As I was wrapping up the first season of EA Sports College Football 25's Dynasty mode with a championship game loss to Texas (not that that even matters), a thought popped into my head.
The team I was on did not return the following season.
It didn't really sink in for me until the following season started and I looked at the roster of players who were on the field — or, rather, who was no longer on the team.
no Tetairoa McMillan, Takalio Davis or Qualley Conley. Tyler Loup Also disappeared, Gunnar Maldanado, Montana Lemonious Craig and Treydan Stokes.
Other players were unavailable, some who weren’t with the team from the start for one reason or another, and some who returned to the team for one more season after I coached will likely not return to the real Arizona for the ’25 season.
But here's the point: The 2024 Wildcats have the potential to be very good, but no matter how many games they win, or even if they win a lot, they'll still have a lot of talented players leaving at the end of the season.
Of course, this is nothing new in college sports, where players typically stay for a maximum of five seasons — the best players don't stick around that long, and thanks to the transfer portal these days, teams are really just a one-year proposition.
But the group that will be leaving after this season will be looked at differently than most of the group that came before it, as much of it will be made up of players who were with the team for three or four seasons and gave Arizona a chance when it was at its lowest.
credit Jed Fish I am grateful to the staff who welcomed and nurtured them. Brent Brennan And thanks to the staff for keeping them on the team and making the most of what they have.
That is definitely Pressure mounts The issues facing the new staff, it doesn't necessarily mean this is the best outcome for Arizona, but from top to bottom, this is arguably the best, most star-studded roster Tucson has ever seen. Selected to the preseason All-Big 12 team Like cats, Ranked 5th They received three first-place votes in the new 16-team conference.
But ask anyone and they'll tell you that just about any team in the top five or six has a chance to come out on top.
“The sky's the limit for Arizona football and I think we can do great things,” McMillan said at the conference's media day. “A Big 12 championship is within reach and a national championship isn't that far away.”
He is serious.
But Big 12 championship or not, national championship or not, this will likely be the last time McMillan wears the block A on his helmet, along with many of the players we've watched and appreciated over the years. of Why optimism is so high.
Hopefully, the pressure to win, and the reality that for many this is their last chance, is not conveyed to the players on the field or those in the stands and on TV. A “win or lose” mentality is not a very healthy one if you want to actually enjoy sports, especially if your team isn't normally a championship contender.
If you believe that great play should be enjoyed, that wins should be recognized, that players should be appreciated, and that the season doesn't matter unless Arizona wins 10 or more games and clinches a playoff berth;
If you have a chance to win big, you should. As men's basketball has taught us, not living up to expectations really hurts. But at least in the basketball world, there's this belief that if not this year, then next year, you'll have a chance, because the pipeline of talent rarely dries up.
Football is a different animal, and success doesn't last for decades. One of the reasons last season was special is that it happened out of nowhere. Improvement was expected, but no one would have thought 10 wins and an Alamo Bowl victory were possible.
And yet it happened.
Some of last year's key players have since moved on to the professional ranks or other programs, so their success at Arizona was, in some ways, a one-off event.
Now it's up to this year's redshirt sophomores, juniors and seniors to prove it can happen again and prove that Arizona under Coach Brennan can, if not be a consistent championship contender, then at least be a solid team that wins more games than it loses most seasons.
They certainly have the talent to do that, at least this season. Arizona has no glaring weaknesses and is dominant at every key position on the field.
While early signs point to a promising future, that may not actually be the case next season.
Let's be sure to check this out.
