The Arizona Wildcats will kick off the New Year bowling in San Diego. Arizona will play in the Holiday Bowl, representing the Pac-12 against the ACC’s SMU Mustangs. The game will be played on January 2, 2026, at 6:00 PM MST and will air on FOX.
Arizona (9-3) is making its third appearance in the Holiday Bowl. The Wildcats have faced the Nebraska Cornhuskers in both of its previous trips, beating the defending national champions in 1998, while getting shutout in 2009. Both of those games were under the lights of Qualcomm Stadium, while the game is now at Snapdragon Stadium, a venue Arizona has some experiencing winning in. In the opening game at the new stadium, the Wildcats kicked off the 2022 season and with a 38-20 victory over San Diego State.
The UA is 41-38-2 against current members of the ACC, despite 68 of those contests having come against former Pac-12 foes Cal and Stanford. The Wildcats are 1-1 all time against the Mustangs, defeating SMU 28-6 in Tucson in the last matchup between the programs back in 1985.
Arizona, which is 10-11-1 in bowl games, is playing in the postseason for the second time in three years, after defeating the Oklahoma Sooners 38-24 in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio in 2023.
A win in San Diego would extend Arizona’s win streak to six games and subsequently get the Wildcats to 10 wins in a season for just the fifth time in program history. Leading up to the game, the Holiday Bowl will host the Port of San Diego Holiday Bowl Parade, Band Showcase hosted by SeaWorld, Holiday Bowl Tailgate Party, and 5K Walk/Run.