Arizona Wildcats Get Disappointing Bowl Projection After Week 3 Loss

With a commanding loss this past Friday, the Arizona Wildcats have received a disappointing bowl projection compared to what was being discussed coming into the year.

Sep 7, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats flag waves in the air right before a game against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks at Arizona Stadium / Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

College football is a week-to-week sport when it comes to perception, and Arizona certainly is feeling that coming off their dismantling at the hands of Kansas State.

Entering the year, there was some thought the Wildcats could compete for a Big 12 title and earn themselves a spot in the College Football Playoff.

A lot of that was based on the projections of their offense being strong, something that seemed to be the case in Week 1, but has completely flipped on its head during the past two.

Because of that, there are now many analysts out there who question if Arizona can achieve the top-end success predicted of them since their defense continues to struggle against the run and their offense isn't able to mask those problems.

One person who seems to have severely downgraded his view on the Wildcats this season is Brett McMurphy of The Action Network, who put together his bowl projections entering Week 4 and had Arizona competing in a disappointing game.

He has Arizona facing North Carolina in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl on Dec. 31 in El Paso, Texas.

Needless to say, that would be a massive drop off compared to the thought they would potentially be in the CFP, or at least a New Years Six bowl if they came up just short of reaching the 12-team format.

McMurphy says his projections change on a weekly basis, but it's hard to argue with his thoughts on the state of this Wildcats team right now.

It's still early, and they will have a full week to fix things before they face Utah in their biggest matchup to date, but based on what has been seen so far, it does look like Arizona is in a different tier than those who are in the mix for the College Football Playoff.

That can certainly change, and knocking off the Big 12 favorites in Week 5 would be a huge step in the right direction, but there is a lot they need to get done during this preparation period so they can hit the road and deliver a different result than what occurred against Kansas State.