arizona |
| November 5, 2016 | Arizona | Washington State |
| November 12, 2016 | Colorado | Arizona |
| November 19, 2016 | Arizona | Oregon State |
| November 25, 2016 | Arizona State | Arizona |