The 17th-ranked Arizona Wildcats (9-3) from the Big 12 Conference and the SMU Mustangs (8-4) from the Atlantic Coast Conference will play in the 46th annual Trust & Will Holiday Bowl. The bowl game is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 2, at 5 p.m. It will air on FOX and be played at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium.
This will be the first time the Holiday Bowl has ever been played in January.
“The Trust and Will Holiday Bowl is well known for explosive, high-scoring games and down-to-the-wire finishes,” said Mark Neville, CEO of Sports San Diego, organizers of the annual Holiday Bowl game. “This matchup between potent offenses and exciting styles of football should provide another exciting chapter in the history of San Diego’s bowl game. Expect the Wildcats and Mustangs to put on quite a show!”
This will be Arizona’s third appearance in the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl. The first was in 1998 when the Wildcats defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers 23-20. The other was in 2009 when they lost to the Cornhuskers 33-0. Arizona is riding a five-game winning streak. The most recent victory was by a score of 23-7 on the road against their intra-state rival Arizona State.
This will be SMU’s second appearance in the Holiday Bowl. The lone Mustangs appearance was a memorable one when they were defeated 46-45 in 1980 by the BYU Cougars with no time remaining on the clock. The SMU backfield that year was known best as the “Pony Express” and included the legendary running back duo of Eric Dickerson and Craig James.
Arizona and SMU have played each other twice. SMU won the first matchup, 29-7, during the 1938 season. Arizona defeated third-ranked SMU, 28-6, in 1985.
“I have a high level of respect and appreciation for the bowl games everywhere, but having a little bit of experience with this bowl and knowing how special this bowl game is in San Diego and on the West Coast, the opportunity for us to be a part of it was big time,” Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said.
“There’s excitement and enthusiasm from the players, so much of our roster is from California, which is also huge. Many of our fans, our alums, are living either in Arizona or California, and that part of it is really exciting, too. It’s a convenient game for our fans to get to, and also an exciting opponent for them to see. SMU is someone that they don’t really see us get to play against. All those things coming together just made the matchup perfect for us.
“Bowl games are an incredible opportunity for every program that’s fortunate enough to be a part of them. Every bowl game is different. Every bowl game has its own experience, location, the people that put it on, and obviously, the Sports San Diego red jackets are holding it down here. Our team is excited as hell to get out here and play.”
“Every team is different,” SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said. “Every year is different. Every bowl game is different. The Trust & Will Holiday Bowl is an incredible bowl. Our guys are excited to play. We play a Top 20 team at the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, and they get to go home for Christmas, and they’re still playing a great bowl game – a lot of those things lined up. Our guys are excited to play. They love to play. They get to play one more time together.”
The Mustangs will be making their seventh consecutive postseason appearance.
“It’s an exciting time at SMU,” Lashlee said. “Over the last four or five years, we’ve been winning at a high level and getting into the ACC. We’ve had some really good players over the last five to seven years. Winning has become a habit at SMU. Expecting to win has become a habit. Getting into bowl games is great, and getting to come to a place like San Diego and be here at the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl and with the Sports San Diego red jackets is going to be fantastic, but it’s a lot more fun when you win. We haven’t won a lot of those bowl games, so we’re looking for an opportunity to try to win a game against a really quality opponent.”
Game day activities include the annual Port of San Diego Holiday Bowl parade along the San Diego harborfront at 10 a.m., preceded by the 5K run/walk.
The Arizona and SMU marching bands and cheer squads will put on a show the night before the Holiday Bowl on Jan. 1, 4 p.m. at SeaWorld San Diego.
“We can’t wait to welcome teams, bands, cheer squads and fans from SMU and Arizona to San Diego later this month,” said Nancy Rohland-Heinrich, this year’s Sports San Diego president. “Our volunteers, partners and staff have been working tirelessly to prepare for an incredible game and bowl week experience for all.”
Game ticket prices start at $50 and can be purchased at www.HolidayBowl.com.
Information on Bowl Week events, including the Port of San Diego Holiday Bowl Parade presented by Kaiser Permanente and the Port of San Diego Game Day 5K can also be found at www.HolidayBowl.com.
SeaWorld San Diego, a longtime Holiday Bowl sponsor, is providing one-day park admission tickets to the first 10,000 fans through the Snapdragon Stadium gates, It’s one park admission ticket per person, while supplies last. Gates open at 3 p.m.
