I’ve been to county fairs, I’ve been to Universal Studios in Orlando, but I’ve never been on a rollercoaster like the one that Arizona football’s been riding for the past few seasons. In 2023, the Wildcats went 10-3. In 2024, they went 4-8. Now? They’re right back to riding high after starting their 2025 run 3-0.
But, while the hot streak Arizona’s on is relatively commendable, exhibiting a diverse group of opponents and performances against them, there’s still one piece missing from the puzzle: A quality win.
Yes, Arizona’s most-recent dub was over a big name in the Kansas State Wildcats (a team that, for some, entered this season with playoff hopes), yet with how poorly 2025 has treated those Wildcats so far, I’d say we’ve learned enough about them to agree that they don’t tip the scale as much as we would have expected when they started the season as the highest ranked team in the Big 12.
It’s not the end of the world though, as a high-caliber opponent that has maintained its image up to this point makes for the very next challenge on Arizona’s schedule, and that’s Iowa State in Ames.
The Cyclones are looking just fine and dandy after downing both K-State and Iowa en route to a 4-0 record, a tear good enough to have placed them in the top 15 today. It also doesn’t hurt that they—just like Arizona—are coming off a well-deserved bye week, meaning they’ll enter the game not only proven, but all the better rested.
If the Wildcats overcome an adversary of those proportions, they will have confirmed that their perfect record is no fluke, and that they should be taken seriously as a contender in the Big 12 Conference going forward. Sooooo yeah, there’s a lot riding on this one.
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