Arizona football moves up in AP poll ahead of top-25 matchup with Utah

Arizona fans have another nationally ranked game to watch in Tucson, and this one carries a much larger opportunity. The Wildcats moved up to No. 22 in the latest Associated Press poll after surviving TCU on Friday, setting up a matchup with No. 2 Utah at 5:30 p.m. Mountain time. Arizona enters the game with a 7-2 record, while Utah remains unbeaten at 9-0 and holds the highest ranking in the Big 12.

The ranking rise reflects how much Arizona’s position changed in one week. The Wildcats received 324 points from AP voters, more than doubling their 154 points from the previous poll. Arizona climbed two spots after defeating TCU 29-28 at Casino Del Sol Stadium, a game decided in the final moments when Michael Salgado-Medina made a 37-yard field goal. The result gave Arizona its second top 25 matchup against a Big 12 opponent in three weeks.

Arizona’s narrow win over TCU was not a dominant performance, but it was enough to strengthen the Wildcats’ standing with voters. The team now faces a much tougher test against a Utah squad that has won all nine of its games and is coming off a 28-20 victory over rival BYU. That result moved the Utes up one place in the AP poll and gave them their highest regular season ranking in the poll’s history.

Utah also received 12 first-place votes, placing it behind No. 1 Georgia in the national voting. Georgia collected 53 of the 70 first-place votes after a 42-7 win at Mississippi. Notre Dame received the other five first-place votes and moved to No. 3 after defeating Miami 31-24. Miami dropped from the top spot to No. 5 following its first loss, while No. 4 UCLA is 9-0 and has its highest ranking since 2001.

For Arizona, the Utah game is a chance to produce the kind of win that can reshape the rest of the season. The Wildcats lost to then-No. 13 Texas Tech in Lubbock two weeks ago, their previous top 25 game. A victory over Utah would be Arizona’s first win against a team ranked in the top two since 2014, when the Wildcats defeated No. 2 Oregon on the road. Arizona also beat No. 2 Oregon in Tucson in 2007, giving the program a recent history of succeeding against highly ranked opponents in major games.

The AP poll is only one measure of Arizona’s postseason position. The Wildcats are No. 24 in the College Football Playoff rankings, with the next edition scheduled for Tuesday at 5 p.m. The CFP rankings could give Arizona another important gauge of how voters and the selection committee view its record, schedule and remaining opportunities. A win over the unbeaten Utes would arrive before that next update and would give Arizona a significant result to present to the committee.

The matchup also reflects the strength of the Big 12 in this week’s national picture. Five conference teams are ranked in the AP poll. Utah is No. 2, Texas Tech is No. 10, BYU is No. 12, Houston is No. 14 and Arizona is No. 22. The conference’s ranked teams include both unbeaten Utah and Arizona, which is trying to build momentum after its close win over TCU and recover from the loss at Texas Tech.

Across the rest of the poll, several teams made major moves after a weekend of significant results. Tennessee jumped from No. 16 to No. 9 after beating top 10 Kentucky 34-6. Alabama moved to No. 7 and Texas rose to No. 8 after road wins. Oregon returned to the rankings at No. 18 following its victory at No. 21 Ohio State, which fell sharply after losing at home to the Ducks. Southern Methodist also returned at No. 25 after beating Virginia Tech, while Missouri and Florida dropped out.

The national rankings add to the stakes for Tucson, where Arizona now has a chance to challenge the second-ranked team in the country in front of its home crowd. Utah has not won in Tucson since 2021, according to the AP poll matchup notes, and the Utes are alone in first place in the Big 12. Arizona’s rise shows that Friday’s one-point win mattered, but the Wildcats will need another breakthrough performance to turn that progress into a defining result.