Arizona Sees Latest AP Poll Update
In this story:
So far in the Brent Brennan era of Arizona football, the Wildcats have had their struggles on the road with four-straight losses dating back to last year. UA has lost those games by an average of 28 points and have fallen behind by double-digits in all four games.
On Saturday, Arizona (4-3, 1-3) was able to get things going early by striking quickly as quarterback Noah Fifita hit receiver Tre Spivey for a 70-yard touchdown pass, which seemed to set the tone early for the offense.
Despite the fast start, Arizona found itself trailing 21-14 to Houston (6-1-,3-1) at the half thanks to defensive struggles in the second quarter. And once again, the Wildcats lost the middle eight of the game, which resulted in a Cougars 31-28 win over the Wildcats.
Similarly to the BYU game, Arizona’s defense struggled against the run as Houston quarterback Conner Weigman sliced and diced the middle of the defense by racking 98 yards on 14 carries. Meanwhile as a team, the Cougars rushed for 232 yards for the game.
The rushing attack for Houston really opened things up in the secondary against Arizona as the Cougars totaled 164 yards through the air and racked up three passing touchdowns.
Just two weeks ago, the Wildcats’ defense hadn’t given up a passing touchdown all season. Now, Arizona has allowed four in two games.
Near the start of the fourth quarter, Arizona was able to cut into the lead with a rushing score from Spivey, which sparked the offense.
After getting a key stop with a missed 48-yard field goal by Houston, Arizona’s offense methodically moved the ball down field and tied the game up on a rushing touchdown from running back Kedrick Reescano.
BREAKING: College Football AP Poll🚨https://t.co/0uhQNsSFok pic.twitter.com/CJRIr5XADX
— On3 (@On3sports) October 19, 2025
Although the Wildcats battled back in the fourth quarter to tie the game, Houston got the ball back with under five minutes left and relied on its running game to set up the game-winning 41-yard field goal against Arizona.
Arizona is once again on the outside looking in with Ohio State remaining No. 1 following an impressive 34-0 win over Wisconsin on the road.
Overall, the Big 12 as a conference has four teams in No. 11 BYU, No. 14 Texas Tech, No. 21 Cincinnati and No. 24 ASU.
With the remaining schedule and Arizona looking to get back on track with the Wildcats having two games against ranked opponents left on the schedule.
After another heartbreaking loss in back-to-back weeks, the Wildcats will now have to figure out what has been going wrong on the field that has prevented the team from finishing the job.
Please be sure to share your thoughts on the latest heart breaker for Arizona and what it means for the direction of the program. To do so, follow us on our X account by clicking on the link.
Troy Hutchison grew up attending Arizona athletic events, which gave him a unique perspective and knowledge of the athletic department's rich history. He attended UA and began covering the Wildcats in 2018. As the Arizona Wildcats Beat Writer on SI, he is set to deliver wall-to-wall coverage to give fans an in-depth perspective.
Follow THutch1995