![\"Arizona](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SUT-L-holidaybowl-1208-01_a3d152.jpg\")
Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita is approaching several career passing records for the Wildcats. (AP Photo\/Rick Scuteri)\nNoah Fifita, Arizona<\/p>\n
The Trust & Will Holiday Bowl has something this year that distinguishes it from every other bowl game as well as the College Football Playoff.<\/p>\n
The game between No. 21 Arizona and SMU features a pair of quarterbacks who have stayed put, which is pretty amazing in this era of player portability.<\/p>\n
Arizona\u2019s Noah Fifita and SMU\u2019s Kevin Jennings provide the Holiday Bowl with the bowl season\u2019s only matchup that features two quarterbacks who have stayed at their one and only school for four years.<\/p>\n
In fact, the Salute to Veterans Bowl and the 68 Ventures Bowl are the only other two games that include non-freshman opposing quarterbacks who aren\u2019t transfers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing,\u201d Jennings said. \u201cIt\u2019s rare to see, kind of a crazy thing to see nowadays in college. I\u2019m excited that I can pass that tradition down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jennings will return to the Mustangs in 2026.\u00a0Fifita has not made his plans public, but those around the program say he is returning as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cTucson means everything to me,\u201d Fifita said. \u201cThe University of Arizona means a lot to me and my family. Being able to play for Coach (Brent) Brennan and the university means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Returning for his senior year gives him a chance to play with younger brother Dash Fifita, a linebacker from Santa Margarita Catholic High School who was part of the Wildcats\u2019 2026 early signing class.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is a great game with two great quarterbacks,\u201d SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter, college or pro, quarterbacks make you go.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why QBs are in such demand. And why staying put has become something to be celebrated.<\/p>\n
Here are a few details on the Holiday Bowl quarterbacks:<\/p>\n
Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita is approaching several career passing records for the Wildcats. (AP Photo\/Rick Scuteri)
\nNoah Fifita, Arizona<\/p>\n
Redshirt junior, 5-10, 186, Huntington Beach<\/strong><\/p>\n 2025 statistics:<\/strong> 247-for-385 (64.2%), 2,963 yards, 26 passing TDs\/101 carries, 143 yards, 3 rushing TDs.<\/p>\n Fifita, like many undersized quarterbacks, was not heavily recruited out of Anaheim\u2019s Servite High School. Cal was his only other Division I offer. Fifita was one of four Servite players signed by Arizona, joining wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, tight end Keyan Burnett and linebacker Jacob Manu.<\/p>\n The Wildcats weren\u2019t fully aware of what they had until Fifita emerged early in the 2023 season. He was Arizona\u2019s backup quarterback as a redshirt freshman when starter Jayden de Laura was injured in a Week 4 game against Stanford. Fifita led the Wildcats to a win, and he hasn\u2019t looked back.<\/p>\n \u201cMy process has definitely changed from then,\u201d Fifita said. \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot from the quarterbacks that have been in my room, the coaches I\u2019ve had, and I\u2019ve learned a lot about the game and I\u2019ve learned a lot about the position.\u201d<\/p>\n Arizona closed out a 10-3 season in 2023 with seven straight victories, highlighted by a school-record 527 passing yards in a 59-23 win over rival Arizona State and capped with a comeback win over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl. Fifita threw for 354 yards and two touchdowns against the Sooners.<\/p>\n Arizona slid to 4-8 last year following a coaching change, though Fifita again passed for nearly 3,000 yards. He led the turnaround for this year\u2019s 9-3 team. Fifita claimed the school\u2019s career passing touchdown record during the season. He can set his sights next season on the career marks for passing attempts, completions and yards.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s done it now for a couple of years, right?\u201d Lashlee said. \u201cHe can really throw the football. He gets it out of his hands quickly, has really good weapons. They don\u2019t turn the football over.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, then, also the added part is he can hurt you with his legs and designed runs, or just extending plays. It doesn\u2019t matter what defense you\u2019re in, that gives you a problem. So that\u2019s our biggest concern.\u201d<\/p>\n Redshirt junior, 6-0, 192, Oak Cliff, Texas<\/strong><\/p>\n 2025 statistics:<\/strong> 279-for-422 (66.1%), 3,363 yards, 26 passing TDs; 69 carries, 50 yards, 4 rushing TDs<\/p>\n Like Fifita, Jennings also was lightly recruited.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t really have a lot of offers,\u201d said Jennings, who was the 95th-ranked quarterback in the state of Texas. \u201cI think 100% I had a chip on my shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n SMU knew all about him after he starred at Dallas\u2019 South Oak Cliff High School, which he led to a 2021 state championship.<\/p>\n Jennings redshirted his first year, got two starts his second year and then blossomed last year, helping SMU to an ACC championship and berth in the 2024 College Football Playoff.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re so excited to have Kevin, not only in this game, but coming back next year,\u201d Lashlee said. \u201cI mean, he makes us go.\u201d<\/p>\n Jennings had several memorable moments this season, including a game against Baylor in which he became only the seventh quarterback in Atlantic Coast Conference history to throw two 75-yard touchdown passes in a game. He closed out the regular season with 300-yard passing performances against Miami, Boston College and Cal.<\/p>\n Jennings ranks second in school history in career passing yards (7,431) and fourth in career touchdown passes (55), but can easily become the Mustangs\u2019 career leader in both categories next season.<\/p>\n Jennings deflected questions about himself when SMU arrived Monday for the Holiday Bowl, choosing to praise those around him.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re a really fast-paced offense,\u201d Jennings said. \u201cWe kind of tempo it out. Some teams can\u2019t keep up with that. \u2026 We\u2019ve got playmakers on the outside that make any play. I put the ball in the vicinity, and they make the play for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Trust & Will Holiday Bowl has something this year that distinguishes it from every other bowl game…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":483694,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,1369,1370,3549,7264,62,7289,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-483693","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-college-sports","12":"tag-latest-headlines","13":"tag-san-diego","14":"tag-sandiego","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-top-stories-sdut","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115817373085965949","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"SMU](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AAC_Championship_Football_55086.jpg\")
SMU quarterback Kevin Jennnigs guided the Mustangs to the College Football Playoff last season. (AP Photo\/Gerald Herbert)
\nKevin Jennings, SMU<\/p>\n