5 takeaways from Arizona football’s 24-19 loss to SMU in the Holiday Bowl | Michael Lev

SAN DIEGO — It wasn’t the ending the Wildcats wanted. It wasn’t the outcome Arizona fans — who traveled here by the thousands — sought.

But considering the circumstances, it was a hell of an effort.

As ugly as it looked at times, the Wildcats who decided to play in the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl could walk out of Snapdragon Stadium on Friday night with their heads held high.

Missing its top three defensive players because of opt-outs — then losing multiple players because of injuries — Arizona fell into a deep hole against SMU. The Wildcats nearly climbed all the way out of it before losing 24-19.

The loss snapped Arizona’s five-game winning streak and prevented the Wildcats from notching 10 wins in a season for just the fifth time in program history. But no one thought Arizona would win nine games, let alone 10. Brent Brennan’s second season was unquestionably a success.

Here are my top five takeaways from a wet and wild Holiday Bowl:

1. The opt-outs

OK, let’s cut to the chase: This was not the same Arizona defense that flummoxed opposing quarterbacks for 12 regular-season games.

The Wildcats were without their three best defenders: Treydan Stukes, Dalton Johnson and Genesis Smith. All elected not to play in the Holiday Bowl.

In the case of Stukes, I totally get it. He missed most of last season because of a knee injury. He’s projected to be a third- or fourth-round draft pick. He gave everything he had to Arizona for six years. He put in his time.

In the case of Johnson, I somewhat get it. He made himself into a draftable player this season, earning an invite to the East-West Shrine Bowl. Like Stukes, he’s been a loyal soldier. Johnson never gave less than 100% effort. We’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.

In the case of Smith, I don’t really get it. He had a good, not great, junior season. He’s expected to declare for the NFL Draft. Is he ready for that challenge? I’m not sure. He needs to get stronger. His tackling needs a lot of work. He’s an extremely talented player, no doubt. But he’s a projection at this point.

I get why UA fans are upset about Stukes, Johnson and Smith opting not to play — especially the ones who paid a bunch of money to travel to San Diego expecting to see the same team they watched all season. Brennan undoubtedly was upset about it, too — but, as expected, took the high road after the game.

“I understand people being frustrated,” Brennan said. “I can't expect people in the outside world to have a clear understanding about how all these things move in the current era of college football.

“But those guys are incredible Wildcats. They were amazing leaders for this program in their time here. They chose to stay when the entire world tried to lure them away.

“I understand people being disappointed. But I love those three guys.”

Nowadays, having three players opt out of a bowl game isn’t that bad. The problem in this instance: Stukes, Johnson and Smith are all part of the same unit. Without them, the secondary went from a strength to a weakness — at least for a half.

SMU exploited their replacements: Gavin Hunter — who played well in place of the rehabbing Stukes at the start of the season but hadn’t played meaningful defensive snaps in a long time — and true freshmen Coleman Patmon and Dajon Hinton. The Mustangs had 248 passing yards in the first half against a defense that had held eight straight opponents under 200.

With Patmon struggling and Hinton getting hurt, defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales dug deep into his bag. He moved cornerback Ayden Garnes to nickel and corner Jay’Vion Cole to safety. Just when you thought Arizona’s funky-looking defense couldn’t get any weirder, it did. And those changes actually worked.

Arizona shut out SMU in the second half — the third game in a row in which the Wildcats held the opposition without a point after halftime.

2. Second (half) effort

The most encouraging aspect of Friday night’s game was what happened after the Wildcats came out of the locker room.

They played with tremendous, unrelenting effort in a situation in which they easily could have folded. They lived up to the “redline” mantra Brennan has been preaching for the past year.

“I love the way this team responded,” Brennan said. “I love the heart and the fight in this team to get back in it the way they did.”

Said quarterback Noah Fifita: “When you're down 24-0, the only thing that gets you through the game, the only thing that gives you a chance to come back is the love you have for each other, the belief. We knew that we had 30 minutes to play for each other. That's what we did.”

If you had any lingering doubts about the program’s health under Brennan, that second half should have assuaged them. Those 30 minutes were all about culture.

It wasn’t enough for the Wildcats to come all the way back, in part because of Brennan’s in-game management. We’ll get to that later.

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But as the ball was kicked off to start the third quarter, we were all thinking the same thing: This is only going to get worse. Arizona is going to get boat-raced. It’s going to be the 2009 Holiday Bowl all over again.

It wasn’t anything like that. Even in defeat, that’s a great sign for the future.

3. Putting it on the line

As the UA defense struggled to adjust to life without the trio that linebacker Riley Wilson called the “Three-Headed Dragon,” the UA offense ... also struggled. That wasn’t what the Wildcats needed.

The offense had no opt-outs. Aside from some red-zone struggles, it had been playing well. It needed to play great against SMU.

Instead, it felt like every first down was hard to come by. Running plays got blown up in the backfield. Fifita was under constant duress.

The loss of left tackle Ty Buchanan, who got hurt on Arizona’s fourth offensive play, was massive. As Brennan mentioned afterward, Buchanan has been playing hurt all season. Brennan called the transfer from Texas Tech an “absolute warrior.”

But the leg injury Buchanan suffered was too much to overcome. And it meant that Arizona was down both of its starting tackles — Buchanan and Tristan Bounds, who suffered a season-ending leg injury at Cincinnati on Nov. 15.

Matthew Lado had done a commendable job in place of Bounds. Both Lado and Buchanan’s replacement, Rhino Tapa’atoutai, had trouble with SMU’s speed off the edges. If they weren’t getting beat, they were grabbing and holding. It was rough.

They played better in the second half, but still: Nothing came easy. Fifita was Arizona’s leading rusher, and most of those 73 net yards came on scrambles. Even in the course of rallying, the Wildcats turned the ball over twice on downs and another time on an interception.

It wasn’t entirely the offensive line’s fault either. Fifita and his receivers were out of sync for the entire first half. Their execution, especially in the red zone, just wasn’t as sharp as it needed to be.

4. Chasing points

It’s easy to second-guess the decisions Brennan made. If he had played the second half a little differently, Arizona might have had a chance to tie the score.

I have no issue with him going for 2 after the Wildcats scored their first touchdown. It was late in the third quarter at that juncture. A successful conversion would have made it a two-score game.

From that point forward, things got wonky.

On the next possession, with the score 24-6, Wilson recorded the first of his two interceptions. Arizona drove to the SMU 10-yard line, where it faced fourth-and-6.

I would have gone for the field goal at that point and said as much in the press box. That would have made the score 24-9 with an entire quarter to play. There’s also a big difference between fourth-and-6 and fourth-and-1 or -2.

The Wildcats couldn’t convert. So even after they scored on the next possession, they were still down two scores.

I don’t think Brennan needed to go for 2 after that TD. The difference between being down 10 and 11 is negligible; you can tie the score with a touchdown and a field goal in either case. You can’t when you’re down 12 — which is where Arizona found itself after another unsuccessful 2-point try.

If they had kicked the field goal late in the third quarter (24-9) and the PAT after the next touchdown (24-16), the Wildcats would have had a chance to tie after Fifita hit Cameron Barmore for a touchdown with 33 seconds left. Assuming, that is, that the game would have played out the same way. There’s no way to know that.

Still, it’s frustrating to look back and realize Arizona was that close in a game that at one point seemed hopelessly out of reach.

5. Looking ahead

Although Arizona stands to lose a ton of seniors who had a huge impact on this season, the program is in a good spot — especially compared to a year ago at this time.

Remember the sense of despair? Remember how bleak it felt? Remember how many fans were absolutely convinced that Brennan wasn’t cut out for this job?

Not only did the Wildcats exceed expectations, but Brennan and his staff put together a strong recruiting class; he kept his coordinators; and Fifita confirmed after the game that he’s returning for a fifth and final season.

Arizona has a lot of holes to fill — maybe a few more than we thought entering the Holiday Bowl. The Wildcats’ transfer-portal shopping list includes, at a minimum, two starting-caliber offensive linemen, two veteran tight ends, an edge rusher, a space linebacker, a cornerback, a safety and a punter. Visits are being set up as you read this. The new two-week window, which opened Friday, will be like speed-dating on steroids.

Who ends up where and how those moves will shape the Big 12 race in 2026 remains to be seen. On paper, at least, Arizona has a harder schedule than in '25, including early-season road games against BYU and Washington State, plus trips to Kansas State and Texas Tech. Repeating this season’s success will be difficult even if Brennan and his staff nail the portal again.

But once the sting of losing the Holiday Bowl subsides, UA fans ought to be in good spirits. The 2025 season represented a step forward. The gritty, resourceful '25 Wildcats gave us all reason to hope.