Holiday Bowl: Arizona vs. Nebraska

This year, a wonderful, handsome, and smart man purchased tickets for his wife so that she could go to the Holiday Bowl and see her favorite team.

And when she changed her mind, my wife was able to purchase those tickets on craigslist.  It’s a holiday miracle.

Arizona (8-4, 6-3 Pacific 10) vs. Nebraska (9-4, 6-2 Big 12)

December 30, 2009 5:00 PM ET

Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California

I’ll be honest- of all the “pre-CS” games, the Holiday Bowl has always been one of my favorites. Sure, the Buckeyes have defeated anything Mormon that they faced in the game, but my formative memories of this clash are as follows:

1. BYU finishing the 1984 season by beating Mich1gAAn and starting my interest in the “national championship” fiasco (though undefeated, the Cougars strength of schedule made for tons of debate).
2. The 1990 game saw (in my opinion) overrated Heisman winner Ty Detmer of BYU actually destroyed by Texas A&M. If I remember right, the Aggies dislocated both of his shoulders in the 65-14 win. Somewhere, collecting dust, is a VHS copy of this game that I used to watch every year through grad school; thank God for YouTube (and Eddie Vedder/Dave Grohl):

Begun as a way to get the WAC some love by pitting their teams against national powers, the Holiday Bowl has been a part of the San Diego seasonal festival since 1978, with the WAC serving as host until 1994.

For Buckeyes, there’s plenty of reasons to appreciate this game; just think of it as the “Battle for Youngstown”, between two families whose names have come to be synonymous with defense. Both sets of coaches hail from Cardinal Mooney high school, as does Nebraska’s receiver coach Tim Beck. While the Pelini brothers have continued to work together, the Stoops are now spread from Arizona (Mike), Oklahoma (Bob, as you know), and Florida State (Mark, new defensive coordinator). I’m guessing that, win or lose, this probably won’t affect the Christmas card list very much- seems like a solid group of guys.

While the Stoops brothers have quietly been building a dynasty in the desert, the Pelini’s task has been much more daunting. After what many see as the horrific mistake that was the Bill Callahan era, the former defensive coordinator under previous Coach Frank Solich was brought back to right the ship.  As an aside, I’ve met several people in Lincoln who won’t let me forget that the Callahan experience was due to a new Athletic Director- one who has Ohio State ties.

Once Pelini took the position, the former Ohio State captain spent his first days both recruiting for the Big Red and preparing to face his alma mater on the sidelines of one of those games we don’t talk about. Since moving to Lincoln full time, he has worked to tighten up the ship, and has become known for a tenacious D as well as his intense persona.

This will be a rematch of the 1998 game, won by Arizona 23-20. Typically, the Holiday Bowl has served as an amazing display of offensive firepower, scores in the 50s and 60s are not uncommon. Something tells me that ain’t happenin’ this year; not with Youngstown’s finest on the sidelines. First, let’s take a look at the Wildcats.

Arizona earned their berth into this game by joining Stanford as “teams to beat USC at home”, upsetting the Trojans on Senior Day 21-17. As mentioned, Arizona’s defense has been stalwart all season; they have only allowed 34% conversion rate on third down, have amassed 34 sacks this season, and have netted 12 interceptions on the year. Trevin Wade leads the team in this last category, with 5 overall; junior defensive end Rickey Elmore’s 10.5 sacks are tops for the Wildcats. The also boast two impressive return men; both ‘Bug’ Wright and Travis Cobb have proven that they have the speed to take any kick back to the house. Wright averages over 19 yards per punt return, while Cobb’s kickoff average is just over 25 yards per attempt.

On offense, sophomore QB Nick Foles averages 200 yards through the air per game, while sophomore Juron Criner seems to be the primary red-zone target with 9 TDs through the air. The running game falls on the shoulders of Keola Antolin and Nick Grigsby- both come in with over 500 yards on the ground for the season. Wildcard Wildcat is backup QB Matt Scott- his mobility gives Arizona the change of pace that can confound opponents.

Of interest to Buckeye fans- Arizona lost to Iowa 17-27 early in the season, but took Oregon to overtime as the team began to gel later on. Of interest to fashionistas- Arizona may lose the blue bonnets in favor of white. Dress accordingly.

When we last saw Nebraska’s offense… well, we really haven’t seen much of it this year. Not that QB Zac Lee hasn’t been playing admirably, but the Children of the Corn are certainly pining for the days of  Tommie Frazier. Roy Helu Jr. has managed almost 1200 yards behind an offensive line that is still developing; admirable, since Nebraska’s opposition can expect the run first in their gameplan. Niles Paul is Lee’s primary receiver, and has 670+ yards to go with his 700+ return total.

Defensively, it begins with the AP national player of the year, Ndamukong Suh. Colt McCoy is still having nightmares about Suh’s performance in the Big 12 Championship Game that ended sketchy– 11 tackles, 6 for a loss, 4.2 sacks, and 2 hurries. If only he could have jumped in the air at the very end of the game; the shock wave would have certainly rattled the goalposts enough that the FG attempt would miss.

Yet triple teaming the “house of spears” doesn’t work, and only frees up Jared Crick, who has totaled 70 tackles on the year including 9.5 sacks. The Huskers’ pressure has led to 19 interceptions in 2009, including two returned for TDs. Should Arizona choose to go to the air, they should be certain of Larry Asante’s location; he anchors a secondary of Blackshirts that preys on the confusion which the defensive front creates.

Unfortunately, when looking for “famous alumni”, I really couldn’t help but notice that the Husker webpage proudly totes Larry the Cable Guy as a Cornhead.  I’ll let you make your own judgements, but I’m certain that Coach Pelini will encourage his men to “Get ‘er d…….”

Sorry, I just can’t bring myself to type it.

Who Are We Picking?

Jeff at the BBC: Nebraska

Mali: Nebraska

Jim: Nebraska

Eric: Nebraska

Defense wins championships and bowl games. If the Huskers could shut down Texas, they’ll have no problem with Arizona. The only question will be regarding their ability to score points: Nebraska plays Tresselball, without the offensive talent. Nonetheless, I’m picking the Huskers.

Seriously, though, if I picked the Wildcats, my wife would kill me.

As always, our colleagues Arizona Desert Swarm and Corn Nation from the SBN are an invaluable source for continuing Holiday Bowl coverage.