Arizona Can Officially Spoil Arizona State's CFP Dream After Latest Rankings
It certainly hasn't been the season many envisioned for the Arizona Wildcats, but they can end things on a high note this Saturday.
Arizona will face off against their archrival Arizona State in the Territorial Cup, and if pride and bragging rights weren't enough of a motivating factor for both teams, the latest College Football Playoff rankings have added some more juice to this showdown.
The Sun Devils are ranked 16th, but since they are the highest-ranked Big 12 team at the moment, that has them in the 12-team field to be competing for a national championship.
That sets the stage and makes things clear on Saturday.
Arizona State is playing to make their first-ever CFP appearance.
Arizona is playing to end the dreams of their rival.
It will certainly be a tall task for the Wildcats as they welcome the Sun Devils down to Tucson. Their best offensive lineman, Jonah Savaiinaea, could miss this game after leaving last Saturday's contest early with an injury.
That would certainly hurt the ability of Arizona to move the ball consistently, something that has plagued the Wildcats throughout the year because of how many makeshift offensive line units they've had to deploy even with their star tackle available.
Still, this is a rivalry game and anything can happen.
All the pressure will be on Arizona State to enter hostile territory and come away with a victory to keep their Big 12 Conference title hopes alive that could propel them into the College Football Playoff.
Arizona should be playing loose.
They are already eliminated from bowl contention, so this is the final game of their season and presumably the collegiate career of Tetairoa McMillan who just set the program's all-time record in receiving yards.
If they go into this showdown with the mindset they are going to play spoiler, then they could be a major factor in how things look when the committee puts together the 12-team field to see who will become this year's national champion.
