This Bold Big 12 Prediction Could Become Bad News for Arizona Wildcats

If a bold prediction made by a college football analyst comes to fruition, the Arizona Wildcats are in trouble this season.

Jul 10, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Brent Brennan speaks to the media during the Big 12 Media Days at Allegiant Stadium. / Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Wildcats are one of the best teams in the nation entering the 2024 college football season. With a preseason rank of No. 21, they are looking to build off the momentum that came from last year.

They won 10 games despite having a preseason win total set at 5.5.

It was the first time since 2014 they won double-digit games, and only the fourth time ever.

But, there will be some challenges for the Wildcats to overcome this year since they have a new head coach after Jedd Fisch took the job with the Washington Huskies.

They are also entering a new conference for the first time since 1978. They had been in the Pac-10 turned Pac-12 since that point, but will be embarking on a new era as part of the Big 12 Conference.

That presents some new obstacles for Arizona.

Since a new docket of teams will have to be studied, an adjustment period early on wouldn’t surprise anyone.

Despite those challenges, though, the Wildcats are expected to compete for a spot near the top of the Big 12. They have one of the best quarterback/wide receiver tandems in the nation with Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan. Defensively, they are loaded with veteran talent in the secondary that Brennan is high on.

However, if a bold prediction made by Bleacher Report college football analysts comes to fruition, the 2024 season will not be as successful as Arizona fans are hoping.

Andy Kramer believes this is the year Oklahoma State is going to break through.

He admitted he considered the Wildcats to take home the title, but it was the Cowboys who he settled on as the conference’s representative in the College Football Playoff.

“... However, I settled on the Pokes, thanks largely to an offense rife with experience and a running back, Ollie Gordon II, who might be the best overall football player in the nation. Beyond that, we've seen Mike Gundy have success with experienced teams, and this team is very much that. With the Big 12 effectively guaranteed a spot in the playoff, OSU could finally take that next, next step,” Kramer wrote.

The Big 12 truly looks wide open.

A number of teams could make a strong argument of being the best in the conference, Arizona among them.

But if the Oklahoma State breaks through in the fashion Kramer believes they will, that would likely push the Wildcats out of contention for a CFP spot.