Arizona enters the final three weeks of the 2024 season needing to win every remaining game in order to make a bowl and salvage an otherwise lost year. The first step in that journey comes Friday night against the Houston Cougars.
Houston (4-5, 3-3 Big 12) has won two in a row and three of four since a 1-4 start, while Arizona (3-6, 1-5) has dropped five straight games.
How will the UA do in this weeknight tilt? Our staff makes its predictions.
Kim Doss — Houston wins 24-17
The Cougars have played three ranked teams this season. They narrowly lost to Oklahoma by the score of 16-12. They were blown out by Iowa State 20-0. They just beat Kansas State 24-19 last week. Was last week a one-off or an example of things to come?
UH hasn’t been a great offensive team. It averages 17 points per game against Big 12 opponents and just over 15 against all opponents this season. While the Wildcats have been slightly better than that this year, the Cougars have shown some improvement of late that Arizona has not.
The only hope the Wildcats have is that they know a loss ends any chance at a bowl game. Can they use that as motivation to keep the dream alive? It’s unlikely.
Devin Homer — Houston wins 31-21
The upside for Arizona is the last time they came off a bye UA went and won on the road in Utah. The problem is since that win, Arizona has lost its last five games.
Houston has struggled on offense this year, ranked last in points-per-game (15.2) in the Big 12 but Arizona hasn’t been much better in the conference ranked one spot ahead of Houston (22.1). The Cougars could get its offense going against the Wildcats who have given up the third most yards per-game in the conference (394.8).
Arizona needs to win all three of its remaining games to get to six wins and become bowl eligible.
Ezra Amacher — Houston wins 28-24
Arizona has a chance to preserve its bowl eligibility with a win over the Cougars. Unfortunately I don’t see it happening. Houston will be well-rested and flying high off its win over Kansas State two weeks ago. Quarterback Zeon Chriss went a perfect 11-11 through the air in that game and had another 75 yards on the ground. Chriss’ dual threat ability will spell trouble for Arizona’s depleted defensive unit. I would like to think the Wildcats offense gives the team a chance to compete through four quarters but after the UCF disaster, I’m not optimistic.
Adam Green — Houston wins 34-20
On paper this is a game that should be winnable for Arizona. Then again, that was the case for the games against both Texas Tech and West Virginia, and we all know how those turned out.
At some point we have to come to grips with the fact that this Arizona team isn’t particularly good. There are some good players, but not enough of them to make up for whatever shortcomings are present in the coaching and game plans.
Coming off the bye week we should see Arizona’s best performance, assuming the players haven’t quit on their coaches or this season. But when it comes to picking a win, especially over a team with a mobile QB, well, can’t do that.
Juan Serrano — Houston wins 24-14
Arizona has its back against the wall for the rest of the season, but it is coming off a bye week. The last time the Wildcats came off of a bye week they went on the road and beat, at the time, a top ten Utah team. Things have changed drastically for them since then and they now face a Houston team that has found a bit of a groove. Coming off a win against Kansas State, the Cougars are looking to ride the momentum to keep a bowl berth at arms reach.
For Arizona to have a chance, it needs to win the turnover battle. For players like Tacario Davis, this means bringing in interceptions when the opportunity is given. On the flip side, Noah Fifita cannot give the ball away, which he has not done in two weeks. There is going to be a lot of fight from this team on Friday, but I think Houston’s ability to hold their opponents to under 20 points in three out of their last four games helps given them the edge. Houston leaves Tucson with a win, and they will be one win away from a bowl berth.
Brian J. Pedersen — Arizona wins 20-16
As each loss mounted, and it was clear that the 2024 Wildcats were nowhere near as good as expected, this Friday night visit from a rebuilding Houston with a first-year coach was penciled in as a sure win. It didn’t matter how bad Arizona had looked, this one was a given, right?
Then the UA got steamrolled at UCF, while Houston knocked off a ranked team (Kansas State) that easily beat Arizona back in September, and suddenly the most winnable game left on the schedule also looked like a tough task. And it still is, though not as much as it would have been if it wasn’t coming after a bye.
Arizona’s two best performances this season have come with extra time to prepare for the opponent. It scored 61 points in the season opener against New Mexico and came out of the first bye with a stellar effort to win at Utah. Let’s make it 3 for 3.