TUCSON — Arizona beat TCU on Saturday but still slid one spot, to No. 23, in Tuesday’s updated College Football Playoff rankings, Arizona Sports reported.
The Wildcats trailed TCU by eight points in the final two minutes, scored a touchdown and missed the 2-point try, then recovered a pooch onside kick that went through the hands of a TCU player to set up the game-winning field goal. It was a bounce-back win after a loss at Texas Tech the week before.
Arizona is the fifth of six Big 12 teams in the rankings, behind No. 2 Utah, No. 10 BYU, No. 12 Texas Tech and No. 14 Houston and ahead of No. 25 Oklahoma State, according to the report.
If the season ended now, the Big 12 would send two teams to the 12-team playoff, with Texas Tech bumped by the top Group of 6 team, No. 24 Boise State.
That makes Saturday’s game in Tucson pivotal. Undefeated Utah clinches a spot in the Big 12 title game with a win, while the two-loss Wildcats would boost their playoff hopes considerably with an upset. Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff pregame show is headed to Tucson for the matchup.
This is the final season of the 12-team format. The playoff expands to 24 teams next season; under that format, Arizona’s No. 23 ranking would currently put the Wildcats in the field, Arizona Sports noted.
After Utah, Arizona plays at Kansas State on Nov. 21 and hosts Arizona State in the Territorial Cup on Nov. 28.
The final playoff bracket will be revealed Dec. 6, the day after conference championship games.
Sources: Arizona Sports. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: Msr69er / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
