Shorthanded Arizona Wildcats fall 24-19 to SMU in Holiday Bowl

SAN DIEGO, CA – It was a tale of two halves for the Arizona Wildcats on Friday night in the 46th annual Trust & Will Holiday Bowl. And while this season has been a storybook tale for the Wildcats, as they say, all good things must come to an end. The first half was as difficult as they come for Arizona, with seemingly everything going right for SMU. The second half was a different story – Arizona, which was without its top three defensive players in defensive backs Treydan Stukes, Dalton Johnson, and Genesis Smith, who opted out of the game, shut out the Mustangs in a comeback effort that fell just short, falling 24-19 against SMU in the Holiday Bowl.

The Wildcats got off to about as poor of a start as they could have asked for. SMU needed just three plays to go 83 yards for a touchdown, including an 80-yard trick play from quarterback Kevin Jennings to tight end Matthew Hibner. Things went from bad to worse for the Wildcats on their first possession of the game when standout left tackle Ty Buchanan suffered a leg injury and did not return. Arizona struggled to get anything going on offense, punting on three-straight possessions before turning the ball over on its final full-length possession of the half.

Meanwhile for SMU, Kevin Jennings had the offense operating like a well oiled machine. The Mustangs’ final three possessions of the first half resulted in two touchdowns and a field goal, giving SMU a 24-0 lead heading into the locker room at halftime. At the midway point of the game, SMU’s offense had out-gained Arizona’s with 328 total yards versus 132 yards. The Wildcats were 1-5 on 3rd down, while their lone 4th down conversion attempt resulted in the aforementioned turnover on downs.

So you’re saying there’s a chance…

It looked like the second half would be more of the same before Arizona decided to drop the shovels and stop digging itself deeper into a hole. The Wildcats turned the ball over on downs on their first possession of the second half, but a Michael Dansby interception on SMU’s first possession of the second half gave the UA life. The Wildcats marched 94 yards down the field, capping the drive off with a 28-yard strike from Noah Fifita to wide receiver Javin “Nunu” Whatley. Arizona was unsuccessful in its first two-point conversion attempt of the night, as the Wildcats got on the board, trailing 24-6.

Arizona’s defense only got better as the game went on. The ensuing SMU possession after the Dansby interception went just three plays for three yards before senior linebacker Riley Wilson came away with a spectacular tip-drill interception. Arizona’s offense gambled with the opportunity, making it into the red zone before turning the ball over on downs. But another defensive stand allowed Noah Fifita to drive down the field on the next series, where he evaded pressure on a 4th down in the red zone to find wide receiver Tre Spivey for a 10-yard touchdown. Arizona tried to make it a 10-point game with another two-point conversion, but was once again unsuccessful, trailing 24-12.

But the defense still wasn’t done fighting, as Riley Wilson came away with his second interception of the night after stunting like he was going to blitz, before dropping back into the coverage and evading the eyes of Kevin Jennings. Arizona couldn’t do much with the opportunity after a Noah Fifita pass was intercepted after being tipped at the line of scrimmage, but made one final push on its final possession as Fifita found senior tight end Cam Barmore for a 15-yard touchdown, bringing the Wildcats within five with a score of 24-19.

That score would go on to become final after a last-ditch onside kick attempt was no good for the Wildcats.

Even with the loss, both sides of the ball shinned in the second half. True freshman defensive backs Dajon Hinton, who exited the game with a knee injury, as well as Coleman Patmon made the most of their opportunity, alongside Gavin Hunter, who started the first three games of the season in place of the then-injured Treydan Stukes. After racking up over 300 yards of offense in the first half, SMU was stymied in the second with 64 yards of total offense, no points, and three interceptions.

Offensively, Arizona finished with 309 yards in the second half, converting on 7-11 3rd downs and winning the time of possession battle 21:56 to 8:04.

What’s next for Arizona?

The Wildcats will finish the season with a 9-4 record, becoming just the eighth team in program history to end the season with nine or more victories. Noah Fifita is now Arizona’s single-season (29) and all-time touchdown (73) passing leader, and is set to return.

“We’ve got unfinished business. I’m coming back,” said Fifita to media following the game.

With the both coordinators in Seth Doege and Danny Gonzales staying put in Tucson, a majority of Arizona’s roster set to return next season, and Noah Fifita coming back for his senior year, the Wildcats can shift their attention to getting healthy ahead of spring ball while attacking the transfer portal in search of offensive and defensive line depth and help at tight end and defensive back.