The Holiday Bowl is the new consensus bowl projection for Arizona after the Wildcats finished the regular season with five consecutive wins and a 9-3 record. There are also projections for Arizona to play in the L.A. Bowl and Vegas Bowl. The Sun Bowl, which was previously a frequent projection, appears to be out for Arizona.
The bowl opponents for Arizona vary. Athlon Sports and Kyle Bonagura of ESPN project Arizona to play Pittsburgh in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego on January 2. Pete Fiutak of the College Football News and Mark Schlabach of ESPN project Arizona in the Holiday Bowl against SMU.
The other three bowl projections from the major media sites surveyed each have Arizona playing three different opponents. CBS Sports projects Arizona to play in the L.A. Bowl on December 31 against San Diego State. Sports Illustrated and USA Today both project Arizona in the Vegas Bowl on December 31/
Sports Illustrated projects Arizona to play Illinois in the Vegas Bowl and USA Today projects Arizona against Illinois. Pac-12 legacy schools are still tied into those bowl games though this season. Arizona is likely to earn one of the Pac-12 bowl slots.
Media Outlet | Bowl | Location | Opponent | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Athlon Sports | Holiday Bowl | San Diego | Pittsburgh | January 2, 2026 |
Kyle Bonagura-ESPN | Holiday Bowl | San Diego | Pittsburgh | January 2, 2026 |
Mark Schlabach-ESPN | Holiday Bowl | San Diego | SMU | January 2, 2026 |
CBS Sports | L.A. Bowl | Los Angeles | San Diego State | December 31 |
College Football News | Holiday Bowl | San Diego | SMU | January 2, 2026 |
Sports Illustrated | Vegas Bowl | Las Vegas | Illinois | December 31 |
USA Today | Vegas Bowl | Las Vegas | Nebraska | December 31 |
Arizona bowl and series histories
Arizona lost 16-10 in the 1979 Fiesta Bowl in their only game against Pittsburgh. The Panthers featured true freshman quarterback and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino. Arizona finished the 1979 season 6-5-1 in its final year under head coach Tony Mason.
Arizona has split its two games against SMU. SMU beat Arizona in the inaugural game in the series in 1938 and the Wildcats won in Tucson in 1985. Arizona split two Holiday Bowl appearances against Nebraska, which are the only games played between the programs.
Arizona has never played in the L.A. Bowl and has 11 wins and six losses all-time versus San Diego State. The Wildcats and Aztecs have never played in a bowl game. Arizona legend Rob Gronkowski has been a part of the sponsorship for the L.A. Bowl as its host since 2023.
Arizona has beaten Illinois three of the four times that they have played in Football. The lone loss for the Wildcats was 9-7 in Champaign in 1995. Arizona defeated BYU 31–21 in the 2008 Las Vegas Bowl for its first postseason win in 10 years at the time.