What would a bowl berth mean to the Arizona Wildcats?

In spite of the upsetting stretch that awaits them, the 3-3 Arizona Wildcats still have a shot at going bowling. What would it mean for them to do so?

When you’re 3-3 halfway through the college football season and need six wins to make a bowl, simple math tells us that all you need to do is win at least half of your remaining games to reach the postseason. For many teams out there, this sounds like a manageable—if not downright easy—task, but the Arizona Wildcats are not one of those teams.

To be frank, few teams have felt the wrath of the college football gods as harshly as the Wildcats have, as they have failed to earn a bowl berth since their 2017 run. To make matters worse, the stretch of mediocrity that has followed that year saw things get as ugly as them only winning one game in 2020 and 2021 combined (while it’s worth noting that they only played five games in 2020, the stat still stands to show that the struggle is nonetheless alive and well).

To be down and out for that long is always a tough break, but it was the lethality of their future that lifted their misfortune to new heights. Entering 2023, the Cats had what would be considered a brutal schedule by any program’s standards staring them dead in the eyes.

With said schedule including challenges like at Mississippi State, Washington, at USC, at Washington State, Oregon State, UCLA, at Colorado, Utah, and at rival Arizona State, it was a safe bet that the Arizona Wildcats were going to finish with a losing record for the sixth season in a row—or was it?

Despite having already lost to the Bulldogs, Huskies and Trojans, Arizona can still say it has three wins under its belt at the halfway point. Not only that, but each of those losses were much closer than most of us would have expected, as each one was decided by seven points or less (with the two on the road—Mississippi State and USC—going into overtime, no less).

Now yes, I understand that close losses are still losses, and the act of losing as much as winning is never something a team shoots for. With those facts in mind, I’m not breaking all of this down just to gauge hypothetical strength. Rather, it’s to pose a question that cuts far deeper: Assuming they keep at their current rate and squeak into the postseason, just how much would doing so mean for the Cats going forward?

A bowl berth for Arizona could lead to far more than a pat on the back

The short answer is that it would mean a lot, and that conclusion could be drawn by their aforementioned drought alone. The long answer carries much more weight, though, as it doesn’t just highlight a troubled past, but also a hopeful future.

Simply put, when considering that coming years will likely involve easier paths to victory, a drought-breaking bowl berth in 2023 could very well serve as a preamble to the revival of the Arizona Wildcats football program.

Think about it: Looking like as much of a tripwire as they do right now, the thought of the Cats scaring their upcoming foes falls well within the realm of possibility, as Wazzu is no longer unbeaten, Colorado and Arizona State are both struggling (especially the Sun Devils, to the delight of Arizona fans everywhere), and Oregon State, UCLA and Utah will all be traveling to Tucson.

Okay, so the Wildcats have the potential to make a relatively decent run out of an objectively relentless schedule, but how does that point to any further promise? After all, with them heading to the Big 12 next year, they’re going to be entering a new chapter of their history with opposition that is greatly unfamiliar.

Well, of the three losses the Cats have endured so far in 2023, none of them were against opponents they have future dates with (at least currently), as visiting MS State was the latter half of a home-and-home while Washington and USC will be calling another conference, the Big Ten, their new domain. Speaking of which, the same goes for UCLA, and even though the Cougars and Beavers won’t be joining them there, they won’t be in the Big 12, either.

Also, with how good of squads the Huskies and Trojans have been in recent memory, the argument can certainly be made that they’re better than just about everyone the next edition of the Big 12 will have to offer. Throwing in how well Arizona faced them along with whatever chances the team has of growing even more formidable makes its eventual change of scenery come off as all the more comfortable.

Again, the Arizona Wildcats can only be given so much praise, as a “respectable” 3-3 team is still a 3-3 team. However, when keeping in mind the cellar-dwelling life they’ve lived as of late, 2023 is on pace to give them the most glory they’ve gotten in a while. Especially when they’re fixing to move to a more forgiving league, that should be enough to make them look onward with a smile.