Rhett Lashlee takes an egg shower after winning the Holiday Bowl

SMU football overwhelmed Arizona early in the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl. Fans believed the rout came when the Mustangs jumped out to a 24-point halftime lead. But SMU couldn’t get anywhere in a turnover-ridden second half. Head coach Rhett Lashlee implored his team to finish strong. But the Mustangs were shut out in the final two quarters on Friday.

As it turned out, SMU’s 24 first-half points were all it took to win. The team’s defense was able to hold off a late Arizona surge for a 24-19 victory. And Lashlee celebrated by dousing herself in eggnog, per (recent) Holiday Bowl tradition.

But the watering was done by a special guest. Brian Baumgartner, the actor who played Kevin on The Office, joined the postgame ceremony and pelted the head coach with an egg, according to FOX College Football.

Did Brian Baumgartner just pour the mogul @SMUFB‘s Rhett Lashlee in @HolidayBowl?

Yes, yes it is. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/RnHuIfsIVV

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOKS) January 3, 2026

SMU earns Rhett Lashley an egg bath in the Holiday Bowl

Baumgartner is a proud graduate of Southern Methodist University, where he earned a BFA in Theater in 1995. He remained a fan of his alma mater after leaving school. And he must have been excited when SMU went into intermission up 24-0.

But Arizona finally got on the board in the third quarter, cutting into a large Mustang lead. After Kevin Jennings’ first of three interceptions in the second half, the Wildcats scored a 28-yard touchdown. However, the two-point attempt failed.

Lashlee he asked his players to close out the game on their own terms after Arizona cut the lead to 24-6. “He’s got to look better in the fourth quarter,” FOX’s Jenny Taft said. “You know, we obviously had a chance to put the game away. We threw an 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 break on the two-point conversion. Great defense picked us up after the turnover. So now we have a chance to attack and put the game away.”

However, SMU was not going to put the game away. Not immediately. Arizona scored twice in the final quarter to keep the Mustangs out of the game. But the Wildcats’ final touchdown came with just 33 seconds left. SMU got the ball back and ran out the clock, securing a 24-19 victory.