Arizona is 68th in the CBS Sports ranking of all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision teams entering the 2025 season. Only six power conference teams and one in the Big XII are ranked below Arizona entering the 2025 season.
Central Florida, 74th in the CBS Sports Rankings, is the only Big XII team ranked below Arizona. Mississippi State, who is 70th, Northwestern, Wake Forest and Stanford, who are 77th through 79th and Purdue, who is 92nd, are the only Power Conference teams ranked below Arizona.
Arizona has fallen significantly after beginning the 2024 season ranked 21st in the Associated Press Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Polls. CBS Sports partner site 247Sports picked Arizona last in the Big XII in a poll among their beat writers in the conference.
Arizona finished 80th in the final 2024 ESPN Football Power Index. The 2025 FPI projects Arizona 69th. Houston is 75th in the 2025 FPI as the only Big XII team ranked below Arizona. Arizona is projected to have 4.9 wins and 7.1 losses in the 2025 season by the FPI.
Hit 'em hard let 'em know who's who 🐻🔽 pic.twitter.com/JPw4DgDDCz
— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) August 6, 2025
Arizona State is 11th as the highest-ranked team in the CBS Sports 136 on the 2025 Arizona schedule. Kansas State is 20th, Iowa State 21st and BYU 23rd as the other top 25 teams in the CBS Sports rankings on the 2025 Arizona schedule. Texas Tech at 24th is the other Big XII team in the top 25.
With a roster that brought in 28 players and 36 who transferred out, Arizona has a significantly different team than it did in 2024. Quarterback Noah Fifita is the one constant, entering his third season as the starter with three transfer WRs and a new offensive coordinator to work with in 2025.
After failing under the weight of expectations in 2024, Arizona has a chance for a redemptive 2025 season. With only six power conference teams ranked below them, Arizona cannot fall much further among the programs at the highest level of college football.
The FPI projects Arizona with a 37.7 percent chance to earn a bowl berth in 2025. Arizona needs to outperform the FPI projection by 1.1 wins to earn a bowl berth. Playing in the postseason in 2025 would be a major improvement for Arizona, even if that is only two more wins than 2024.