Ever since Arizona began its current 5-game win streak, going from a team uncertain if it could make a bowl game to one in the final College Football Playoff rankings, comparisons with the 2023 season have been frequent. And rightfully so.
Like in 2023, the Wildcats followed up back-to-back one-score losses to ranked opponents—including one in overtime—with a string of impressive victories. A 5-0 record in November, which had never happened in school history, included road wins over Cincinnati and ASU and put the UA within reach of a second 10-win season in the last three years.
But to fully match what the 2023 team did, Arizona must complete the run. That means putting together another complete effort in the Holiday Bowl against SMU. A win in Friday night’s game at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego would give the Wildcats (9-3) the largest year-over-year improvement in school history.
“Since we got bowl eligible we’ve been talking about this extra life that this team gets by getting to go to a bowl game,” UA coach Brent Brennan said Monday. “We always talk about at the beginning of the year, like in January, that every football team has a lifespan. It’s either 11 months or 10 months or nine months, but the longer the better, right?”
Arizona is 1-1 all-time in the Holiday Bowl, beating Nebraska in 1998 to complete a school-best 12-1 season and then getting shut out by the Cornhuskers in the 2009 game. The Wildcats last won consecutive bowls in 2012-13, under Rich Rodriguez, while SMU (8-4) has lost its last four bowl games and last won a postseason contest in 2012.
Here’s what to watch for when the UA and SMU meet in San Diego:
Opting out of bowl games has been a thing for a while, and Arizona experienced that two years ago when offensive tackle Jordan Morgan sat out the Alamo Bowl. His decision not to play was a business one, as Morgan was just over a year removed from knee surgery and he was going to be a high draft pick.
Arizona hasn’t announced any opt outs for the Holiday Bowl, nor has SMU, but if the UA does have someone choose not to play they figure to be doing so to avoid damaging their pro prospects. There are nearly 30 Wildcats who will be out of eligibility after Friday and most could benefit from getting one last performance, but not all of them.
With that being said, expect at least one Arizona player to make their first career start in the bowl game.
On the injury front, there’s no availability report for the Holiday Bowl but the UA should be pretty healthy. There were no significant injuries suffered in the last game, Nov. 28 at ASU, while defensive lineman Tia Savea could make his return after missing the final three contests of the regular season.
Arizona has held the last eight opponents to below 200 passing yards, the longest streak in FBS since 2004. To get to nine in a row will require slowing down one of the best air attacks in the country.
SMU is 12th in pass offense, averaging 283.5 yards per game. Junior Kevin Jennings has thrown for 3,363 yards and 26 touchdowns, with eight games of at least 250 yards and two TDs.
“I would say probably they’re the best offense we’ve played all season,” UA defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales said. “Statistically, they’re right there with Baylor. And so we’re going to have to be as physical as we can on that day and find ways that we can try and confuse Kevin Jennings, and that’s going to be really, really hard to do.”
Baylor, which is 4th in passing, was held to 162 yards in Tucson in November.
For Arizona, this could be a huge game through the air. That’s because SMU is second-to-last nationally in defending the pass, allowing 284.7 yards per game with 23 TDs.
The Mustangs have 34 sacks and their 17 interceptions are only two fewer than Arizona, but they have also given up 50 pass plays of at least 20 yards and 20 that went for 30-plus.
Noah Fifita has already become the UA career TD leader, and with three more passing scores he’ll set the single-season record. Fifita is at 26, two behind the mark first set by Willie Tuitama in 2007 and then matched by Nick Foles in 2011 and Anu Solomon in 2014.
Another 37 yards will get Fifita to 3,000 for the season, which would be just the eighth time a UA passer has hit that milestone. Another 82 will get him to 9,000 for his career, and if he throws for at least 315 yards he’ll climb into the top 250 in FBS passing history.
Snapdragon Stadium was where Fifita began his UA career in 2022, though he did not play in that 38-20 win over San Diego State. But since stepping in for Jayden de Laura in 2023 and taking over as starter, games outside of Tucson have been some of the best for Fifita.
Fifita has thrown for 4,482 yards and 31 TDs in 15 road games plus the Alamo Bowl. And since throwing two interceptions at Iowa State in the 2025 road opener Fifita is 86 of 121 (71.1 percent) with 1,062 yards and eight TDs with no picks.
