SAN DIEGO — At the beginning of the season, No. 17 Arizona wasn’t looked at as one of the top teams in the Big 12 and was sitting at 4-3. The Wildcats then managed to rip off five straight wins with marquee games over then-No. 25 Cincinnati and then-No. 20 Arizona State.
Arizona went from one of the worst teams in the conference a season ago to a team near the top of the Big 12. With the program moving in the right direction and the team showing massive signs of improvement, the fan base was energized and ready for Arizona’s Holiday Bowl trip to take on SMU.
With the excitement, Arizona had the home field advantage as Wildcats fans traveled to San Diego and outnumbered the SMU faithful.
However, right before the bowl game, it was announced that defensive backs Treydan Stukes, Dalton Johnson and Genesis Smith made the decision to sit out of the bowl game to prepare for the NFL Draft.
“It’s also important that I let everybody know that three weeks ago, we had some of our players tell us that they were not going to play in this football game,” said head coach Brent Brennan. “Those are family decisions, and we respect that. We love those guys. Those guys have made an incredible impact on our program this season, and for all the years they’ve been here at the University of Arizona. I want to be respectful of that for them and their families.”
With the missing pieces in the secondary, Arizona’s defense wasn’t the same and the offense couldn’t get things going leading to a 24-19 loss, snapping the winning streak and finishing 9-4 overall.
Now that the game is in the books, we at All Sports Tucson have come up with our three takeaways from Arizona’s underwhelming performance in the Holiday Bowl.
Opt Outs Era
Like it or not, this is the era of college athletics we as a society live in where players make the decision to sit out of a team’s bowl game looking ahead to their future.
Arizona losing its top three defensive players clearly made a massive impact on the game. The Wildcats young secondary struggled in the first half, when SMU built a 24-0 lead. They couldn’t slow down SMU (9-4).
Arizona wasn’t the only team impacted by players opting out of bowl games and it has become a problem across the country.
With opt outs becoming more of an issue, it might be time in the era of NIL for bowl games to have an NIL incentive for both teams to try to mitigate the growing issue. Although this more than likely wouldn’t completely fix the problem but it might help steady the ship.
Tackle Outlook
Early in the game, Arizona left tackle Ty Buchanan went down with what appeared to be a leg injury after getting rolled up on while blocking. Buchanan wouldn’t return meaning that Rhino Tapa’atoutai came in to fill the hole left behind.
“You want to talk about an absolute warrior. Ty Buchanan, we love that guy, and what a great story, because he played his best football here,” said Brennan.
“He was a one-year transfer coming over from Texas Tech, and so many times he told all of us that this is the most fun he’s ever had playing football. He got to be an important part of a special journey. I just wish he could have finished it tonight.”
The Wildcats were already missing right tackle Tristan Bounds, who went down late in the season. This meant that Arizona fans got a look at two potential options for next season at the both tackle positions.
Although both players will have a whole offseason to train and get ready for the 2026 year, things looked rough for both players. The Wildcats might need to add depth on the offensive line and see if they can hit on guys from the portal like the staff did the previous offseason.
Reality Check
I know when looking at the game, it will be easy for Arizona fans to be highly disappointed and even worried about the 2026 season with such an underwhelming performance in the Holiday Bowl, especially the first half.
However, it is important to keep in mind that the staff was shorthanded with the opt-outs and key injuries throughout the roster.
Plus, the team will have the No. 38 recruiting class coming in and will be adding through the transfer portal as well.
And quarterback Noah Fifita confirmed that he will be returning for his redshirt senior season.
“Yeah, we have unfinished business. I’m coming back,” he said..
This Arizona team excited everyone’s expectations and was one win away from reaching the 10-plus win mark, which would’ve been only the fifth in program history. Overall, it was a highly successful season and Brent Brennan has the team moving in the right direction.
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