Preview magazine season is here as we roll into the back half of June, and college football fans begin to set their eyes on the things to come in the year ahead.
Along with Phil Steele and Lindy’s, Athlon Sports has made a name for itself as one of the giants in the preview magazine business, cementing itself as a mainstay on grocery store shelves across the nation.
This magazine, in particular, has long had a segment during this part of the season when they ask coaches anonymously about the other schools in their league.
It’s here where we’ll take a look at what some of the Big 12’s coaches have to say about the Arizona Wildcats.
In its first year in the conference, Arizona is hoping that it retained enough pieces from a 10-3 season a year ago to compete right away in the Big 12. Despite the loss of head coach Jedd Fisch, the Wildcats bring back a wealth of talented youth for their inaugural season here, and at least one coach thinks they might be being overlooked.
“It’s hard to think of a better roster for a first-year, first-time P4 head coach,” one Big 12 coach told Athlon Sports. “Brent [Brennan] is a proven winner at a program [San José State] where it’s really hard to sustain winning. There’s a lot of negative talk about Arizona with the athletic department’s financial issues, and that’s certainly something you want to see fixed if you’re the new staff, but this is a good team Day 1 for these coaches…
“They could really shock some people, and they’re definitely a sleeper team to look out for.”
You can find Arizona with +1200 odds to win the Big 12 in 2024, placing them behind five other schools in the list of favorites and well off the mark of teams like K-State (+350) and Utah (+350). However, it does feel like Vegas is overlooking them, even if they are breaking in a new head coach.
Bringing back a freshman All-American duo in Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan on offense alone is going to give Arizona enough firepower to contend with most teams in the league. Add to that the return of players like Tacario Davis, Justin Flowe, Jacob Manu, and Gunner Maldonado, and you have a balanced team that might be more of a contender than most people give them credit for.
The Wildcats will open up their 2024 season against New Mexico on Saturday, August 31 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.
