Arizona football: Holiday Bowl could be finishing touch on great turnaround but also start of something even better

The last time we saw Arizona in a bowl game it felt like the beginning of something special.

Turns out, in many ways it was an ending.

This next time we see Arizona in a bowl game it may very well feel like a bit of an ending.

Hopefully, it will also be a beginning.

Going into the Alamo Bowl a couple years ago we all knew that the team aiming for its 10th win of the season could largely return for another round. Then-head coach Jedd Fisch, a rising star, often talked about how many starters were set to return in 2024 and it was tough not to be proud of the present and excited for the future.

That future never really arrived. At least, not the way we thought it would at the time.

Heading into this season’s Holiday Bowl optimism for what’s next is definitely more muted than before. It took a long time for many to buy into what Brent Brennan’s team was doing this season and now that the final game is nigh, it’s fair to wonder what the future holds.

A good number of key players from this year’s team are set to depart because either the NFL is calling or they have exhausted their collegiate eligibility. Further, the transfer portal will undoubtedly come for more than it already has, meaning the team we see take the field Friday against SMU will look a lot different than the one we see open the season against NAU in September.

Such is life in college football, and the concern about a possible step back is valid when you’re not among the true elites in the sport. While programs like Alabama, Oregon, Notre Dame, Georgia and Ohio State reload with top talent year after year, outfits such as Arizona instead must rely on excellent scouting, quality coaching and a little luck to play their way to double digit victories.

Depending on Friday’s result, that it could happen for Arizona in two of the last three years is certainly something. The question is if it’s the sign of a program that has made considerable progress or just a couple of unexpectedly-fun seasons that will ultimately live in a bubble of their own.

If it is to be the former, much work will need to be done. Arizona did a masterful job of rebounding from a disastrous ‘24 season to build the team we have had the privilege of watching the last few months, utilizing the transfer portal as well as traditional recruiting and player development.

The result was something that in many ways appears to be sustainable, especially since it’s not as if this year’s team is made up of the kind of high-star recruits Arizona is not accustomed to signing. Given what the team signed from the high school ranks and is likely to bring back, it’s not as if the cupboard is bare. Just, it will be missing some big names and big time performers.

Can Arizona replace them? Do you trust Brennan, Danny Gonzales, Seth Doege and the rest of this staff to do what countless others around the country have, and that’s find a way to keep winning even after some of the best and most important players have moved on?

Maybe the better question is whether or not there is reason you shouldn’t.

The answer to that question is entirely up to you. In terms of his tenure at Arizona, Brennan has proven capable of leading his team into the gutter as well as to the penthouse. Next year’s roster will be filled with even more players brought in by him and his staff and not either of the previous two.

Leading up to the Holiday Bowl Brennan was asked about the benefit of extra practices due to bowl game prep.

“In my opinion, it’s a huge component of why great programs are consistently good, is because they just get that extra block of spring practice for the bowl game,” he said.

But are teams good because they get to practice more or do they get to practice more because they are good?

It really makes you think. Or not.

Those extra practices can indeed be helpful, but in a world of opt outs and the transfer portal their value may be a bit diminished. Still, being able to keep the good vibes going for a little longer probably helps with roster retention. After all, who wants to leave when they’re having fun?

Where Arizona’s roster goes once Team 122, as Gonzales dubbed it, plays its last game is going to be interesting to see. Aside from players The portal looms over every program, though it can also be beneficial.

Heading into the final game, Brennan believes the team’s performance in 2025 will make Arizona more appealing for those looking for a home in 2026.

“I think we played an exciting brand of football in all three phases this year,” he said. “It’s been fun to watch. I think we have some really outstanding players returning, so I think there’ll be some people that are excited to play with those guys.”

He then turned his focus to his staff’s recruiting abilities, calling his coaches “gangster recruiters”

“We’re good at it,” he stated. “If you think about this team this year, that team was built off a 4-8 record. We did a great job of identification and then actually recruiting those players and getting them excited about playing football at Arizona.

“And so I feel really great about the combination of the new hires we made in recruiting, along with our coaching staff and our evaluation process, and then also our recruiting process to acquire players that we think can help us level up, help us continue to build a sustainable, consistent winning football program at the University of Arizona.”

The next time we see Arizona play the team will be finishing a fun season. But rather than an end, let’s hope it is more of a beginning for a sustained run of quality football out of Tucson.