The consensus Arizona bowl projections after the win over Oklahoma State on Saturday changed only slightly. The Sun Bowl in El Paso remains the consensus projection for Arizona with SMU as the most frequently predicted opponent.
Athlon Sports, CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated project Arizona to play SMU in the Sun Bowl. Mark Schlachbach of ESPN projects Arizona in the Sun Bowl against Clemson. Kyle Bonagura of ESPN projects Arizona to play UNLV in the L.A. Bowl.
The last projection is a new one with College Football News projecting Arizona to play Tulane in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana. Arizona beat Boston College 42-19 in the 2013 Independence Bowl in their only appearance.
Arizona split a two-game series with SMU in 1935 and 1938, with the home team winning each game. Arizona won all three of its games against UNLV in 2001, 2013 and 2014. Clemson and Tulane have never been opponents of Arizona.
Media Outlet | Bowl | Opponent | Date | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Athlon Sports | Sun Bowl | SMU | December 31 | El Paso |
Kyle Bonagura-ESPN | L.A. Bowl | UNLV | December 13 | Sofi Stadium |
Mark Schlabach-ESPN | Sun Bowl | Clemson | December 31 | El Paso |
CBS Sports | Sun Bowl | SMU | December 31 | El Paso |
College Football News | Independence | Tulane | December 27 | Shreveport, LA |
Sports Illustrated | Sun Bowl | SMU | December 31 | El Paso |
The win over Oklahoma State on Saturday improved Arizona to 4-1. Arizona needs two wins in its final seven regular-season games to become bowl eligible. Arizona is currently 1-1 in the Big XII, which puts the Wildcats in eighth place in the conference, one game behind Arizona State, BYU, Cincinnati and Texas Tech.
Arizona has appeared in the Sun Bowl three times with no wins, two losses and one tie. The L.A. Bowl will be held for the fifth time during the 2025 postseason and has never featured Arizona. The last postseason appearance for Arizona was a 38-24 win over Oklahoma in the 2023 Alamo Bowl.
The 2023 Alamo Bowl was the only postseason appearance for Arizona since 2017. Earning a bowl berth would be a positive step for Arizona after winning four games with eight losses in its inaugural season under Brent Brennan in 2024.