SMU football seized control even on a night when Arizona football was expected to win, as Rhett Lashlee steadied the sideline in the Holiday Bowl and the Mustangs carried a 24–6 lead into the fourth quarter. The setup felt charged. Underdog energy on one side. Pre-game expectations on the other. With one quarter left, the scoreboard favored substance over talk.
SMU earned that edge with defense. Tackles arrived in space. Pressure forced hurried throws. Arizona football possessions shortened, then stalled. The Mustangs complemented it with disciplined offense. They blended tempo and patience, used the middle of the field, and refused to panic after small setbacks. Every snap carried weight under the bowl lights. The crowd sensed it. Yet the message remained simple. Finish. Don’t let expectation sneak back into the game. The margin was firm, not final.
Lashlee’s message and SMU football's final push
At the end of the third quarter, Fox Sports’ Jenny Taft asked Rhett Lashlee how finishing “on your terms” needed to look. His answer then became the blueprint for closing. “Well, it needs to look better in the fourth quarter, but big stop there by our defense. You know, obviously we had a chance to put the game away. We threw the interception. The kid made a good play. Our defense, you know, they took a lot of air out of the game, but they scored. Big stop in the two-point conversion. Big stop defense picking us up after the turnover. So now we got a chance offensively to go put the game away.”
One more quarter to go in the @HolidayBowl!@JennyTaft caught up with @SMUFB's Rhett Lashlee 🐎 pic.twitter.com/bYjYmIEeln
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) January 3, 2026
In turn, that balance mattered. First came accountability for the turnover. Next came credit for the stops. Finally came a directive to the offense: end it. The Mustangs’ defense had preserved cushion and composure; now the offense needed the final drive that shuts the door.
From here, Arizona will swing. SMU must answer. The Holiday Bowl stage is bright, and the clock is shrinking. So one fan question now pulses through the night: can the Mustangs finish what they started and flip expectations into a statement win?
