Upstart Arizona projected to face SEC foe in Las Vegas Bowl 

Tony Adame

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Upstart Arizona projected to face SEC foe in Las Vegas Bowl  image

When four teams joined the Big 12 Conference in 2023, only one ended up in a bowl game following the inaugural season with UCF. The four teams joining the Big 12 from the Pac-12 Conference in 2024 hope to do a little better. 

CBS Sports projected the entire College Football Playoff and every bowl game and put No. 21 Arizona against Kentucky in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 27. 

CBS had 10 of 16 teams from the Big 12 making it to the postseason, including No. 12 Utah and No. 18 Kansas State in the CFP.

Arizona is a dark horse to win the Big 12 and make the CFP with a slew of returning starters led by quarterback Noah Fifita, wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, offensive tackle Jonah Savaiinaea and cornerback Tacario Davis, with McMillan, Savaiinaea and Davis all projected as possible first-round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. 

Arizona went 10-3 in 203 and capped the year with a win over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl for the Wildcats’ first bowl victory since 2015.

Tony Adame

Tony Adame Photo

Tony Adame covers the Big 12 Conference for The Sporting News. He is a graduate of Southern Oregon University and has been a sports journalist for 20 years. He has won APSE Awards for breaking news, games stories and feature writing. He is also the writer and host of the Florida Society of News Editors Award-winning podcast The Sheriff: Murder, Lies & Revenge in Okaloosa County for USA Today/Gannett.