Holiday Bowl notebook: Arizona, SMU arrive in San Diego for Friday’s game

If Friday’s Trust & Will Holiday Bowl between No. 21 Arizona and SMU is as close as Monday’s team arrival, then expect the game to come down to the wire with the outcome decided by the final drive.

SMU, riding on “Air Horse One,” landed eight minutes before Arizona at San Diego International Airport, one minute off the Holiday Bowl record set last year by Washington State and Syracuse.

The Mustangs made it out of the airport before Arizona, but had the equivalent of a false start getting to Harbor Drive.

That enabled the Arizona buses to grab the lead and arrive downtown at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina moments before SMU buses pulled into the Manchester Grand Hyatt a block away.

“We’re excited to be here,” said Arizona coach Brent Brennan, who expects a huge contingent of Wildcats fans in the Snapdragon Stadium stands. “Those people are excited about how we played football this year.

“We’ve got a big-time opponent in SMU joining us for this bowl game. The fact that we have two really good football teams playing in the Holiday Bowl is pretty special for our fans who live here.”

Bowl activities for the teams leading up to the game include touring the USS Makin Island on Tuesday at Naval Base San Diego and visiting SeaWorld on Wednesday.

“For a lot of our guys, they’ve never been to a bowl game, or they’ve never been to one of this quality,” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said. “So, you know, we’re going to do a lot of fun things. We want to have fun, but we also want to win the game. I think we can do both. We’re going to find out.”

Opt-ins

The recent trend of players bypassing bowl games impacted the Holiday Bowl recently, just like its postseason peers. There were as many as two dozen players on each team opting out of the game two years ago for the USC-Louisville game and last year for the Washington State-Syracuse contest.

Both Arizona (9-3) and SMU (8-4) arrive virtually intact for the 46th annual game, according to a Holiday Bowl official.

“Everybody’s here,” Lashlee said. “Nobody opted out. We have a couple of guys banged up. I don’t know if they’ll get to play or not, but they’re here. …

“It just shows that they love playing together, and we’re really looking forward to that opportunity.”

Before boarding the plane Monday in Tucson, Brennan told reporters that he would not disclose which Wildcats players have opted out in order to keep the intel from SMU.

“Those things are always tricky,” Brennan said after the team arrived at its hotel. “I understand the transfer portal and the NFL dream. All that stuff is personal decisions for the players and we respect it.

“But whoever plays in this game is going to get an incredible opportunity. When you play in a bowl game, you’ll remember that game for the rest of your life.”

Many people have been asking us, "Will there be an opportunity at the @trustandwill Holiday Bowl to win money by throwing a football into a casket?" The answer, surprisingly, is "Yes." pic.twitter.com/RB0CSn1AJo

— Trust & Will Holiday Bowl (@holidaybowl) December 20, 2025

Open casket

The Trust & Will Holiday Bowl will bring new meaning to the term “coffin corner” with a promotion tied into the game’s title sponsor.

A casket will be wheeled onto the field in the third quarter and two contestants will each get an opportunity to throw a football in it from 10 yards away. Make it inside and the contestant receives a $10,000 inheritance (the prize boosted substantially after initially being $1,000).

Asked organizers if there will be a body inside the casket. It appears that will be a game-time decision.

Weather report

Among the Holiday Bowl’s traditions is staying dry during the game.

While rain is in the San Diego forecast much of the week, it looks like the Holiday Bowl could thread the needle once again.

Rain is expected in Mission Valley on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, skipping over Friday’s game.

The Holiday Bowl dodged the rain for 30 years before it poured on the 2009 game.

Arizona fans may remember that one, though most have probably tried to forget it. Nebraska beat the Wildcats 33-0. Arizona fared better in the 1998 matchup with the Cornhuskers, winning 23-20.

The only other time it has rained on the game was in 2018 for Northwestern’s 31-20 victory over Utah.

Umpbrellas are on Snapdragon Stadium’s prohibited items list, though collapsible umbrellas have been permitted when it rains.

The temperature for the game’s 5 p.m. kickoff is expected to be 63 degrees.

Feels like with all the craziness today, people are forgetting that we let the fans vote on our end zone design pic.twitter.com/Y3TPZyfnFi

— Trust & Will Holiday Bowl (@holidaybowl) December 8, 2025

Notable

About 3,000 tickets remain for the game at 32,500-seat Snapdragon Stadium, according to a Holiday Bowl official. More than 2,000 tickets have been sold on game day in the past, so the game could approach a sellout. Expect most of the fans to be wearing Arizona red. The Wildcats sold out their ticket allotment two days after the matchup was announced. Tickets are at available at ticketmaster.com.

• The game will not be followed by the KGB SkyShow this year, but organizers are planning a “big in-stadium fireworks” show at halftime with marching bands.

• The Jan. 2 game marks the first post-New Year’s kickoff in Holiday Bowl history, which explains the theme “The Holidays Ain’t Over Until We Say They’re Over!” That will be most noticeable in the end zone, where an elaborate Surfin’ snowman design has been painted.