Saturday night's football showdown between Arizona and No. 8 Washington State may last until Sunday morning.
The game will start at 8:30 p.m. and will be shown on ESPN, WSU announced Sunday.
The Wildcats and Cougars had been part of the "six-day window" used by television networks when scheduling. The late kickoff is part of Arizona's new reality: Eight of the Wildcats' 10 games this season have kicked off at 7 p.m. local time or later. Saturday marks the ninth late start.
The late kickoff means the Wildcats won't likely return home from Pullman, Washington — the Pac-12's most remote locale — until sometime after 3 a.m. Sunday.
The prime-time game could have major Pac-12 implications. Arizona (5-5, 4-3) can win the Pac-12 South Division if it "wins out" — topping the Cougars Saturday in Pullman, and beating rival Arizona State in Tucson — and if Colorado upsets Utah (7-3, 5-3) on Saturday. The Wildcats will know their status by the time they kick off against WSU; Utah-Colorado is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
Arizona State (6-4, 4-3) controls its own destiny in the South, but must play its final two games — against Oregon and Arizona — on the road. The Sun Devils and Ducks will also kick off at 8:30 p.m. Saturday in a game shown on Pac-12 Arizona.
Washington State, meanwhile, remains the Pac-12's only remaining hope for the College Football Playoff. Mike Leach's team rose to No. 8 in last week's playoff rankings, and cold inch closer to the top after beating Colorado.
As bad as Arizona's late start and travel schedule might be, things could be worse. The Wildcats appear to be catching a break when it comes to weather. The Weather.com 10-day forecast for Pullman shows a high of 47 degrees and a low of 34, and none of the rain and show that wreaks havoc on the Palouse region this time of year.
Arizona was idle over the weekend following back-to-back wins over Oregon and Colorado.
