CBS Sports names Arizona 1 of 10 most disappointing teams nationally

Arizona was ranked 21st in both preseason polls. That was the highest preseason ranking for Arizona since starting the 1999 season ranked fourth nationally. After a 22-10 win over Northern Arizona in week two, Arizona fell out of the polls. With losses in four of their last five games, Arizona has tumbled out of the national consciousness.

With hopes of making the College Football Playoff, the shift for Arizona is now to win three of its past four games and qualify for a bowl game. The precipitous collapse has been surprising. Consecutive blowout losses have caused Arizona to hit its lowest point since a four-game losing streak in 2022.

Four of those losses were to ranked teams. Only two of the four teams Arizona has lost to in 2024 are ranked. Arizona also had a win over then-10th-ranked Utah. Utah has a three-game losing streak that began with the loss to Arizona entering its week nine game at Houston on Saturday.

Almost everything that could wrong during the last six games has. Arizona has lost two starters on offense and three on defense for the remainder of the season. In September the offense and defense did not play well in the same game. During the losses to BYU and Colorado, Arizona suffered a complete team collapse.

"Arizona (3-4)
Preseason AP ranking: No. 21- With super duo Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan coming back after a 10-3 season, the Arizona Wildcats were a popular pick to win their first year in the Big 12. The transition to first-year head coach Brent Brennan, though has been bumpy, magnified in a 34-7 loss to Colorado last weekend. Brennan quickly yanked play-calling duties away from offensive coordinator Dino Babers, but what was supposed to be a high-powered offense still looks out of sync. All the hope and goodwill Arizona had riding into this season has quickly evaporated."

- John Talty, CBS Sports

Brennan stated last month there was a plan throughout the offseason for Babers to eventually cede playcalling duties for a coach who emerged as ready to do that. Tight ends coach Todd Adkins has called plays over the last four games. Arizona has averaged 17.75 points per and 353.3 yards with Adkins as the play caller.

Arizona has regressed in points scored in each game with Adkins as the playcaller. Arizona beat Utah 23-10 in Adkins' first game as a play caller, then lost 28-22 to Texas Tech, 41-19 at BYU and 34-7 to Colorado. The Arizona offense has also turned the ball over deep in its own territory putting the defense in a difficult position.

The excitement for Arizona entering the 2024 season might have been too centered around the return of Fifita and McMillan. Arizona lost over 30 scholarship players off of its 2023 roster. That included several key players on the 2023 team. The biggest loss was wide receiver Jacob Cowing who had 90 receptions for 848 yards and 13 TDs in 2023.

The last sentence from Talty is the most telling. Brennan has lost all his hope and goodwill riding into the season. Fisch was labeled as a missionary and a traitor when he left for Washington. Now Arizona fans criticize Fisch believing he had a better opportunity to win in 2023 with the Wildcats and wish he was still in Tucson.

Goodwill from a fan base is fleeting. Arizona has five games to turn this season around. Brennan will return next season with another year to build the program. In retrospect with everything Arizona lost after the 2023 season, this year was a bigger rebuild than most people realized.