An Arizona-SMU matchup at the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego was conceivable, but the course of action to secure the Wildcats and Mustangs took longer than expected.
After Notre Dame was excluded from the College Football Playoff, the Holiday Bowl reportedly made a bid for the Fighting Irish to face Arizona in the Holiday Bowl, which caused ACC-affiliated bowls to delay their announcements.
However, Notre Dame opted out of the postseason and became the third bowl-eligible team to not participate in a bowl game, joining Iowa State and Kansas State, two programs going through a coaching change. Both Kansas State and Iowa State were each fined $500,000 by the Big 12 for bowing out of their bowl games.
Less than an hour after Notre Dame officially announced its decision to back out of the postseason, SMU (8-4) was announced as the ACC opponent to face Arizona (9-3), which is a Pac-12 affiliate this bowl cycle.
Arizona head coach Brent Brennan and the Wildcats watch the public feed of a video review on a fourth-down spot in the fourth quarter against Kansas State, Sept. 12, at Arizona Stadium.
Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said monitoring the Wildcats' bowl opponent Sunday morning and afternoon was "hectic."
"The Notre Dame thing, those players get to make those decisions or that program gets to make those decisions," Brennan said. "They had their reasons and whatever they were, it's what they were. For us, it definitely caused a delay in us finding out."
The UA football team held a team party at Main Event Tucson on Sunday leading up to the bowl announcement. To pass the time, some Wildcats went bowling (ironically), while others ate pizza and played arcade games.
"We were waiting and waiting and waiting, but when we found out where we're going, everybody was fired up," Brennan said. "The team went crazy. That part of it was special."
The Holiday Bowl will be held at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego on Friday, Jan. 2, at 6 p.m. The combined payout is $5.9 million. The presenting sponsor of the Holiday Bowl is Trust & Will, a San Diego-based and AI-driven company that specializes in creating trusts and wills.
Assistant coach Tariq Thompson comes out to congratulate Arizona defensive back Michael Dansby (25) on his pick-off of an Arizona State pass in their Territorial Cup game, Nov. 28, in Tempe.
The Holiday Bowl "is an awesome reward" for Arizona, which enters the postseason on a five-game winning streak and has a chance to become the fifth team in program history to reach at least 10 wins.
"We're really excited about the Holiday Bowl," Brennan said. "It's one of the best bowl games in America. We're going to have a big-time opponent in SMU. Our team has worked incredibly hard and they played some good football this season. ... It seemed like a home run to me."
Brennan said playing in the postseason "is critical for us."
"It's important because we had a really good football team this year and we're getting a great matchup with SMU," Brennan said. "We're getting the opportunity to play against another really good opponent from a part of the country that really respects football and football is really important. They were a (College Football Playoff) team, so we get another opportunity to play a really good opponent. I also think it's critical for the development of your team.
"We've got a lot of young players on this team. We felt great about our recruiting class a year ago. A lot of those guys are young and maturing and growing and developing, so these extra practices are going to give them a chance to get coaches and be on the field. That part, the developmental piece is critical."
Arizona tight end Cameron Barmore (80) pretends to drink from the ball after sprawling into the end zone during the third quarter against Arizona State in their Territorial Cup game, Nov. 28, in Tempe.
Arizona's bowl history
This is the 23rd bowl game in Arizona's program history and the ninth for the Wildcats this century. The Wildcats are 10-11-1 in bowl games dating to 1921.
The Wildcats have played in the Holiday Bowl twice; both games were at Qualcomm Stadium, the former home venue of the San Diego Chargers. This season will be the second Holiday Bowl at Snapdragon Stadium, the home venue of San Diego State football and professional soccer clubs San Diego FC and San Diego Wave FC.
Arizona played in the first-ever event at Snapdragon Stadium in 2022, when the Wildcats opened the season with a victory over San Diego State in former UA head coach Jedd Fisch's second season. Arizona will be on the east side of Snapdragon Stadium for the Holiday Bowl, which is the visitor's side.
The first time the Wildcats played in the Holiday Bowl (then sponsored by Culligan), Arizona beat the defending national champion Nebraska Cornhuskers to cap a 12-1 season in 1998, which is considered the best season in program history.
Arizona's Brad Brennan (13) is caught from behind by Nebraska's Clint Finley (19) on a 63-yard reception from quarterback Keith Smith during the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 30, 1998, in San Diego.
Former Arizona wide receiver Brad Brennan, the younger brother of Brent Brennan, caught a touchdown to give the Wildcats a 16-13 lead over the Cornhuskers in 1998. UA won, 23-20. Arizona quarterback Keith Smith was named Offensive MVP of the 1998 Holiday Bowl.
"It was awesome," the older Brennan recalled. "It was a super hard-fought game. We had a huge crew of family and friends there for the game. Obviously Arizona had a magical season up to that point. ... At that time, that was when Nebraska was rolling at a crazy level. It was a big-time football game. It was fun. Brad made a handful of catches in that game, scored a touchdown, had one called back. It's a great memory for me and a great memory for my family."
Arizona went on a 10-year bowl drought after the 1998 season and won the Las Vegas Bowl in 2008, before returning to the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl in 2009 for a rematch with Nebraska, which had Heisman Trophy finalist and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.
The Cornhuskers clobbered the Wildcats, 33-0, which remains the only shutout win in the bowl game's 45-year history.
A dejected Nick Foles (8) walks off the field with teammate David Douglas (85) after a loss to Nebraska, 33-0, in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium on Dec. 30, 2009.
The 2009 Holiday Bowl is the third shutout loss in the postseason for Arizona. The Wildcats were shut out by Centre College in the 1921 San Diego East-West Christmas Classic and the 1990 Aloha Bowl, a 28-0 loss to Syracuse.
How SMU matches up
SMU has played in the Holiday Bowl once, a 46-45 shootout loss to BYU in 1980. SMU's "Pony Express" offense was led by star running backs Eric Dickerson and Craig James in 1980.
SMU is in its fourth season under head coach Rhett Lashlee, who is 37-16 since taking over in 2022 — 8-4 this season. The Mustangs lost in the first round of the College Football Playoff last season. SMU went 6-2 in conference play in its second season in the ACC this year.
"I know Rhett a little bit," Brennan said. "He's a really good guy and obviously a really good football coach. We have a ton of respect for him and that staff and what they've done in their time together. Really good guy."
SMU had the second-best passing offense in the ACC this season, averaging 283.5 yards per game. SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings has passed for 3,363 yards, 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season. SMU's leading receiver Jordan Hudson is sixth in the ACC with 749 yards and six touchdowns.
SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee celebrates on the field with fans after his team's 26-20 overtime win over Miami, Nov. 1, in Dallas.
SMU's top two rushers are T.J. Harden, who has 747 yards and seven touchdowns this season, and Chris Johnson Jr., the son of former NFL star and Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson.
The Mustangs rank 30th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 32.9 points per game; Arizona is No. 32, averaging 32.6 points per contest this season.
SMU has the fourth-best rushing defense in the ACC, but is second-to-last in the conference in passing defense, surrendering 284.7 yards per game. SMU safety Ahmaad Moses is tied for the third-most interceptions (5) in college football this season; he also has 91 tackles.
"That's a program all of our players respect," Brennan said of SMU. "That's a program that all of us know how good they are. We know we have a big-time football game happening in San Diego in a month."
Arizona (9-3) has played SMU (8-4) twice dating back to 1938. The Wildcats lost their first matchup to the Mustangs, 29-7, in Dallas during the 1938 season. Arizona beat third-ranked SMU, 28-6, in Tucson in 1985. Arizona finished the season 8-3-1 and went on to tie the Georgia Bulldogs at the Sun Bowl in El Paso.
SMU safety Ahmaad Moses (3) warms up prior to a game against Wake Forest, Oct. 25, in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Home away from home
In addition to discovering its bowl destination on Sunday, the Wildcats also moved up a spot from No. 18 to No. 17 in the College Football Playoff rankings. Arizona is the fourth-highest ranked Big 12 team entering the postseason behind No. 4 Texas Tech, No. 12 BYU and No. 15 Utah. No. 21 Houston is the fifth Big 12 team ranked. Arizona also moved up to No. 21 in the Associated Press Top 25.
No. 17 Arizona will face SMU for the 46th Holiday Bowl at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego on Jan. 2 at 6 p.m. on Fox. Tickets for the Holiday Bowl can be purchased at ArizonaWildcats.com/HolidayBowl.
"We can't wait," Brennan said. "Lots of people that live in the state of Arizona vacation (in San Diego) and have homes there and spend time there, so that part of it is an incredible pairing for us. Not to mention we have so many alumni living in San Diego County and (Los Angeles).
"That part is exciting because we know our fans are going to show up and they're going to make that environment awesome. We can't wait to see it. ... We can't wait to get to San Diego and we can't wait to play in this big-time football game."
Extra points
– Arizona is one of eight Big 12 teams going to a bowl game this season, along with the College Football Playoff-bound Texas Tech, BYU, Utah, Cincinnati, Houston, Arizona State and TCU. Fisch and the Washington Huskies will face Boise State in the Bucked Up L.A. Bowl at SoFi Stadium on Dec. 13.
– Brennan is 0-3 in bowl games as a head coach. He led San Jose State to three bowl appearances, including the Arizona Bowl in Tucson during the pandemic-influenced season in 2020. Brennan also took the Spartans to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and the Hawaii Bowl.
Arizona football coach Brent Brennan prepares to talk to reporters on media day at the Davis Sports Center on July 29.
– The winning coach of the Holiday Bowl gets doused with eggnog, a tradition started by USC and head coach Lincoln Riley in 2023. Other bowl games have different methods to celebrate, like the Duke's Mayo Bowl dumping mayonnaise on the winning coach or the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl dumping Frosted Flakes cereal. Said Brennan: "I prefer the eggnog to the mayo, I promise you that. That sounds great. We're going to do everything we can to make that happen."
– The UA players will take time off for the Christmas break and will depart for San Diego on Dec. 29.
– Despite the Holiday Bowl landing on the same day as the transfer portal opening, Brennan said "recruiting never stops" but the team's primary focus will be bowl preparation. Said Brennan: "That's going to be the focus for the next 3½ weeks. I know there's Christmas in there and the (transfer) portal opening and all of that stuff. But at the end of the day, we've got a job to do and that happens on Jan. 2; that's where our hearts and heads need to be."
– Brennan on the Wildcats balancing game preparation and the fun team activities planned in San Diego: "This team has been about business from the beginning. I think they'll have a good time and enjoy the experience, but they'll also understand what got us there — and what got us there is working our asses off every single day towards the common goal together. I don't think that'll get lost there."
