2026 Holiday Bowl
The 2026 Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 2026, at Snapdragon Stadium located in San Diego, California. The 46th annual Holiday Bowl began at approximately 5:00 p.m. PST and aired on Fox. This was the first Holiday Bowl scheduled to be played in January. It was one of the 2025–26 bowl games concluding the 2025 FBS football season. Sponsored by online estate planning company Trust & Will, the game was officially known as the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl.
The SMU Mustangs from the Atlantic Coast Conference defeated the Arizona Wildcats from the Big 12 Conference, 24–19.
Teams
The game featured Arizona from the Big 12 Conference and SMU from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The teams had met twice previously, with SMU winning in 1938 and Arizona winning in 1985.
Arizona Wildcats
Arizona opened their season with three consecutive wins, then lost three of their next four games. With a 4–3 record at the end of October, the Wildcats finished their schedule with five wins during November. Arizona faced four ranked teams, losing to Iowa State and BYU and defeating Cincinnati and Arizona State. The Wildcats entered the Holiday Bowl with a 9–3 record and ranked 21st in the AP poll.
SMU Mustangs
SMU lost two of their first four games, then won six of their next seven. Ranked 21st entering their final regular-season game, SMU lost at Cal by three points. SMU entered the Holiday Bowl unranked and with an 8–4 record.