Arizona is back in the College Football Playoff conversation, even after a rough night in Lubbock.
Brent Brennan’s Wildcats checked in at No. 22 in the first CFP rankings of the season, which the CFP Selection Committee unveiled Tuesday evening. Arizona is 6-2 overall and 3-2 in Big 12 play, and the ranking gives the program back-to-back appearances in the CFP poll for the first time in school history.
Arizona has now been ranked in the College Football Playoff rankings in 2025, 2023, 2017, and 2014.
The selection day for the CFP is Dec. 6, 2026.
There’s a real case for optimism here, but also a reminder of how thin the margin has been for the Wildcats. Arizona is coming off a road loss at Texas Tech on Saturday, and it has twice seen games slip away after holding halftime leads.
In Week 2 at BYU, the Wildcats went into the break ahead 17-14 before being shut out in the second half and falling 28-17. On Halloween at Texas Tech, Arizona led 17-10 at halftime after scoring two second-quarter touchdowns, then faded late in a 34-26 defeat.
Even with those setbacks, the Wildcats have built enough of a résumé to stay in the mix. Wins over Cincinnati, West Virginia and Iowa State have kept Arizona in the Big 12 picture with four regular-season games left.
The schedule now turns into a defining stretch. Arizona hosts TCU on Friday night in Tucson, with kickoff set for 8:15 PM MST on ESPN.
After that comes a massive home game against No. 3 Utah on Nov. 14, a matchup that could push Arizona into legitimate CFP contention.
Utah is one of three undefeated power conference teams, joined by No. 1 Miami and No. 8 UCLA, and Arizona gets the benefit of hosting the Utes.
The Wildcats then close with a road trip to Kansas State and a home finale against Arizona State on Nov. 28.
Arizona was one of five Big 12 teams in the first rankings, along with Utah at No. 3, BYU at No.
9, Texas Tech at No. 15 and Houston at No. 17.
That put the Big 12 third among the conferences behind the SEC, which had 10 teams ranked, and the Big Ten, which had six. The ACC placed two teams in the rankings, Miami at No. 1 and Wake Forest at No. 16, while Notre Dame came in at No. 11 and Boise State at No.
In Other News...
Tommy Lloyd Suddenly Faces A Troubling Arizona Recruiting Question
Arizonas season-opening loss to UCLA was a reminder that Tommy Lloyds program still has plenty to sort through on the court, but the concern is starting to spill into the recruiting trail as well. The Wildcats have had a difficult run trying to land top frontcourt talent in the 2027 class, and a string of misses has left the staff with less margin for error than it would prefer.
The latest setback came with another highly regarded big man choosing elsewhere, adding to the sense that Arizona is fighting uphill in that part of the cycle. For now, the Wildcats still have one uncommitted 2027 recruit on the board in Adan Diggs, which makes the next stretch important as Lloyd and his staff try to avoid letting a promising class slip further out of reach. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky May Have Finally Found The Shooter Mark Pope Needed
Milan Momcilovics first night in a Kentucky uniform gave Mark Pope exactly the kind of perimeter pop he has been chasing. The former Iowa State forward, who spent three seasons with the Cyclones, stepped into his Wildcats debut against Manhattan and immediately looked comfortable, finishing with 24 points and five rebounds while hitting 8 of 12 shots overall.
The most encouraging part for Kentucky was how naturally Momcilovic fit as a floor-spacer, giving the offense another threat defenses have to account for beyond the arc. Pope has already made it clear he wants that part of Momcilovics game to become a bigger feature of the attack, and if this debut was any indication, the Wildcats may have found a shooter who can change the spacing of the whole lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Arizonas Top Team Faces A Week 11 Test With Real Playoff Stakes
The Arizona high school football regular season is heading into its final stretch, and the pressure is starting to sharpen around the states top programs. Liberty still sits at No. 1 in the High School On SI Arizona Top 25 State Rankings after a recent win, while challengers like Chandler, Hamilton, Basha and Higley are all heading into games that could shape both playoff seeding and the final order of the rankings.
Week 11 carries real weight because several teams are still playing for position, while others such as Desert Mountain and ALA-Gilbert North have already finished their regular seasons and are waiting to see how the bracket unfolds. For Liberty, the next step is the kind of late-season test that can either reinforce its standing or open the door for movement behind it, and the rest of the top tier knows every result from here on out will matter. [Read more 🡒]