2009 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date | December 30, 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Season | 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stadium | Qualcomm Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | San Diego, California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
MVP | WR Niles Paul (Nebraska) S Matt O'Hanlon (Nebraska) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Referee | Tom Zimorski (ACC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 64,607 [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Payout | US$2,130,000 per team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | Chris Fowler Craig James Jesse Palmer Erin Andrews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nielsen ratings | 3.7 [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2009 Holiday Bowl was the thirty-second edition of the college football bowl game and was played at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The game started at 5:00 pm US PST on Wednesday, December 30, 2009. The game was telecast on ESPN. The Nebraska Cornhuskers defeated the Arizona Wildcats 33–0 for the first shutout in the history of the bowl. [3] This was a rematch of the two teams, who faced each other in the 1998 Holiday Bowl, where Arizona defeated Nebraska 23–20.
The game featured the 2nd pick from the Pac-10 and the 3rd pick from the Big 12. The game had recently become a type of "upset" bowl. In previous years, teams rejected by the BCS had lost to heavy underdogs. In 2005, a 10–1 Oregon team (favored by 3 points while ranked 6th in the nation) playing without its star quarterback Kellen Clemens lost 17–14 to a surging Oklahoma squad that had won six out of its last seven. In 2004, one-loss California was defeated by Big 12 Texas Tech, 45–31. In 2003, Big 12 representative Texas was knocked off by Pac-10 representative Washington State, led by Matt Kegel.
The Wildcats drew the bid the day they wrapped up an 8-4 season with a 21–17 victory at USC, a win that gave Arizona a share of second place (along with Oregon State and Stanford) in the Pac-10 with a 6–3 conference record. Nebraska lost a 13–12 heartbreaker to Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game. The Cornhuskers won the conference's North Division with a 6–2 record. The 1998 meeting between the two teams was the only time that either school had appeared in the Holiday Bowl. The only other meeting between the two schools was a 14–14 tie in 1961.
On December 8, 2009, the Holiday Bowl committee announced a marketing campaign with fast food franchise Jack in the Box where Jack Box, the fictional Chairman and CEO of the company and star of its marketing campaigns, would be the Honorary Chairman of the game and the Grand Marshal of the Port of San Diego Big Bay Balloon Parade. [4]
Nebraska wore their home red jerseys, and Arizona wore their white away jerseys with their newly introduced white helmets.
Nebraska's 33–0 defeat of Arizona was the first and, to date, only shutout victory in the Holiday Bowl. [5] Prior to the 2009 Holiday Bowl no team had scored fewer than 10 points in a game. [6] The Wildcats were held to just 109 total yards of offense and just 6 first downs. The Cornhuskers were led on offense by wide receiver Niles Paul who hauled in 4 catches for 123 yards, including a touchdown, which accounted for 74 of his receiving yards. Quarterback Zac Lee threw for 173 yards and the TD to Paul. Rex Burkhead of Nebraska led all rushers with 89 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. This also marked the first time in Nebraska's 46 bowl game history that it has shut out a team in postseason. However, this was the third time in Arizona's bowl history that they have been shut out, the second time in a game in San Diego. The Wildcats lost the 1921 San Diego East-West Christmas Classic to Centre College 38–0 and the 1990 Aloha Bowl to Syracuse 28–0. The game also marked Nebraska's first 10-win season since 2003.
Scoring Play | Score | ||
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1st Quarter | |||
NE — Zac Lee 4-yard rush (Alex Henery kick), 13:45 | NE 7–0 | ||
NE — Alex Henery 47-yard field goal, 8:53 | NE 10–0 | ||
2nd Quarter | |||
NE — Rex Burkhead 5-yard rush (Alex Henery kick), 11:57 | NE 17–0 | ||
NE — Alex Henery 50-yard field goal, 8:25 | NE 20–0 | ||
NE — Alex Henery 41-yard field goal, 0:35 | NE 23–0 | ||
3rd Quarter | |||
NE — Alex Henery 22-yard field goal, 10:07 | NE 26–0 | ||
NE — Niles Paul 74-yard pass from Zac Lee (Alex Henery kick), 3:39 | NE 33–0 | ||
4th Quarter | |||
None | |||
The Alamo Bowl is an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Since 2010 it matches the second choice team from the Pac-12 Conference and the second choice team from the Big 12 Conference. For the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the Pac-12 or Pac-12 "legacy schools" will continue to fulfill their prior conference tie-in role. Traditionally, the Alamo Bowl has been played in December, although it was played in January following the 2009, 2014, and 2015 seasons. This year's game is scheduled for December 28, 2024.
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The 2009 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cornhuskers played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska and were led by head coach Bo Pelini. The Cornhuskers finished the season 10–4, 6–3 in Big 12 and were Big 12 North Division champions and represented the division in the Big 12 Championship Game, where they lost to Texas 13–12. Nebraska was invited to the Holiday Bowl, where they defeated Arizona 33–0.
The 2009 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS college football season. The Wildcats, led by sixth-year head coach Mike Stoops, played their home games at Arizona Stadium.
The 1998 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by head coach Dick Tomey in his twelfth season, the Wildcats captured a 12–1 record during the year. It was Arizona's first 11-or-more-win season in school history and the best record to date, which surpassed the 1993 team's record of ten wins. A loss to UCLA in the middle of the regular season prevented the Wildcats from earning an outright Pac-10 title and a potential spot in the Rose Bowl. The team appeared in the Holiday Bowl, and defeating Nebraska to complete the season.
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The 1973 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.
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The 2014 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Bo Pelini and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. They were members of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 9–4, 5–3 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for second place in the West Division. Following losses to both Wisconsin and Minnesota and a come from behind win in overtime at Iowa, Pelini was relieved of his coaching duties following the conclusion of the regular season on November 30, 2014. On December 4, 2014, Mike Riley was announced as the next head coach of the Nebraska football team, and would begin his duties immediately. However, he would not coach the Huskers in the Holiday Bowl, with that job instead handled by Barney Cotton. The Cornhuskers lost the Holiday Bowl to USC.
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The 1961 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Nebraska as a member of the Big Eight Conference during the 1961 college football season. In their fifth and final year under head coach Bill Jennings, the Cornhuskers compiled a 3–6–1 record, tied for sixth place out of eight teams in the Big 8, and were outscored by a total of 135 to 119.
The 2010 Holiday Bowl was the thirty-third edition of the college football bowl game and was played at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The game started at 7:00 PM US PST on Thursday, December 30, 2010, and was a bowl rematch featuring the Nebraska Cornhuskers against the Washington Huskies. The game was telecast on ESPN. The Washington Huskies won 19–7. San Diego's Bridgepoint Education became the new title sponsor of the Holiday Bowl.
The 2016 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by second-year head coach Mike Riley and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. They were members of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference.