Arizona fans not feeling the Holiday spirit after bowl loss to SMU

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Heading into the final non-College Football Playoff bowl game of the season, the No. 17-ranked Arizona football program looked to be the favorite against the SMU Mustangs. The Holiday Bowl would be the final game of the season for any team not competing for a national championship. Despite their current ranking, the Arizona football team fell short against SMU. After the ACC program took a 24-0 lead into halftime, a furious Wildcats comeback almost completed a shocking comeback. However, the Mustangs held on to win 24-19. Arizona fan account AZRedeye lamented the team’s performance in the season-ending defeat via X, formerly Twitter.

“Brett Brennan gave the game away, leaving 8pts on the board for not kicking the 2 field goals and 2 extra points,” posted the Arizona football fan account post-game.

While Brennan, Arizona’s football head coach, failed to lead them to victory, 2025 was certainly an improvement over last season. The Wildcats mounted what could have been an amazing comeback. Veteran quarterback Noah Fifita authored one of his best performances of the season, passing for 265 yards and three touchdowns. Heading into 2026, it’s clear that the future is brighter in Tucson. Can Brennan, Fifita, and the rest of the Arizona football program mount a serious Big 12 title run next fall?

Arizona football looks to rebound in 2026 following tough bowl loss

Despite the season-ending Holiday Bowl defeat, the Arizona football program took a big step forward in Brennan’s second year at the helm. Taking over for the Washington-bound Jedd Fisch after the 2023 season, the ex-San Jose State coach has started to make his mark in Tucson. Another Arizona fan account, proclaiming to be men’s basketball coach Tommy Lloyd’s “burner” account, posted how hyped they were despite the defeat on X.

“NOAH FIFITA HEISMAN WATCH STARTS NOW,” opined the “burner” account. “BRENT BRENNAN COTY LOADING. 9 WINS AND THE TERRITORIAL CUP IS STILL A MASSIVE W. WE RIDEEEEEEE 🐻⬇️.”

Year three in the Big 12 looks to be another wild one for the Arizona football program. They’ll look to continue this season’s success, as the Wildcats possess one of the conference’s deepest rosters despite recent losses in the transfer portal. Fifita looks to become one of the nation’s best signal callers. Can Friday’s almost comeback help the Arizona football team leap forward in September? If so, the rest of the Big 12 will need to be on notice.

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