T.J. Harden ran for two touchdowns, Kevin Jennings amassed 278 yards through the air and SMU defeated No. 17 Arizona 24-19 to win the Holiday Bowl on Friday night in San Diego.
SMU (9-4) was ahead 24-0 at halftime but had to overcome Jennings’ three second-half interceptions to pick up its first bowl win since 2012. Yamir Knight led all receivers with seven catches for 104 yards in the win.
“It’s all just preparation in practice,” said Knight, who had four receptions of 20 yards or longer and was selected the game’s offensive MVP. “We go hard all week, every week in practice, and we just came out here and paid attention to the details, and we got things done.”
Jennings said in the postgame TV interview, “We fought our butts off each and every week, but we came out here and still grinded every single day, so I’m just proud of this group right here. I had a terrible second half … but this team got my back no matter what. I love these guys.”
Noah Fifita led Arizona’s comeback efforts, going 28 of 43 for 265 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He was also the game’s leading rusher with 73 yards on 13 attempts, but the Wildcats (9-4) saw their five-game winning streak come to an end.
Each of the Mustangs’ first two possessions after halftime resulted in third-down interceptions. The first, by Michael Dansby at his own 4-yard line, set up Arizona for a 15-play, 96-yard drive. Fifita hit Javin Whatley for a 28-yard touchdown with 2:37 left in the third, but the two-point conversion failed.
Arizona got another interception but turned it over on downs. However, the Wildcats forced a three-and-out and later scored on fourth-and-2 from the 10 when Fifita hit Tre Spivey in the end zone. Fifita’s two-point pass was knocked down, leaving it 24-12.
SMU was driving to bleed the fourth-quarter clock, but Arizona linebacker Riley Wilson dropped into zone coverage and Jennings threw straight to him with less than five minutes to play.
Four plays later, however, Fifita’s pass was batted at the line and Alexander Kilgore intercepted it for SMU.
Still, Arizona forced a punt for one more chance, and Fifita connected with Cameron Barmore on third-and-10 from the 15 for a touchdown with 33 seconds left. But the Wildcats could not recover the onside kick necessary to continue their rally.
On the game’s second play from scrimmage, Jennings lofted a pass to a wide-open Matthew Hibner down the right sideline and the tight end raced toward the goal line before being marked down at the 1 for an 80-yard pitch and catch. Harden followed with his first touchdown of the game.
The Mustangs doubled their lead before the quarter ended. Arizona committed pass interference on a third-and-9 incompletion to give SMU new life. Harden ran it in from the 3 on the next play.
The next SMU possession turned into a 16-play, 94-yard march. Tight end Stone Eby had an 18-yard catch on the drive before he lined up as a fullback and pushed in a 1-yard touchdown.
Sam Keltner’s 24-yard field goal in the final minute of the half made it 24-0 at intermission.
–Field Level Media
