TUCSON -- Pac-10 media picked the Arizona Wildcats to finish eighth this season.
Two months later, the 23rd-ranked Wildcats have flipped that prediction upside-down.
They're one of three teams -- No. 4 USC and No. 10 Oregon are the others -- who control their own destiny in what might be the nation's toughest conference.
Arizona (5-2, 3-1 Pac-10) has also cracked The Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since Oct. 22, 2000.
It's heady stuff on a campus known for national excellence in men's basketball, softball and swimming and diving but mostly for mediocrity in football. Arizona is the only Pac-10 or Big Ten member that has not played in the Rose Bowl game -- but that will change if the Wildcats sweep their last five games.
