Assessing the Playoff Chances for the Arizona Wildcats Entering Bye Week
The Arizona Wildcats suffered a loss last Friday against Kansas State that was significantly more lopsided than many, likely including Arizona's locker room, expected it to be.
The Wildcats went to Manhattan and got their tails beat by a score of 31-7 in what can only be considered a formal welcoming to the Big 12 by a team that has been near the top of the conference for the better part of the last two decades. As head coach Brent Brennan stated after the beatdown, the bye week could not be coming at a better time for Arizona.
Things don't get any easier after the bye week, with a lingering trip to Utah in a matchup that will be just as, if not more tough than Kansas State was. The good news for the Wildcats is that while the disappointment of Friday's result likely still stings tremendously, everything is still in front of them if they want it to be.
Despite the fact that the game was technically a matchup between two Big 12 teams, it was agreed to be played before the Pac 12 dissolved and Arizona agreed to join the conference. Therefore, both schools agreed to still play the game but not have it count for conference standing purposes. In other words, the Wildcats still have a clean slate of 0-0 as they approach the start of conference play coming off the bye.
Given the new structure of the College Football Playoff, the Big 12 champion is automatically going to head to the 12-team CFP. With no divisions, Arizona must finish in the top-two of the conference in order to get a one game shot to advance to the CFP, as the non-conference loss likely squandered any sort of chance for an at-large bid.
Luckily for the Wildcats, they do not play any of the other currently ranked teams in their 9-game conference schedule after the trip to Utah. They do have difficult road games against the likes of BYU, UCF, and TCU, but overall it is a very manageable schedule.
Ultimately, Arizona would likely have to face the best team in the league for the right to go to the expanded playoff, but a strong run in conference play hypothetically gives the Wildcats a great chance to be where they want to be at the end of the year: playing meaningful football with everything still in front of them.
But things better tighten up, and fast, as Arizona got an early taste at what it will take to compete for a Big 12 title.
