Bold Prediction Sees Arizona Suffer Unfortunate Result in Top 25 Poll This Season

The Arizona Wildcats will have to hope that this prediction doesn't come true when the season starts.

Dec 28, 2023; San Antonio, TX, USA; Arizona Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita (11) throws a pass in the first half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Alamodome. | Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona earned a Top 25 rank in the initial AP Poll, coming in at No. 21.

After finishing 11th last season, the Wildcats will have to show voters they're just as good as they were a year ago.

It's an impressive start in the rankings for Arizona, nonetheless.

One could argue they should be ranked higher, but if they play well, they'll certainly move up and have a chance to finish in the Top 10.

Ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll, Arizona earned their highest preseason ranking since 1999. They were ranked No. 4 in the initial rankings in 1999, but finished unranked.

Hopefully, that won't be the case this time around, but Matt Brown of The Athletic predicted that they'll fall out of the Top 25.

"There's inevitably going to be disappointment for a few teams in the 16-team SEC (featuring nine ranked teams) and 18-team Big Ten (six), so watch for a few angsty finishes out of those two. I'll predict USC, Iowa, Arizona, Missouri and Kansas as five of the teams that fade from the Top 25."

His reasoning behind his prediction makes sense.

Given how tough the Big 12 is, there will be teams that don't have the campaign they're looking for.

Arizona will have to hope they won't be one of them, but only they can determine that. They have a solid foundation, so there's no excuse not to finish within the Top 25 and be a consistently ranked team for much of the year if they stay healthy.

Their schedule is one of the toughest in the country due to the Big 12 being above average from top to bottom. They'll have two games in the first two weeks they should win, but will then take on two ranked teams in their next two matchups.

Arizona will play Kansas State and Utah on the road, two games that could decide their College Football Playoff chances. If they were to beat both of those teams and start 4-0, it's all but guaranteed that they'd be a Top 10 team at that point of the season.

There are other tough games mixed in there, but their biggest tests should come in two of their first four games.

Outside of those two, they'll take on Colorado, BYU on the road, TCU on the road, and Arizona State at home, which is never an easy win, given the rivalry between the two schools.