Where did Arizona land in the first College Football Playoff rankings?
In this story:
Brent Brennan and the Arizona Wildcats, despite coming off a tough road loss at Texas Tech on Saturday, were among the top 25 teams in the first CFP rankings of the season.
Arizona (6-2, 3-2 in Big 12) came in at No. 22 in the rankings, which were revealed by the CFP Selection Committee on Tuesday evening.
The Wildcats have now been ranked in the College Football Playoff rankings in back-to-back seasons, the first time that has happened in program history. Arizona was ranked in 2025, 2023, 2017, and 2014.
November 3️⃣ #CFP Top 25 pic.twitter.com/brv5QU5Lhk
— CFP (@CFBPlayoff) November 4, 2026
The actual selection day for the CFP will be Dec. 6, 2026.
How'd Arizona get here?
On one hand, Arizona being in the CFP picture is a dream scenario for a program without a long history of success on the gridiron.
On the other hand, this team is two bad halves away from being undefeated after taking a halftime lead in both losses this season - at BYU in Provo in Week 2 and at Texas Tech in Lubbock in Week 9.
Arizona was up 17-14 against BYU before the offensive stalled out, finishing the second half without any points and ultimately falling to the Cougars, 28-17. A similar story played out on Halloween against the Red Raiders, with Arizona scoring a pair of second quarter touchdowns to head into the locker room up 17-10, before scuffling in the final 30 minutes and losing 34-26.
But comfortable wins over Cincinnati (34-7), West Virginia (52-31) and Iowa State (39-3) have the Wildcats in a dark horse position in the Big 12, with four regular season games to go.
What's next for Arizona?
Arizona hosts TCU on Friday night in Tucson, a game that kicks off at 8:15 PM MST on ESPN. After that is the big showdown against No. 3 Utah on Nov. 14 - a game that could catapult Arizona into legitimate CFP contention.
Utah is one of three undefeated power conference teams alongside No. 1 Miami and No. 8 UCLA, and getting to host the Utes in Tucson is a huge advantage for coach Brennan's squad.
The Wildcats then finish the season on the road at Kansas State and at home against rival Arizona State on Nov. 28.
The Wildcats were one of five teams from the Big 12, alongside Utah (No. 3), BYU (9), Texas Tech (15), and Houston (17). The Big 12's five teams ranks them third behind the SEC (10), and Big Ten (6). The ACC had two teams - Miami at No. 1 and Wake Forest at No. 16 - with the final two spots going to Notre Dame (No. 11) and Boise State (No. 25).
Add us as a preferred source on Google
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.
Follow AndyPattonCBB