As the wise man once said: “You must know when to hold them (when to hold them) and know when to fold them (when to fold them)”, and for Arizona Wildcats it’s been obvious for some time now that they need to fold them.

With their latest loss, their fifth in a row to be exact, the Wildcats now fall to 3-6 overall, with a 1-5 record in conference play, just one year removed from a 10-3 overall record with a record by 7-2. in conference.

It’s a much tougher level of competition Arizona has faced this season, its first in the Big 12 after being in the PAC-12 (in every iteration) since 1978, but the team hasn’t seen a lot of change from year to year. -year, not enough to be (at least) three losses worse than last year.

The performance on the field this year has Will Backus from CBS Sports stating that the team is now “at a dead end”.

“Arizona found itself in a difficult position when former coach Jedd Fisch left for Washington after rebuilding the Wildcats into a 10-win program with potential as a conference contender,” Backus writes. “So the university hired San Jose State’s Brent Brennan, who never won more than seven games in a single season and was 0-3 with the Spartans.”

And therein lies the biggest change the program has seen from year to year, a change in the man under the helmet on Saturday.

Now the Washington Huskies didn’t perform as well this year as last year, but they also joined a much tougher conference than the PAC-12 has ever been, and they still did much better than the Wildcats since the Huskies have an overall record of 5-4. after their last victory.

Even with the difficulties Arizona has already faced during Brennan’s tenure, including his lack of ability to recruit effectively, it could be virtually impossible for the program to field a replacement.

“It doesn’t help that the athletic director who hired him and the president who presided over the transition are no longer at the university. Both left, or were ousted, in the midst of a financial crisis which puts Arizona in a difficult situation “With the projected deficit of $177 million in fiscal year 2024,” Backus adds, “Arizona may not have the money to simultaneously pay for the buyout. Brennan while attracting a significant upgrade.”

It’s downright difficult for the Wildcats to move forward, and it’s going to take a tremendous amount of effort to get through this.