Wildcats Have Been Invited to the Holiday Bowl

by jruss on Dec 6, 2009 2:16 PM PST in Football Comment 4 comments

Following a dramatic victory yesterday over the USC Trojans, the Wildcats have officially been invited to play in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl on December 30. The Holiday bowl will feature the Pac-10 runner-up (Arizona) and the third selection from the Big-12, which could very well be Nebraska.

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Rematch from 1998

Arizona topped Nebraska in the 1998 Holiday Bowl in a seesaw battle, 23-20.

It would be great to be in San Diego for the game. Hopefully the ’Zona faithful will turn out in large numbers.

The game kicks off at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 30th at Qualcomm Stadium. The game is a rematch of the 1998 Holiday Bowl, when the Wildcats overcame a third quarter deficit and defeated the Huskers 23-20 in front of 65,354 fans.

"We’re very pleased with this matchup," said Warden. "Arizona and Nebraska met here eleven years ago and to date, it’s still one of the most successful games in our bowl’s history. We look forward to welcoming the thousands of fans from these two premier institutions back to our great city."

Sixth-year head coach Mike Stoops brings his Wildcats to San Diego after leading his squad to an 8-4 overall record, 6-3 in the Pac-10. Their victory over USC yesterday in Los Angeles earned them a share of second place in the conference.

“We’re thrilled to earn the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl bid the way we did in the last couple weeks, and excited to be in San Diego," said Stoops. "Our players have worked hard all season for a reward like this, and will work hard to show what Arizona and the Pac-10 Conference are all about in the game itself.”

Arizona is led by a balanced offense spearheaded by sophomore quarterback Nick Foles, and a top 25 defense that can apply pass pressure, defend the run and make things happen in the secondary. The Wildcats’ return game features a pair of threats in Bug Wright and Travis Cobb. Running backs Nic Grigsby and Keola Antolin have combined for 1,100 yards and nine scores despite missed games, while receivers Terrell Turner and Juron Criner bring explosive energy on the edge.

Hopefully the inept Cornhusker offense that showed up last night against Texas make another appearance.

by mattortega on Dec 6, 2009 5:27 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

oh I assure you

It will. Buckle in for another defensive struggle, 20 points wins this one easily.

It should be a good game between two defensive teams, after all, the Big 12 version of Stoops-Pelini ended 10-3, I see no reason why the inter-conference matchup should have a significantly different score. :P

Until the 30th, hopefully our fanbases can band together and sell this thing out.

"My hardest job is to convince the people of Nebraska that 10-1 is not a losing season." - Tom Osborne

by jdhusker on Dec 6, 2009 8:14 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Good call jdhusker

This game is a great matchup, and the two fanbases need to jump on board.

No empty seats Cats fans!

by Smooty on Dec 8, 2009 6:04 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

So happy...

to get back to this point. The ‘Cats may not be 12-1 like they were for the last Holiday Bowl match-up with Nebraska, but I would argue that this team actually had a better season. The PAC-10 is certainly stronger this year than it has been any time I can remember (and I’ve been watching Arizona football for almost 40 years), yet Arizona was a mere 6 seconds from the Rose Bowl. They played a tough overall schedule, and still only had one “bad” loss (the Cal loss). Iowa might have been different had Dykes not been so hell-bent on playing Matt Scott. Washington should have been different, but for two horrible officiating and replay decisions. Oregon was a hard-fought game that the ‘Cats just couldn’t quite pull out. The only game that they lost when they should have won was Cal, and even Cal has shown some good things this season. I appreciate where they are because of how far they had to come to get back.

by azshadowwalker on Dec 9, 2009 12:26 AM PST reply actions 0 recs