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Arizona Wildcats Still Considered Playoff Contenders Under New Staff

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Arizona Wildcats Still Considered Playoff Contenders Under New Staff


The Arizona Wildcats are one of the hardest teams to project in the country.

They have a couple of the best returning players on offense, but have undergone a coaching overhaul since last season.

That was reflected when David Hale of ESPN made his tier list, ranking each team in college football. The Wildcats found themselves in the fourth tier, which was deemed “a playoff berth or 7-5 is equally possible.”

While sitting in tier four might not sound too great on the surface, this is the list of teams joining them with that designation:

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A few years ago, being in the conversation with those teams would be considered a major step forward for the program.

When Arizona hired San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan following Jedd Fisch’s departure for Washington, that created some question marks about how the Wildcats might look in the future. While Brenan didn’t turn the Spartans into a national powerhouse, he did have them consistently hovering above bowl eligibility, which was not the case before he took over there.

Upon his hiring at Arizona, he then brought in Dino Babers, fresh off a stint as head coach with the Syracuse Orange, to run his offense. Duane Akina was promoted from analyst to defensive coordinator this past offseason, so he’s at least been around the program before.

Despite all the turnaround, the stars stayed put with the Wildcats, which is where most of the excitement around the program lies.

Though the coaching staff isn’t bad, it doesn’t scream playoff contender on its own.

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Quarterback Noah Fifita is one of the top returning passers in the country. He had 2,869 yards with 25 touchdowns and six interceptions through the air last season.

His top target at wide receiver, Tetairoa McMillan, is also back with the team. He’s widely considered one of the best players in the country at 6-foot-5 and still being a downfield threat.

Jacob Cowing, a 90-catch receiver, is gone to the NFL. That’s a lot of production that they’re going to need to replace.

The good news is that the running back room should be as good as it’s ever been with two solid transfers in Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Quali Conley.

The defense, which is undergoing a lot of changes on it’s own, should be good. The fate of this team, whether it be playoffs or bust, lies on the shoulders of the offense.

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Arizona Cardinals vs Denver Broncos NFL game today: Time, channel, how to watch

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Arizona Cardinals vs Denver Broncos NFL game today: Time, channel, how to watch


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The Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos play Sunday, Aug. 25, in an NFL Week 3 preseason game, the final preseason game for both teams.

Here’s a look at the time, channel and broadcast information for the preseason game, which will be played at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.

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The Broncos are a 3.5-point favorite over the Cardinals in the game, according to odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook.

Denver is -190 on the moneyline, while Arizona is +155.

The over/under (point total) is set at 36.5 points.

The Broncos are coming off an 8-9 regular season in 2023.

The Cardinals went 4-13 last season.

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Watch Cardinals vs Broncos live on FUBO (free trial)

Here’s how to watch the Cardinals-Broncos game, including time, TV schedule and streaming information:

What channel is Arizona Cardinals vs Denver Broncos game on today? Time, TV schedule

TV channel: CBS

Start time: 1:30 p.m. MST (Arizona), 2:30 p.m. MDT (Colorado)

‘A joke’: Kyler Murray’s Madden NFL 25 video game rating outrages Arizona Cardinals fans

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How to watch Arizona Cardinals vs Denver Broncos on livestream

Streaming options for the game include Paramount+, CBS’s subscription streaming service, and FUBO, which offers a free trial.

Arizona Cardinals depth chart: How roster stacks up for game vs Denver Broncos Sunday

Arizona Cardinals schedule 2024

  • Preseason Week 1: Saints 16, Cardinals 14
  • Preseason Week 2: Colts 21, Cardinals 13
  • Preseason Week 3: At Denver Broncos, Sunday, Aug. 25, 1:30 p.m., CBS
  • NFL Week 1: At Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Sept. 8, CBS, 10 a.m.
  • NFL Week 2: Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Sept. 15, FOX, 1:05 p.m.
  • NFL Week 3: Detroit Lions, Sunday, Sept. 22, FOX, 1:25 p.m.
  • NFL Week 4: Washington Commanders, Sunday, Sept. 29, FOX, 1:05 p.m.
  • NFL Week 5: At San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, Oct. 6, FOX, 1:05 p.m.
  • NFL Week 6: At Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Oct. 13, FOX, 10 a.m.
  • NFL Week 7: Los Angeles Chargers, Monday, Oct. 21, ESPN+, 6 p.m.
  • NFL Week 8: At Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Oct. 27, FOX, 10 a.m.
  • NFL Week 9: Chicago Bears, Sunday, Nov. 3, CBS, 2:05 p.m.
  • NFL Week 10: New York Jets, Sunday, Nov. 10, CBS, 2:25 p.m.
  • NFL Week 11: BYE
  • NFL Week 12: At Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Nov. 24, FOX, 2:25 p.m.
  • NFL Week 13: At Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Dec. 1, FOX, 11 a.m.
  • NFL Week 14: Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Dec. 8, CBS, 2:05 p.m.
  • NFL Week 15: New England Patriots, Sunday, Dec. 15, CBS, 2:25 p.m.
  • NFL Week 16: At Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Dec. 22, FOX, 1 p.m.
  • NFL Week 17: At Los Angeles Rams, Saturday, Dec. 28 or Sunday, Dec. 29, TBD, TBD
  • NFL Week 18: San Francisco 49ers, Saturday, Jan. 4 or Sunday, Jan 5, TBD, TBD

How to buy Arizona Cardinals tickets: See prices for games on 2024 schedule

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Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today.





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Arizona man says remains of late sister now missing after shipping through USPS

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Arizona man says remains of late sister now missing after shipping through USPS


QUEEN CREEK, AZ (AZFamily) — A Valley man who lost his sister earlier this year now says her remains are also lost after he shipped them through the United States Postal Service.

At the end of April, Bob Severson mailed out packages with precious items, including his sister Joie Severson’s remains.

One of the packages was sent to their nephew, one to their sister, and the last to a man in northern Wisconsin with whom his sister had recently reconnected.

“We decided while she was still living that Gordy’s going to have 40 acres up there, and he’s going to be buried on his land, and she’s going to be buried with him,” said Bob.

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A week and a half later, after Bob had mailed out the packages, he said Gordy had contacted him, saying he had never received Joie’s remains.

“Three packages, two of them made it, and the most important one didn’t,” said Bob.

A USPS spokesperson says an initial review suggests the urn separated from the box at some point from the initial drop-off in Arizona to the final destination in Wisconsin.

“I waited until I had a heavy-duty box to mail that, and I knew it was a sturdy box. I tapped it up good, and you know I mailed it out,” said Bob.

USPS has started a search for the urn and will continue to search to reunite the urn with the family.

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“It seems like a total disregard for people that are sending whatever it might be,” says Bob. “It just baffles me.”

Now, nearly four months after the urn was last seen, Bob is trying to hold out hope his sister’s remains will be found.

“I mean, I got to have some hope, and you know I’ve got to hold on to that,” he said.

USPS says there is a special process for shipping cremated remains, which includes ensuring the packaging is highly visible and that the remains are sent with expedited services.

Learn more about USPS recommendations on shipping cremated remains here.

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Quick start at North Carolina could define the season for Arizona soccer

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Quick start at North Carolina could define the season for Arizona soccer


Arizona soccer has gotten out of the gates quickly this season, scoring in the first 11 minutes of two matches on the way to a 3-0 record. When the Wildcats take on No. 5 North Carolina on Sunday morning, they’ll need to be ready early in more ways than one.

UA travels across the country to take on the Tar Heels. The game will kick off at noon as far as UNC is concerned, but that’s 9 a.m. back home for the Wildcats. Arizona head coach Becca Moros was thinking about preparing her players for that trip in more ways than one just minutes after defeating NAU last Thursday evening.

“Number one thing for us right now is recovery,” Moros said. “We have a coast-to-coast travel trip, so there’s some dehydration issues, you get stiff on planes, different things like that. So that’s going to be top priority for us in preparing for that game. But you know the calmness at times that comes over us and we can just play the simple pass, play consistently well, I think those are things that are going to serve us really well against UNC, which is going to have a lot of athleticism, powerful players in the 1-v-1s, be very efficient with their passing and getting it in quickly. So there’s good quality there all across their lineup. So I think that calmness and ability to play our game is hopefully going to come through against them, as well.”

Falling into an early hole is not a good strategy when facing what Moros has called “the most iconic program in college soccer.” The Tar Heels finished last season No. 6 in the RPI and are also headed into the match with a 3-0 record.

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That’s not to say that there aren’t things for UNC to overcome. The players found out less than a week before their first match that legendary Tar Heels head coach Anson Dorrance was retiring effective immediately. His associate head coach, Damon Nahas, took over as the interim for the season. Moros doesn’t think that will be any sort of stumbling block.

“Damon’s been lockstep with Anson for years,” Moros said. “So I would expect things to be really smooth transition as far as coaching changes go. I think that’s probably about as smooth a transition as you could get. So I’m sure the players are right there behind Damon, and they’ve already been working with Damon. They were partly recruited by Damon, and he’s very embedded there. And I’m sure Anson did that deliberately and has his communication and motivational speeches for the players in that transition…he’s probably right there supporting the team and all that. I know that’s a huge strength from Anson. So I’m sure he wants to set Damon up for success, and he wants to see his legacy continue with Carolina being successful at every stage of the game.”

The Tar Heels have been pushed in all three of their matches. Each win came by one goal. It started with a 2-1 victory at Denver, then a 3-2 win at Colorado. UNC is coming off a 4-3 victory over No. 16 Georgia in its home opener.

Arizona has been more dominant in its early wins. The Wildcats have yet to concede a goal and have outscored their opponents 11-0, but they have only faced one team that finished in the top 100 of last year’s RPI. That was GCU, which ended at No. 80 last season. Arizona got the 1-0 win on the road against the Lopes.

The game itself is as important as the result, at least for Arizona. Gone are the days of playing Stanford, UCLA, and USC on the way to a solid RPI propped up by a strong conference. The Wildcats now play in the Big 12, where more than half the teams finished outside the top 100 last year and two were outside the top 200. Arizona does not get a boost from playing Texas Tech this year, which was one of two Big 12 teams to finish in the top 11 of the RPI.

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A good result could help Arizona recover from an RPI hit that may be even worse than expected. Several Big 12 teams have started out shaky in nonconference play.

Only the Wildcats and Oklahoma State are 3-0 at this point, although Cincinnati and TCU are both 2-0. Both the Cowgirls and the Horned Frogs jumped into the rankings this week. The concerns are with the other teams.

Big 12 teams have already played to five losses and eight draws. Some of those disappointing results come against teams like Northern Arizona, Little Rock, Creighton, and Drake. All of those teams were outside the top 100 last season.

If Arizona wants to improve on the No. 69 RPI that kept it out of last year’s tournament, playing against teams like UNC before conference is important. Getting a positive result could set the Wildcats on the path toward something special in their first year in a new league.

A good showing in Chapel Hill could also show the Big 12 coaches that they greatly underestimated Arizona when they voted them in a tie for 10th in the preseason poll. Several teams that were picked above the Wildcats are among those who have struggled in the early going.

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The match between the Tar Heels and Wildcats is the first of a home-and-home arrangement. UNC is due to visit Tucson in two years.

The match will air on ACC Network at 9 a.m. MST on Sunday, Aug. 25.

Lead photo by Rebecca Sasnett / Arizona Athletics



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