January Debut: Arizona and SMU meet in the 46th annual Trust & Will Holiday Bowl 

It’s a new world for the Holiday Bowl.

This will be the first time the game has ever been played in January, with the Arizona Wildcats taking on the SMU Mustangs on Friday, January 2 at 5 p.m. at Snapdragon Stadium.

The game will also air on FOX.

“We are really excited about the January 2 date,” said Mark Neville, chief executive officer of Sports San Diego. “We have found in the past the further away our game is from the Christmas holiday, the longer the average length of stay by the fans.

“There’s more room nights, there’s more economic impact,” he added.

This will be Arizona’s third appearance in the Holiday Bowl. The first appearance of the 17th-ranked Wildcats (9-3, 6-3) was in 1998, when they defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers 23-20. The other was in 2009, when they lost to the Cornhuskers 33-0.

This will be the second appearance by the SMU Mustangs (8-4, 6-2) in San Diego’s bowl game. The Mustangs’ only previous bowl was a memorable one, when they were defeated 46-45 in 1980 by the BYU Cougars. The SMU backfield that year was known best as the “Pony Express” and included the legendary running back duo of Eric Dickerson and Craig James.  

This will be the third time Arizona and SMU have collided. SMU won the first matchup 29-7 during the 1938 season and Arizona won the second battle, beating third-ranked SMU 28-6 in 1985.    

“We can’t wait to welcome teams, bands, cheer squads and fans from SMU and Arizona to San Diego later this month,” said Nancy Rohland-Heinrich, this year’s Sports San Diego president. “Our volunteers, partners and staff have been working tirelessly to prepare for an incredible game and bowl week experience for all.”

The Arizona Wildcats are coming off of a dominant 23-7 win in the Territorial Cup versus their rival Arizona State. As for SMU, who made their first appearance in the College Football Playoffs last season, they look to bounce back after a heartbreaking 38-35 loss to Cal. 

Trust & Will is the new title sponsor of the Holiday Bowl, which will now officially be called the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl. The announcement was made Sunday morning at Snapdragon Stadium.

Sports San Diego also announced that they conducted the first ever fan vote for the endzone design for this year’s Holiday Bowl. The design features a surfing snowman holding a football and throwing up the “shaka” (or “hang loose”) hand sign.

It was a prolonged and extensive Selection Sunday filled with surprises as multiple teams declined to participate in a bowl game.

Notre Dame, who lost in the National Championship last season, barely missed the playoffs, posting to Instagram that they will not be participating in bowl games because they believed they were snubbed from their first ever back-to-back College Football Playoff appearance.

Both Iowa State and Kansas State also declined their bowl game invitations, and they now face potential conference fines. These decisions could have major implications on the college football landscape moving forward.