By Brian Gosset
TJ Harden rushed for two touchdowns and SMU withstood a late rally to beat Arizona 24-19 in the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl on Friday night.
South Oak Cliff grad QB Kevin Jennings threw for 278 yards on 21 of 32 passes, but had three interceptions in the second half to give the Wildcats life after trailing 24-0 at the intermission.
Arizona scored with 33 seconds left to pull within five, but SMU recovered the ensuing onside kick. The Mustangs finish the season 9-4 and picked up their first bowl win since the 2012 Hawaii Bowl against Fresno State.
It took SMU less than a minute to score when Harden punched in a touchdown from the 1 to give SMU a 7-0 lead after a 3-play and 83-yard scoring drive.
Harden added a 3-yard TD run with 4:16 left in the first quarter to push the lead to 14-0.
The Mustangs put together another two long drives for their next two scores. Stone Eby, a Flower Mound grad, scored on a 1-yard TD run to extend the margin to 21-0 early in the second. It capped off a 16-play, 94-yard drive that lasted nearly seven minutes.
SMU tacked on a 24-yard field goal from Sam Keltner with 29 seconds before halftime for the 24-0 lead. The Mustangs went 58 yards in 13 plays and took off nearly five minutes.
But SMU struggled in the second half as Arizona made its comeback.
The Wildcats’ three touchdown drives after halftime lasted 15, 10 and 12 plays and combined for 236 yards and over 15 minutes of game time. QB Noah Fifita threw TD passes of 28, 10 and 15 yards to Javin Whatley, Tre Spivey and Cam Barmore (which came with 33 seconds left in the fourth quarter).
Yamir Knight led the SMU receivers with seven catches and 104 yards while Matthew Hibner added 85 yards on two grabs. Mansfield Summit’s Ahmaad Moses made 10 solo tackles and 13 total. Alexander Kilgore had an interception in the fourth quarter.
Moses was named Defensive MVP.
