Arizona Wildcats Land SEC Matchup Close to Home in Latest Bowl Projections
New Arizona Wildcats coach Brent Brennan has high aspirations for a team that won 10 games under Jedd Fisch last season.
Fisch is now coaching at Washington. Brennan is getting the Wildcats ready for their first year in the Big 12 Conference.
The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy recently provided his first bowl projections for the 2024 season. He didn’t have the Wildcats in the College Football Playoff, but he did offer up an intriguing matchup.
He has the Wildcats facing SEC power Tennessee in the Las Vegas Bowl on December 27.
That contest would keep Arizona fans in their time zone and allow them to face an SEC team some see as a contender to reach the league’s title game and the CFP.
It’s also a tie-in to the old Pac-12 days as, for the next two years, former conference members like Arizona will still be linked to those bowl games with Pac-12 ties.
Last season, the Wildcats beat the Oklahoma Sooners, 38-24, in the Valero Alamo Bowl. The Sooners are now in the SEC. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah play their first Big 12 campaigns this year.
The Wildcats open the season at home against New Mexico on Aug. 31. It is the first of back-to-back home games for Arizona. The following Saturday, they'll host Northern Arizona, which plays at the FCS level.
Arizona plays their first road game at Kansas State on Sept. 13. It’s not a Big 12 game for the two schools. It’s a non-conference game, as the pair agreed to play in this non-conference matchup years ago and opted to honor that agreement.
After a bye week, the Wildcats open Big 12 action at Utah on Sept. 28.
On Oct. 5, Arizona hosts Texas Tech in its Big 12 home opener. It’s a revival of the two programs as conference rivals, as they played in the Border Conference at one time.
The Wildcats return to the state of Utah and face BYU on Oct. 12, followed be a home game against Colorado on Oct. 19 and on Oct. 26 against West Virginia.
November starts with a cross-country road trip to UCF on Nov. 2. After a bye week, the Wildcats host Houston on Nov. 15, followed by a trip to TCU on Nov. 23.
The season wraps up with the Territorial Cup, as Arizona hosts Arizona State on Nov. 30.
Should Arizona advance to the Big 12 Championship Game, it will be on Dec. 7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The winner of that game receives an automatic bid into the College Football Playoff’s first 12-team postseason.
MATT POSTINS