AZTECS, LADEN WITH MW HONOREES, PRIMED FOR NEW MEXICO BOWL MATCHUP AGAINST MEAN GREEN
From staff reports
The Mountain West has announced its 2025 all-conference football team and players of the year, many of whom will be spotlighted during the myriad postseason bowl games.
UNLV junior quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who led the MW with 3,050 passing yards and 22 touchdowns, earned recognition as the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year. The Rebels (10-3) will face Ohio University Bobcats (8-4) in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl on Dec. 23.
New Mexico junior linebacker Jaxton Eck and San Diego State University senior defensive back Chris Johnson shared honors as the MW Co-Defensive Players of the Year.
Eck led the conference with 64 unassisted tackles and ranked eighth nationally with 126 total tackles while Johnson recorded four interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns, and had nine pass break-ups.
New Mexico (9-3) will be making its first bowl game appearance since 2016 in the Rate Bowl in Phoenix on Dec. 26 against the Minnesota Golden Gophers (7-5).
SDSU (9-3) will play the 23rd-ranked University of North Texas Mean Green (11-2) in the 20th annual Isleta New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 27.
Hawaii senior place-kicker Kansei Matsuzawa, who led the MW with his school-record 25 made field goals earned recognition as the conference’s Special Teams Player of the Year while teammate Micah Alejandro received honors as the MW Freshman of the Year with 2,832 passing yards and 21 touchdowns despite missing two games because of injury.
Both players will be spotlighted in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 24 when the Rainbow Warriors (8-4) tackled the Cal-Berkeley Golden Bears (7-5).
New Mexico’s Jason Eck was named as the MW Coach of the Year after leading the Lobos to a 9-3 regular season record and 6-2 conference mark — the most wins in both categories since 2016 and the most wins by a New Mexico coach in his first year.
Aztec Nation
Johnson, who earned additional accolades as a Second Team Associated Press All-American, is part of a SDSU defense that led the nation with three shutouts this season and held opponents to single-digit scoring in seven of 12 games overall.
The Aztec defense ranks fifth in the FBS in scoring defense (12.6 points per game), seventh in total defense (266.7 yards per game), fourth in yards per play allowed (4.12) and second in red-zone scoring percentage (66.7).
Johnson is the first Aztec to make an AP All-America team since Jonah Tavai garnered second-team honors in 2022 and the first SDSU cornerback since Luq Barcoo was a second-team honoree in 2019.
Johnson completed one of the best regular seasons defensively in program history, registering 49 tackles (36 solo), four interceptions for 146 yards and two touchdowns, nine pass breakups, three tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and two quarterback hurries.
A semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award for the best defensive back in the country and the Mountain West Co-Defensive Player of the Year, Johnson is tied for the top-graded cornerback in the country with a 92.0 defensive grade per Pro Football Focus and has the second-highest pass coverage grade (92.4), both with a minimum of just 10 defensive snaps.
Johnson becomes the fourth Aztec to be named a MW Defensive Player of the Year, joining linebacker Kirk Morrison (2003-04), cornerback Damontae Kazee (2015-16) and defensive linemen Cameron Thomas (2021).
A total of eight SDSU players earned recognition on the 2025 MW all-conference team. Joining Johnson in the elite listing are senior offensive lineman Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli (first team offense), junior defensive lineman Trey White (first team defense), sophomore linebacker Owen Chambliss (first team defense), sophomore punt returner Jordan Napier (first team defense), senior offensive lineman Christian Jones (second team offense), senor place-kicker Gabe Plascencia (second team offense) and junior punter Hunter Green (second team defense).
White, from Eastlake High, is a two-time first team selection while Plascencia is a two-time second team selection.
SDSU’s honorable mention selections include tight end Seth Adams, outside guard Bayo Kannike, linebacker Tano Letuli, cornerback Bryce Phillips and safety Dalesean Staley.
The Aztecs finished the regular season with a 9-3 record, including a 6-2 mark in Mountain West play. SDSU tied with Boise State, New Mexico and UNLV atop the league standings, but was left out of a MW Championship appearance because of computer rankings. Boise State, which San Diego State defeated, 17-7, in the regular season, captured the MW championship with a 38-21 win over UNLV.
The six-win improvement for the Aztecs in regular-season play from last year (3-9) to this season (9-3) matches the largest win increase by SDSU in program history (since 1921), joining a six-win improvement from 1960 (1-6-1) to 1961 (7-2-1).
Photo courtesy SDSU Athletics: Eastlake High alum Trey White is a two-time first team MW selection.
Arizona and SMU to meet in 46th Trust & Will Holiday Bowl to usher in 2026 cheer
From staff reports
The 17th-ranked Arizona Wildcats (9-3) from the Big 12 Conference and the SMU Mustangs (8-4) from the Atlantic Coast Conference will play in the 46th annual Trust & Will Holiday Bowl. The bowl game is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 2, at 5 p.m. It will air on FOX and be played at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium.
This will be the first time the Holiday Bowl has ever been played in January.
“The Trust and Will Holiday Bowl is well known for explosive, high-scoring games and down-to-the-wire finishes,” said Mark Neville, CEO of Sports San Diego, organizers of the annual Holiday Bowl game. “This matchup between potent offenses and exciting styles of football should provide another exciting chapter in the history of San Diego’s bowl game. Expect the Wildcats and Mustangs to put on quite a show!”
This will be Arizona’s third appearance in the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl. The first was in 1998 when the Wildcats defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers 23-20. The other was in 2009 when they lost to the Cornhuskers 33-0. Arizona is riding a five-game winning streak. The most recent victory was by a score of 23-7 on the road against their intra-state rival Arizona State.
This will be SMU’s second appearance in the Holiday Bowl. The lone Mustangs appearance was a memorable one when they were defeated 46-45 in 1980 by the BYU Cougars with no time remaining on the clock. The SMU backfield that year was known best as the “Pony Express” and included the legendary running back duo of Eric Dickerson and Craig James.
Arizona and SMU have played each other twice. SMU won the first matchup, 29-7, during the 1938 season. Arizona defeated third-ranked SMU, 28-6, in 1985.
“I have a high level of respect and appreciation for the bowl games everywhere, but having a little bit of experience with this bowl and knowing how special this bowl game is in San Diego and on the West Coast, the opportunity for us to be a part of it was big time,” Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said.
“There’s excitement and enthusiasm from the players, so much of our roster is from California, which is also huge. Many of our fans, our alums, are living either in Arizona or California, and that part of it is really exciting, too. It’s a convenient game for our fans to get to, and also an exciting opponent for them to see. SMU is someone that they don’t really see us get to play against. All those things coming together just made the matchup perfect for us.
“Bowl games are an incredible opportunity for every program that’s fortunate enough to be a part of them. Every bowl game is different. Every bowl game has its own experience, location, the people that put it on, and obviously, the Sports San Diego red jackets are holding it down here. Our team is excited as hell to get out here and play.”
“Every team is different,” SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said. “Every year is different. Every bowl game is different. The Trust & Will Holiday Bowl is an incredible bowl. Our guys are excited to play. We play a Top 20 team at the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, and they get to go home for Christmas, and they’re still playing a great bowl game – a lot of those things lined up. Our guys are excited to play. They love to play. They get to play one more time together.”
The Mustangs will be making their seventh consecutive postseason appearance.
“It’s an exciting time at SMU,” Lashlee said. “Over the last four or five years, we’ve been winning at a high level and getting into the ACC. We’ve had some really good players over the last five to seven years. Winning has become a habit at SMU. Expecting to win has become a habit. Getting into bowl games is great, and getting to come to a place like San Diego and be here at the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl and with the Sports San Diego red jackets is going to be fantastic, but it’s a lot more fun when you win. We haven’t won a lot of those bowl games, so we’re looking for an opportunity to try to win a game against a really quality opponent.”
Game day activities include the annual Port of San Diego Holiday Bowl parade along the San Diego harbor front at 10 a.m., preceded by the 5K run/walk.
The Arizona and SMU marching bands and cheer squads will put on a show the night before the Holiday Bowl on Jan. 1, 4 p.m. at SeaWorld San Diego.
“We can’t wait to welcome teams, bands, cheer squads and fans from SMU and Arizona to San Diego later this month,” said Nancy Rohland-Heinrich, this year’s Sports San Diego president. “Our volunteers, partners and staff have been working tirelessly to prepare for an incredible game and bowl week experience for all.”
Game ticket prices start at $50 and can be purchased at www.HolidayBowl.com. Information on Bowl Week events, including the Port of San Diego Holiday Bowl Parade presented by Kaiser Permanente and the Port of San Diego Game Day 5K can also be found at www.HolidayBowl.com.
SeaWorld San Diego, a longtime Holiday Bowl sponsor, is providing one-day park admission tickets to the first 10,000 fans through the Snapdragon Stadium gates, It’s one park admission ticket per person, while supplies last. Gates open at 3 p.m.
