Arizona Wildcats Ranked in Second Tier Thanks to Returning Talent
The Arizona Wildcats are riding a high from last season as many wait to see what they can do now.
Former head coach Jedd Fisch took an opportunity elsewhere to take over at the University of Washington, however, the biggest names on the team itself returned.
Will that be enough to keep them floating around the top of college football?
Chris Vannini of The Athletic put out the first edition of his rankings for each team in the country, and while the Wildcats saw a bit of a dip, they ultimately stayed in a respectable spot.
On his list, Arizona comes in at No. 25 to start the season after finishing at No. 12 with their 10-3 showing a year ago. Their ranking keeps them within the second-tier of teams listed.
Joining them in the second tier are the following schools:
11. Utah Utes
12. Penn State Nittany Lions
13. LSU Tigers
14. Tennessee Volunteers
15. Oklahoma Sooners
16. Clemson Tigers
17. Miami Hurricanes
18. Iowa Hawkeyes
19. Iowa State Cyclones
20. Kansas State Wildcats
21. Kansas Jayhawks
22. Oklahoma State Cowboys
23. Texas A&M Aggies
24. Virginia Tech Hokies
The Wildcats are the fifth-ranked Big 12 school as none of the teams in the new look conference made the Top 10.
"New coach Brent Brennan walks into a good situation at Arizona with rising star quarterback Noah Fifita," said Vannini.
The returning offensive firepower is a good reason to remain excited about the Wildcats.
Fifita is one of the top returning quarterbacks in the country and likely could have gone elsewhere for a good bit of money. Instead, he remains in Arizona with his top target Tetairoa McMillan after the two combined for 90 catches with 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns last campaign.
Jacob Cowing, the other oft-targeted receiver, went to the NFL which is another 90 catches that will need to be replaced. But they should have a much improved ground game this season to take a little bit of that pressure away.
Brennan comes over after six years leading the San Jose State Spartans and a background on the offensive side of the ball.
The Spartans' offense ranked No. 36 in the country with 31.8 points per game last season which was their best finish in over a decade.
It'll be hard for the Wildcats to replicate the success from their last campaign, but it won't be impossible.
DYLAN SANDERS