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2009 Holiday Bowl

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2009Pacific LifeHoliday Bowl
1234 Total
Arizona 0000 0
Nebraska 1013100 33
DateDecember 30, 2009
Season2009
StadiumQualcomm Stadium
LocationSan Diego, California
MVPWRNiles Paul(Nebraska)
S Matt O'Hanlon (Nebraska)
RefereeTom Zimorski (ACC)
Attendance64,607[1]
PayoutUS$2,130,000per team
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersChris Fowler
Craig James
Jesse Palmer
Erin Andrews
Nielsen ratings3.7[2]
Holiday Bowl
<2008 2010>

The2009 Holiday Bowlwas the thirty-second edition of thecollege footballbowl gameand was played atQualcomm Stadiumin San Diego, California. The game started at 5:00 pmUS PSTon Wednesday, December 30, 2009. The game was telecast onESPN.TheNebraska Cornhuskersdefeated theArizona Wildcats33–0 for the first shutout in the history of the bowl.[3]This was a rematch of the two teams, who faced each other in the1998 Holiday Bowl,whereArizonadefeatedNebraska23–20.

Background

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The game featured the 2nd pick from thePac-10and the 3rd pick from theBig 12.The game had recently become a type of "upset" bowl. In previous years, teams rejected by the BCS had lost to heavy underdogs. In2005,a 10–1Oregon team(favored by 3 points while ranked 6th in the nation) playing without its star quarterbackKellen Clemenslost 17–14 to a surgingOklahoma squadthat had won six out of its last seven. In2004,one-lossCaliforniawas defeated by Big 12Texas Tech,45–31. In2003,Big 12 representativeTexaswas knocked off by Pac-10 representativeWashington State,led by Matt Kegel.

The Wildcats drew the bid the day they wrapped up an 8-4 season with a 21–17 victory atUSC,a win that gave Arizona a share of second place (along withOregon StateandStanford) in the Pac-10 with a 6–3 conference record. Nebraska lost a 13–12 heartbreaker toTexasin theBig 12 Championship Game.The Cornhuskers won the conference's North Division with a 6–2 record. The1998 meetingbetween 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 franchiseJack in the BoxwhereJack 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 thePort of San DiegoBig Bay Balloon Parade.[4]

Game summary

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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, onlyshutoutvictory 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 bywide receiverNiles Paulwho hauled in 4 catches for 123 yards, including a touchdown, which accounted for 74 of his receiving yards.QuarterbackZac Lee threw for 173 yards and the TD to Paul.Rex Burkheadof 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 inSan Diego.The Wildcats lost the 1921San Diego East-West Christmas ClassictoCentre College38–0 and the 1990Aloha BowltoSyracuse28–0. The game also marked Nebraska's first 10-win season since2003.

Scoring summary

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Scoring Play Score
1st Quarter
NE —Zac Lee4-yard rush (Alex Henerykick), 13:45 NE 7–0
NE — Alex Henery 47-yard field goal, 8:53 NE 10–0
2nd Quarter
NE —Rex Burkhead5-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 Paul74-yard pass from Zac Lee (Alex Henery kick), 3:39 NE 33–0
4th Quarter
None

References

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  1. ^"Arizona vs. Nebraska - Box Score - December 30, 2009 - ESPN".
  2. ^Jon Solomon,2009-10 Bowl TV Ratings,The Birmingham News,January 13, 2010
  3. ^"Huskers harass Cats in first Holiday Bowl shutout".Yahoo! Sports.Archivedfrom the original on January 3, 2010.RetrievedDecember 30,2009.
  4. ^"Jack Box Named Bowl's Honorary Chair, Grand Marshal | 2009".Archived fromthe originalon January 3, 2010.RetrievedDecember 29,2009.
  5. ^"Huskers harass Cats in first Holiday Bowl shutout".Archivedfrom the original on January 3, 2010.RetrievedDecember 31,2009.
  6. ^"Holiday Bowl history".ESPN.com.November 16, 2006.RetrievedMarch 11,2010.