Will Arizona Wildcats go winless in the 2022 season?

With an improving Pac-12 South and tough out-of-conference slate, the Arizona Wildcats don’t have much to look forward to for next season. Will they go 0-12?

The 2021-22 college football season was not a particularly pleasant one for the Arizona Wildcats football team. Finishing with an upsetting record of 1-11, they were officially the worst Power 5 team in America. And their one win? At home, over a 5-7 California squad, with the final score being 10-3.

And the cloudy skies hanging over the mediocre program don’t appear to be lightening anytime soon, as their schedule for this next run is no easier than last year’s.

Said schedule includes road games against San Diego State, Washington, Utah (the defending Pac-12 Champ), and UCLA. All but one of those powers donned eight or more wins last season. The only exception is Washington, which still manages to possess Husky Stadium–an atmosphere widely regarded as one of the toughest in the country.

It’s not like there’s much more to say about the home games, though. Arizona football hosts Colorado, Oregon, USC, Washington State, and Arizona State in league play alone. And while none of those teams are exactly perfect right now, they’re all still noticeably better than the Wildcats.

Lastly, the out-of-conference stretch that opens the season for Arizona football is not easy by most standards, let alone its own. After visiting the SDSU Aztecs, the Cats will have to host both Mississippi State and North Dakota State.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs are a bowl squad that plays in the West half of the SEC, a division that is usually considered the toughest in college football. Not only that, but their current head coach, Mike Leach, is an offensive genius who is familiar with Arizona football through his Washington State days. Witnessing a loss for Leach and his Bulldogs in that one feels almost impossible.

All that leaves before the conference slate is the North Dakota State Bison, who are the “smallest” of the three teams. But that should not comfort the Wildcats even remotely, as last season saw the Bison grab the FCS title once again, while Arizona somehow found a way to lose to Northern Arizona at home.

There does appear to be one lit candle in the pit of darkness, though, and that is the fact that the Wildcats are in 3rd place in Pac-12 recruiting for 2022. But while that may help them some further on down the road, it most likely won’t be nearly enough to help them this Fall.

Going winless in college football is relatively rare, as it requires an especially-potent combination of mediocrity and strength of schedule to occur. However, it is quite difficult to argue against the Arizona Wildcats having such a combination in store for them next season, and that is why they will go 0-12 in 2022.