On the eve of the kickoff of the 2016 college football season, Zona Zealots takes a look at which bowl games national publications are projecting or not for Arizona Football.
While the AFR Celebration Bowl in the Georgia Dome won’t kick off until noon on December 17th, it is never too early to speculate where a team will end up spending bowl season.
Whether bowl season is eventually spent on a couch or at Raymond James Stadium on January 9th, 2017 for the National Championship, most teams will likely find themselves in a bowl game as college football recently expanded to an unprecedented 41 bowl games, requiring 80 teams to participate.
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For a rebuilding Arizona Wildcats football program, finishing in the top 80 of the 128 NCAA Division I-A programs shouldn’t be too tough of a task to ask for, especially considering some 5-7 football teams will be invited to bowl festivities.
Before a single snap of 2016 Wildcats football, let’s take a look at which bowl games several reputable national publications are currently projecting for Arizona.
Next: 247 Sports
Motel 6 Cactus Bowl (Big 12 sixth vs. Pac-12 seventh): Texas Longhorns vs. Arizona Wildcats
Where: Chase Field—Phoenix, AZ
When: December 27th, 2016
Starting with 247 Sports, writer Brad Crawford picked the Wildcats to stay in the state of Arizona by playing in the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl, at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Their projected opponent would be the Texas Longhorns, one of college football’s blue-blooded programs that recently hasn’t enjoyed the success it was once accustomed. That being said, Texas continually boasts some of the best-recruiting classes in the nation as well as a constant bevy of future NFL draft picks.
If the Cats do indeed play in the 2016 Cactus Bowl against the Longhorns, Arizona fans won’t have to travel far to support the home team in the friendly confines of an air-conditioned baseball park.
Next: CBS Sports
Camping World Independence Bowl (ACC vs. SEC): Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. Arizona Wildcats
Where: Independence Stadium—Shreveport, LA
When: December 26th, 2016
The sportswriters at CBS Sports are projecting that the Wildcats will travel back to Shreveport, LA for the Camping World Independence Bowl. Three seasons ago, the Cats, led by BJ Denker and Ka’Deem Carey, played in the Independence Bowl and routed the Andre Williams-led Boston College Eagles by a score of 42-19.
The CBS projection has Arizona going up against another formidable ground game in Georgia Tech’s triple-option rushing attack. Since the Independence Bowl is usually an ACC-SEC affair, the Cats would once again serve as a replacement team for the SEC.
Next: Athlon Sports
No Bowl…
Where: Chips Bowl—Tucson, AZ
When: All-Bowl Season
The college football experts at Athlon Sports seemed to have forgotten about the Wildcats, picking eight Pac-12 teams to go bowling without an Arizona invite to the bowl season party. With the Cats exclusion, they picked the Sun Devils to play in the Independence Bowl.
Finishing ninth in the Pac-12 would be a huge disappointment for Rich Rod and his team, but if the Pac-12 can generate eight teams to represent the conference, It’s still something to be ultimately proud of.
Furthermore, Athlon Sports does not have a Pac-12 team in the college football playoff. Instead, they project the Washington Huskies to win the Pac-12 North, ultimately win the conference trophy and play in the Rose Bowl.
Next: Bleacher Report
Motel 6 Cactus Bowl (Big 12 sixth vs Pac-12 seventh): Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Arizona Wildcats
Where: Chase Field—Phoenix, AZ
When: December 27th, 2016
Once more, sportswriters project that the Cats will stay in the state of Arizona for the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl. This time, the college football crew at Bleacher Report pick the Minnesota Golden Gophers to replace the Big 12 representative and serve as Arizona’s opponent.
Bleacher Report’s Brian Pedersen went a step further by favoring Rich Rod’s spread-option and hurry-up offense to run past the Gophers on the baseball diamond.
Kudos to Bleacher report.
Next: Sporting News
No Bowl… Again.
Where: Rich Rod’s Couch—Tucson, AZ
When: All-Bowl Season
This time around, Bill Bender from the Sporting News has excluded Arizona while picking just seven Pac-12 teams to make it to bowl season.
The main difference with the previous bowl exclusion is that Bender does not have either Arizona school making a bowl. This gives Rich Rod and Todd Graham a whole month to rethink what likely would have been a disappointing season.
The projection would probably mean that the Territorial Cup would serve as a pride/grudge match with little on the line, which would be a massive regression of what the game has recently come to mean. That said if the winner of the Territorial Cup ends up making it into a Bowl, then it would make the game that much more important.
Next: SB Nation
Motel 6 Cactus Bowl (Big 12 sixth vs. Pac-12 seventh): Baylor Bears vs. Arizona Wildcats
Where: Chase Field—Phoenix, AZ
When: December 27th, 2016
With the last projection on our list, Jason Kirk of SB Nation keeps the Cats in Arizona, except this time they are pitted against the Baylor Bears.
While Baylor has been an incredibly successful college football program as of late, the University recently dismissed head coach Art Briles following a scandal involving the football program. Although new head coach Jim Grobe may not feature the same offensive mindset for the Bears, Baylor still boasts a potent offense that could lead to a high-scoring affair against Arizona at Chase Field.
Next: Reality Check
In Summary
The best-projected bowl arguably for Arizona is the Independence Bowl while some media outlets tab the Cats as a bowl season exclusion. Considering the 80 team format, making the final four would be extremely hard to meet. Especially because the Pac-12 is an up for grabs conference to win. Failing to make a bowl game would make for an extremely disappointing season of Arizona Wildcats football.
Next: Arizona Football: Top 5 Gut-wrenching losses
That being said, not a single snap has been played in the 2016 college football season. This means that while it is important to keep expectations in perspective, the entire season of Wildcats football has to be written in the books. In the meantime, we are rooting hard for Arizona Wildcats football at Zona Zealots!
Bring on BYU and BearDown Arizona Football!