After closing out the regular season on a five-game heater and finishing 9-3, Arizona is firmly in the bowl conversation-and the Holiday Bowl is emerging as the most likely destination. The Wildcats’ late-season surge has them trending upward, and a trip to San Diego on January 2 is looking more and more probable. But as bowl season projections start to crystalize, a few other possibilities remain on the table.
Let’s break it down.
Holiday Bowl: The Front-Runner
The Holiday Bowl has become the consensus pick among several major outlets, and Arizona fans should get familiar with the idea of a New Year kickoff in San Diego. Both Athlon Sports and ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura have Arizona lined up to face Pittsburgh, while ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and College Football News project a matchup with SMU.
If it’s Pitt, we’re looking at a rematch with some serious historical flavor. The two schools met in the 1979 Fiesta Bowl, a game Arizona dropped 16-10.
That Panthers team featured a true freshman named Dan Marino-yes, that Dan Marino-who went on to carve out a Hall of Fame career. Arizona, meanwhile, finished that season 6-5-1 under Tony Mason, marking the end of an era.
A matchup with SMU would bring a different kind of intrigue. The series is tied 1-1, with SMU winning the first meeting way back in 1938 and Arizona taking the 1985 game in Tucson. The Mustangs have been a program on the rise in recent years, so this would be no walk in the park.
Other Possibilities Still in Play
While the Holiday Bowl is the most common projection, it’s not the only one. CBS Sports has Arizona slotted into the L.A.
Bowl on December 31, where they’d face San Diego State. That would be a first for Arizona, which has never played in the L.A.
Bowl. But the Wildcats are no strangers to the Aztecs-they’ve faced off 17 times, with Arizona holding an 11-6 edge.
Still, none of those meetings came in the postseason.
And there’s a fun twist here: Arizona legend Rob Gronkowski has been the face of the L.A. Bowl since 2023, serving as its host. So if the Wildcats land there, expect plenty of Gronk-fueled energy around the event.
Then there’s the Vegas Bowl, another December 31 possibility. Both Sports Illustrated and USA Today project Arizona heading to Las Vegas, but with different opponents. SI has them facing Illinois, while USA Today throws Nebraska into the mix.
Arizona has a bit of history with both programs. Against Illinois, the Wildcats have won three of four matchups, with the only loss coming in a 9-7 slugfest in Champaign back in 1995. As for Nebraska, Arizona split two Holiday Bowl appearances against the Cornhuskers-those are the only meetings between the two schools.
Arizona does have some good memories in Vegas. The Wildcats beat BYU 31-21 in the 2008 Las Vegas Bowl, snapping a decade-long postseason drought at the time.
The Pac-12 Factor
Even with the conference realignment chaos, Arizona is still tied into the Pac-12’s bowl affiliations for this season. That gives them a solid shot at one of the league’s designated slots, which includes the Holiday, Vegas, and L.A.
Bowls. Given their strong finish and overall résumé, Arizona is well-positioned to land one of those top-tier Pac-12 tie-ins.
What’s Next?
We won’t have to wait much longer. Bowl selections will be finalized soon, and Arizona’s bowl fate will be sealed. Whether it's San Diego, Los Angeles, or Las Vegas, the Wildcats are heading to the postseason with momentum, swagger, and a chance to cap off a resurgent season in style.
For a program that’s been building toward this moment, it’s not just about where they’re going-it’s about how far they’ve come.