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Oct 18, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars defensive back Marc Stampley II (22) applies pressure to Arizona Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita (1) during the first quarter at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Evaluating Arizona's Bowl Game Hopes After Bye-Week

Originally posted on Arizona Wildcats on SI
By Troy Hutchison | Last updated Oct 29, 2025 9:00 AM ET

Arizona wanted to get back on the right track after an underwhelming first season under Brent Brennan where the team finished 4-8 and missed a bowl game despite preseason high expectations.

Well, after changes were made to the coaching staff and the roster, Brennan seems to have the Wildcats moving in the right direction with the team starting the year with 3-straight impressive wins over Hawaii, Weber State and Kansas State.

However, the Wildcats have gone 1-3 in their last four games with losses to Iowa State, BYU and most recently Houston. In the last two losses, Arizona has lost by a combined nine points.

Arizona (4-3, 1-3) was able to get things going early by striking quickly as quarterback Noah Fifita hit receiver Tre Spivey for a 70-yard touchdown pass, which seemed to set the tone early for the offense.

Despite the fast start, Arizona found itself trailing 21-14 to Houston (6-1-,3-1) at the half thanks to defensive struggles in the second quarter. And once again, the Wildcats lost the middle eight of the game, which resulted in a Cougars 31-28 win over the Wildcats.

Still, Arizona is in a solid position to make a bowl game with the Wildcats just needing two wins in the last six games to lock up the bowl berth.

So, we at Arizona Wildcats On SI took a look around the national landscape to see where outlets have the Wildcats going when looking at the bowl predictions.

National Bowl Projections

CBS Sports: Rate Bowl | Arizona vs. Iowa (Dec. 26)

College Football News: Holiday Bowl | Arizona vs. Duke (Jan. 2)

ESPN No. 1: New Mexico Bowl | Arizona vs. UNLV (Dec. 17)

ESPN No. 2: Sun Bowl | Arizona vs. SMU (Dec. 31)

On SI: Sun Bowl | Arizona vs. SMU (Dec. 31)

USA Today: Sun Bowl | Arizona vs. NC State (Dec. 31)

Similarly to the BYU game, Arizona’s defense struggled against the run as Houston quarterback Conner Weigman sliced and diced the middle of the defense by racking 98 yards on 14 carries. Meanwhile as a team, the Cougars rushed for 232 yards for the game.

Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

The rushing attack for Houston really opened things up in the secondary against Arizona as the Cougars totaled 164 yards through the air and racked up three passing touchdowns.

Just two weeks ago, the Wildcats’ defense hadn’t given up a passing touchdown all season. Now, Arizona has allowed four in two games.

Near the start of the fourth quarter, Arizona was able to cut into the lead with a rushing score from Spivey, which sparked the offense.

After getting a key stop with a missed 48-yard field goal by Houston, Arizona’s offense methodically moved the ball down field and tied the game up on a rushing touchdown from running back Kedrick Reescano.

Although the Wildcats battled back in the fourth quarter to tie the game, Houston got the ball back with under five minutes left and relied on its running game to set up the game-winning 41-yard field goal against Arizona.

It wasn’t just Weigman that gashed the Wildcats’ defense on the ground, Houston running back Dean Connors racked up 100 yards on 20 carries and really seemed to wear down Danny Gonzales’ defense.

Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Arizona gave itself a chance to come up with a late-game stop to get the ball back to the offense, but failed to roundup Weigman, who converted a 3rd and 2 situation.

Still, Arizona is in position to make a bowl game and we at Arizona Wildcats On SI have come up with our own prediction for the Wildcats bowl berth.

Bowl Prediction

Arizona Wildcats On SI: Sun Bowl | Arizona vs. NC State (Dec. 13)

Reason

Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

When you look at the Wildcats as a whole, Arizona has improved drastically from the first year under Brennan but still has room to grow on both sides of the ball. Now, getting out to the fast 3-0 start will go a long way for UA as it tries to get to that magic number of six to become bowl eligible.

At the beginning of the season, we predicted Arizona winning seven games going 7-5 during the regular season. That is still where we stand today and have the Wildcats getting to that 7-win mark.