Oh, how things have changed.
After stumbling to a 2-2 start, the Arizona Wildcats have won two straight (thank you, Khalil Tate) and suddenly find themselves in Pac-12 title contention.
No, really.
According to ESPN’s analytics, the Wildcats have the fourth-best chance of winning the conference.
Take a look:
Don't sleep on Stanford as a potential Pac-12 champion. pic.twitter.com/J4330PjVPa
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) October 15, 2017
Now, a two-percent chance obviously isn’t much, but the fact Arizona is even in the conversation is remarkable.
Many people thought Arizona would win five or six games at most this year, and they are almost certain to top that mark, especially since they don’t have to face Stanford or Washington this season.
ESPN’s Football Power Index projects the Wildcats will finish 7-5, with them beating Cal, Washington State, and Oregon State, and losing to USC, Oregon, and ASU.
The Pac-12 South in particular is weak this season, as USC has not looked as dominant as expected and none of the other teams in the division have been anything special.
Meanwhile, Arizona is now a dangerous team with Tate putting up video-game-like numbers in the last two games.
If the Wildcats can win their next two games as ESPN projects, they would be heading to Los Angeles to face USC with first place in the South potentially on the line.
If (yes, another if) Arizona somehow wins that game, they would then have three games against three of the weaker teams in the Pac-12 to close out the regular season.
I’m not saying Arizona is going to win the Pac-12, but .... there’s a chance!
ESPN thinks it’s a two-percent chance, which is obviously far better than a zero-percent chance.
Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire