Arizona could reunite with former Pac-12 rival in latest bowl projection
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Brent Brennan and the Arizona Wildcats didn't always make it look pretty, but one month into the season, they sit 3-1 on the year and a perfect 3-0 in non-league games.
A home game against undefeated Cincinnati - who knocked off Kansas State, 31-26, on Saturday - will go a long way toward determining how seriously this Wildcats team can compete in the Big 12 this season.
For now, Arizona remains firmly in the bowl game conversation, and the latest projections from Sports Illustrated have the Wildcats taking on a longtime familiar foe.
Bryan Fischer at SI placed Arizona in San Diego for the revived Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 23 against the Beavers of Oregon State, ironically one day after the Wildcats took on the other abandoned Pac-12 team, Washington State, in Pullman.
The Poinsettia Bowl is back
The Poinsettia Bowl began in 2005 and ran for 11 years at San Diego Stadium before it was put on hiatus in 2016. Now, a decade later, the game will be revived and played at Snapdragon Stadium, still in San Diego, and is set to feature the current Pac-12 champion against a legacy member of the 'old' Pac-12, hence how the Oregon State vs. Arizona matchup was concocted.
Although a pair of Pac-12 teams have played in the Poinsettia Bowl in the past in Utah (2x) and Cal, this would be the first time either Arizona or Oregon State participated in the game.
It's hard to view the Poinsettia Bowl as a win for Arizona, who were projected in the Sun Bowl and the First Responder Bowl earlier this offseason. Still, a showdown with a good Oregon State team that is 2-2 on the year after narrow losses at Houston (33-20) and at home vs. Texas Tech (35-24) is far from the worst result possible for Brennan and the Wildcats.
Plus, Arizona has three very winnable games coming up: first at home against Cincinnati, followed by a road trip to Morgantown to face West Virginia, then a home tilt with Iowa State. 3-0 in that stretch likely gets the Wildcats back in a better bowl situation.
Big 12 well represented
The Big 12 has just one team projected into the 12-team CFP in No. 7 BYU, who draws No. 10 Alabama in Fischer's updated predictions.
Other Big 12 teams projected to play in bowl games this year include Kansas State (Independence Bowl vs. Washington), UCF (Cactus Bowl vs. Nebraska), Utah (Holiday Bowl vs. Pitt), Oklahoma State (Pop-Tarts Bowl vs. Virginia Tech), Texas Tech (Alamo Bowl vs. Oregon), Houston (Texas Bowl vs. Oklahoma), Arizona State (First Responder Bowl vs. Minnesota), and West Virginia (Liberty Bowl vs. Tennessee).
Next up for Arizona is a home battle with Cincinnati, slated for 8:00 PM PT on Saturday, Oct. 3 on FOX.
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Andy Patton is a college basketball writer with deep ties to both Gonzaga and Arizona. A Gonzaga alumnus who graduated in 2013, he has hosted the Locked On Zags podcast covering Gonzaga basketball since 2021 and has co-hosted the Locked On College Basketball podcast since 2022. His years covering the Bulldogs have also given him extensive familiarity with Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, who spent more than two decades on Mark Few’s staff at Gonzaga before taking over the Wildcats in 2021. Andy has worked in sports media since 2017, with experience covering nearly every major sport. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for USA TODAY from 2017–21, where he also spent time covering the USC Trojans and Oregon Ducks, and previously served as lead writer for College Sports Wire. He has also covered the NBA, NHL and MLB for various TEGNA outlets, including KREM in Spokane, 12News in Phoenix and KING 5 in Seattle. Andy now lives in Spokane, Washington, with his wife, daughter and dog.
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