Junior running back Ka’Deem Carey is the only Arizona player listed as a first- or second-team selection in Phil Steele’s preseason All-Pac-12 teams (Rick Scuteri/USA Today Sports)

The Arizona football team begins its 2013 season against Northern Arizona at Arizona Stadium on Aug. 30, which is 90 days away. From now until then, our partner site WILDABOUTAZCATS.net will count down the days with facts about the Wildcats, their players, coaching staff and opponents. This is not a ranking, only a list of 100 facts and observances related to the 2013 Arizona football team and coach Rich Rodriguez.

While Arizona Stadium undergoes a makeover, Rich Rodriguez and his staff are trying to reconstruct the talent base at Arizona.

The difficult transition from the firing of Mike Stoops in 2011 to where Rodriguez is at with his pool of players now is obvious with Wednesday’s release of Phil Steele’s preseason All-Pac-12 team. The only UA player listed on the first or second team is junior running back Ka’Deem Carey.

Steele, a long-time college football analyst, knows his stuff as well as anybody. He was on the air recently as a guest on Sirius/XM’s College Sports Nation, while I drove to Los Angeles. The captivating information livened up a usually boring drive.

Callers who were fans of different schools called in and Steele answered each question without hesitation with a full rundown of every team with the information off the tip of his tongue.

Steele’s rating of Arizona’s top talent means that Rodriguez and his staff must continue to work their magic, like they showed last year in an unlikely 8-5 season, to get the most out of the talent-strapped Wildcats.

Steele’s preseason All-Pac-12 selections included not only the first team and second team but four teams. Arizona has seven players listed, ranking eighth among conference teams. Only Cal (five), Washington State (five), Utah (four) and Colorado (two) have less.

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NOTE: This is an example of what Javier Morales has to offer at his Web site WildAboutAZCats.net

ARIZONA AFTER GETTING SHUTOUT IN PAC-10/PAC-12 ERA
–1991, lost to Washington 54-0, then lost to UCLA 54-14
–2003, lost to Southern Cal 45-0, then lost to ASU 28-7
–2004, lost to California 38-0, then lost to Oregon State 28-14
–2005, lost to California 28-0, then lost to Southern Cal 42-21
–2012, lost to Oregon 49-0, outcome vs. Oregon State to be determined

How will Ka’Deem Carey and Arizona hold up against Oregon State after getting shut out by Oregon? (USPresswire photo/Scott Olmos)

The fallout from Arizona’s 49-0 loss at Oregon, following a 56-0 rout of South Carolina State is of historic proportions (I burned the midnight oil researching these facts last night):

–The 105-point margin swing from one game to the next in the same season is the largest dip in Arizona history. The previous high was 104 points in 1916 when Arizona beat visiting New Mexico State 73-0 but then lost the following week at Rice 47-16. The largest margin swing in Arizona’s favor was 111 points in 1928 when the Wildcats followed a 78-7 loss at USC with a 40-0 victory over New Mexico State at home.

–Arizona must produce a significant turnaround like the 1928 team in order to beat Oregon State on Saturday at Arizona Stadium. The Wildcats, however, have not fared well historically after getting blanked, especially in the Pac-10 and Pac-12 era (1978 to present). The Wildcats are 0-4 in such scenarios (see accompanying graphic). The average score in those four games after the Wildcats were held scoreless: Opponent 38, Arizona 14. Oregon State is 2-0 and should be ranked after beating Wisconsin and UCLA. The Beavers have also won five consecutive games in Tucson.

–You have to go all the way back to 1969 to when Arizona won a game following a shutout loss. The catch to that stat is Arizona was not shut out from the start of the 1972 season until the end of the 1990 season, when the Wildcats lost 28-0 to Syracuse in the Aloha Bowl. That was a school-record span of 214 games without getting shutout. In 1969, the Wildcats followed a 23-0 loss at Syracuse — yes the UA never scored against the Orangemen in two encounters — with a 17-16 win over No. 16 Utah at Arizona Stadium.

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The following entry was featured as part of the “Nothing but the Notes” package at our partner site WILDABOUTAZCATS.com. Please visit that site and vote in their Bear Down Leader competition. Check that site for details.

CDO tailback Ka'Deem Carey, the state's best running back in his class, will join the UA football program after completing his senior season (Photo by Andy Morales/TucsonCitizen.com)

No truth to the rumor that Canyon del Oro senior-to-be tailback Ka’Deem Carey performed a flip — like he did to score a touchdown as a freshman — in front of UA coach Mike Stoops after he announced Friday that he will play for the Wildcats in 2011.

However, Stoops and/or Carey may have flipped in private in jubilation over the high-profile prospect’s decision. Stoops not only acquires the state’s top running back after next season, but he also defeats ASU coach Dennis Erickson for yet another coveted in-state recruit.

Salpointe Catholic’s Jacob Arzouman, whose name freakishly sounds similar to “Arizona Man”, is one of the best — if not the best — offensive lineman Class of 2011 prospects in the state. He committed to Stoops and his staff on Monday. ASU was hot on Arzouman’s trail along with Stanford and Oregon State.

Another Class of 2011 standout in the state — Chandler dual-threat quarterback Brett Hundley Jr. , son of former Wildcat football player Brett Hundley Sr. — lists Arizona as one of his finalists along with as many as 15 schools including ASU. If Stoops lands Hundley Jr., Carey and Arzouman for 2011, it could be the best in-state talent crop signed in one recruiting class by Arizona.

Stoops also signed the state’s top recruits in 2009 (Palo Verde safety Adam Hall) and this year (safety Marquis Flowers of Goodyear Millennium).

Carey is not one to be shy (flipping for a score is a good indication) and he told me Friday that he has some bold ambitions for his upcoming senior season.

“By me going to Arizona, I definitely want to become a hometown hero,” said Carey, a 5-foot-8-inch, 180-pound elusive runner who rushed for 2,738 yards on 224 carries last season. “I am shooting for another state championship (CDO captured the 4A-I state title last year). I am gunning for 3,000 yards and I want to play a little more on defense. I’d like to play safety more.”

When asked if 3,000 yards is achievable, Carey said confidently, “Oh yeah, I came close last year, so I don’t see why I can’t get it this year. I don’t think it should be too difficult.”

Carey also said that academically he “will be fine especially now that I don’t have to worry about recruiting” during his senior season.

He must complete qualifying core courses to clear the NCAA clearinghouse, and he has yet to take his college entrance exam. Some recruiting insiders believe Oregon backed off of Carey because of concerns regarding his academics.

“Arizona coaches have always been there, and I respect that,” Carey said.

Carey is not a native Tucsonan — he moved to Tucson from New Jersey when he was 7 — and he did not grow up following local talent in high school or the UA. The only local legend whom he knows anything about is former Cholla High School and UA standout Vance Johnson, who happens to be his uncle.

Carey wears Johnson’s familiar No. 25 that he wore with the Wildcats from 1981-84.

“I watched football when I was growing up, but just the pros, not high school or college,” he told us. “I grew up liking the Philadelphia Eagles. My favorite player is Brian Dawkins. He plays with so much fire and intensity. I like that. I want to play like that.”

Dawkins, a 14-year NFL vet and eight-time Pro Bowl selection, is a safety. Hence, Carey’s desire to try safety more.

Some who witnessed Carey rack up 45 touchdowns last year — many of them the long breakaway variety — believe he could have played in college already. “My body is ready,” Carey said. “It’s exciting for me also that Arizona has a really good strength program. I look forward to being part of that and getting that much stronger.”

Carey’s former CDO teammate Josh Robbins, son of UA Sports Hall of Fame defensive back Randy Robbins, was overjoyed to say the least about Carey committing to the Wildcats. “It’s gonna be awesome having one of my best friends ball out with me at the next level,” said Robbins, a safety heading into his freshman season with the Cats.