Arizona, SMU say non-CFP bowls remain vital to college football

SAN DIEGO — The future of college football as we know it is hanging in the balance.

At the conclusion of this season, the bowl structure and its conference affiliations will likely change — and the College Football Playoff could expand from its current 12-team format. It could potentially shut down bowl games that don't have a seat at the CFP table. 

The evolution of the CFP and the current college football landscape has presented an abundance of challenges over the years.

Non-CFP bowl games have been diminished by many associated with college football. Notre Dame opting out of bowl season after being excluded from the CFP is the most recent example.  

Ahead of the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl, the 46th edition of San Diego's college football bowl game, Arizona head coach Brent Brennan doubled down on the importance of bowl games for programs and said the preparation and experience are an "opportunity for your program to develop and continue to grow."

"When you look at this thing, the college football season is so much about momentum," Brennan said. "It's about us growing or us winning and finding ways to play winning football. Getting those extra practices is an incredible opportunity to do that. ... The idea of bowls not being a part of college football anymore, it deprives people of great stuff to watch on TV over the holidays. Who's not watching bowl games right now? Stop it. Everyone is. I am!

Added Brennan: "College football is such a big game in this country. The bowl games and the CFP, however those things continue to work out, I'm hopeful and optimistic that the bowl games — and the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl — continue to be a huge part of the college football landscape."

Another component of the many issues with bowl season is players opting out to prepare for the NFL Draft if their respective team isn't playing in the College Football Playoff. SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said, "If it's all about the playoff and winning a national championship, that's not good for our game."

"For decades, bowls like the Holiday Bowl highlight teams at the end of the year to play one last game together, build momentum going into the offseason, end the right way and have these experiences to come to San Diego for the players, for the staff and their families," Lashlee said. "We don't have enough time to solve the issue."

A common denominator for both Arizona and SMU — and other teams nationwide — is agents or player representatives advising players to opt out of bowl games to prepare for the NFL Draft, said Lashlee, who led the Mustangs to the College Football Playoff last season.  

"The kids don't have to change, it's the surroundings," said SMU's head coach. "It's agents telling them 'Don't play,' and they don't have a clue. If you're not a first- or second-round pick, you have no business not playing.

"So many kids get told, 'Don't play. Don't don't do this, don't do that.' Well, if it was a first-round playoff game, you'd be playing. You can get hurt in that, so why would you play? If you're a competitor, you compete.

"How agents have access to kids, to other people's influences, everyone having an opinion to the narrative about bowl games, which doesn't come from us, to the schedule, there's so many things that if we fixed it, it would make it easier. But to (Brennan's) point, TV is great, these experiences are great.

"I turn on the TV and I see teams playing hard every time I see a bowl game. I see both teams trying to win. It's not going anywhere."

Cats, Mustangs spend time at USS Makin Island and SeaWorld

In the days leading up to the Holiday Bowl, both Arizona and SMU held team activities at multiple renowned tourist stops in San Diego. 

The Wildcats and Mustangs toured the USS Makin Island, an active Wasp-class amphibious assault ship. It's named after Makin Island, a target of the Marine Raiders (U.S. Marine Corps) in World War II.  

Arizona defensive back Dalton Johnson was presented with the Admiral U.S. Grant Sharp Trophy, an award given by the Holiday Bowl to a representative from each school who exhibits selflessness and commitment.

SMU strength and conditioning coach Shawn Griswold received the award for SMU. The late Sharp was a four-star admiral for the U.S. Navy and commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and U.S. Pacific Command in the 1960s. 

The following day, the Wildcats and Mustangs went to SeaWorld San Diego for a few hours. Several players rode the "Manta" rollercoaster. Some of Arizona's offensive and defensive linemen were unable to securely fit in the Manta cars. 

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"Too many squats," joked offensive lineman Rhino Tapa'atoutai. 

Arizona wide receivers Tre Spivey, Chris Hunter and Isaiah Mizell, running back Kedrick Reescano, right tackle Matthew Lado, cornerback Ayden Garnes and safety Coleman Patmon met with SeaWorld staffer and Arizona alumnus Joshua Burgess.

Burgess is a Tempe native and graduated from Valley Christian in Chandler before he enrolled at the UA from 2017-21 to study learning, literacy and leadership with an emphasis on communicative education; he minored in marine science. Burgess noted the most memorable game he attended at the UA was in 2018, when the Wildcats thrashed the Justin Herbert-led Oregon Ducks, 44-15. 

Burgess is now an associate zoological specialist who works with SeaWorld's white-spotted bamboo sharks, epaulette sharks and brown-banded sharks.

After Burgess met with the aforementioned Arizona players, the Wildcats participated in the dolphin interaction and fed the marine mammals. 

"Being able to interact with them and be up close and personal with a dolphin and touching it and to see all of the things they were able to do, I thought that was pretty cool," said Hunter, who said his aquatic spirit animal is a seahorse.  

"Shoutout seahorses," Hunter said. "I think seahorses are underrated." 

Hunter said the dolphin interaction was an activity "we were all looking forward to it and we were really excited."

"Just being able to do all of these things with those guys, talk and interact," he added. "This is my first time experiencing something like this. We were all excited. It's pretty cool." 

Brennan, Lashlee and Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois, among others, went surfing near La Jolla Shores. In the final press conference before the Holiday Bowl, Brennan complimented Lashlee for "shredding" on the surfboard. 

"That was the first time I ever surfed and I didn't know you called it shredding. There was no shredding involved, if that's a good thing," Lashlee said. "When you grow up in Arkansas, the lakes don't get windy enough to surf, you wakeboard." 

Ugly celly

Some bowl games have their quirky celebrations for winning teams, like the table-sized Pop-Tarts at the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Duke head coach Manny Diaz was doused in Frosted Flakes (without the milk) at the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.

Penn State players dumped a Gatorade cooler of grass clippings on interim head coach Terry Smith for leading the Nittany Lions to the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. Texas dumped Cheez-It crackers on head coach Steve Sarkisian after winning the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. 

As for the Holiday Bowl? In previous years, USC head coach Lincoln Riley was showered with eggnog. This year, the reward for winning the Holiday Bowl is a red "ugly" Christmas sweater with blue sleeves wrapped in sparkly ribbons, with snowflakes and snowballs scattered on the sweater and "46th annual Trust & Will Holiday Bowl champions" emblazoned on the torso. 

Numbers game

3: The Wildcats have three players with connections to the San Diego area. Redshirt junior wide receiver Rex Haynes, freshman kicker Tyler Prasuhn and freshman defensive back Dajon Hinton, who lived in San Diego but graduated from Hamilton High School in Chandler. Hinton is the son of ex-Wildcat David Hinton. Haynes, the son of Arizona State legend Mike Haynes, starred at Cathedral Catholic. Prasuhn, the son of former UA kicker John Prasuhn, prepped at Carlsbad High School. 

12: Years since Arizona played an ACC team. The last time the Wildcats faced an ACC opponent was the 2013 Advocare V1OO Bowl, Arizona beat Boston College, 42-19, in running back Ka'Deem Carey's last game at the UA. Months before Arizona beat Boston College, "The Office" aired its last episode, and actor Brian Baumgartner, who's Kevin in the popular NBC show, is an SMU alumnus. Baumgartner went to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl and tailgated with SMU alumni. 

32: Years since Arizona ended its season after the new year. The last time the Wildcats ended a season after New Year's Day was the 1993 season, when Arizona drubbed the Miami Hurricanes 29-0 in the Fiesta Bowl and ended the season 10-2.