SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Arizona’s defense held the storied Nebraska option rushing attack to 87 net yards, and the No. 5-ranked Wildcats cranked up some tough-guy rushing of their own to score 14 fourth-quarter points and beat the No. 14 Cornhuskers, 23-20, in the 21st annual Culligan Holiday Bowl.
The Cats secured the school’s finest record in history and earned enough acclaim through their efforts in the game — the most watched of any college bowl game in ESPN history – to earn a final No. 4 ranking in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls.
Unanimous All-America cornerback Chris McAlister cemented his reputation with an outstanding effort, intercepting two passes, one which turned the Huskers back on their final come-back try with less than four minutes remaining. He also had a 78-yard reverse punt return called back because of a questionable blocking call against Derek Hall.
Arizona trailed 13-9 at the half, and both teams struggled through five possessions in the third quarter before UA’s Dennis Northcutt gave the Cats some decent field position with a 16-yard punt return to start a 10-play scoring drive. Trung Canidate rushed five times for 37 yards in the span, and Keith Smith completed passes of five yards to Northcutt and Paul Shields and topped it off with a 15-yard strike to Brad Brennan for the score.
Nebraska answered, though, and reclaimed the lead at 20-16 with an eight-play, 88-yard drive, almost exclusively through the air.
With 10 minutes remaining, Smith opened UA’s next drive with a seven-yard pass to Shields, then the Cats ran the ball eight straight times for the nine-play, 68-yard drive which netted the final score on a Kelvin Eafon one-yard plunge. Smith had runs of 20, eight and eight yards to set up the score.
UA halted the Huskers with McAlister’s second pick and then later used enough clock with a first down to force Nebraska to get the ball back with 34 seconds remaining. One short completion and three incompletions, and the game was over.
Canidate ran for 101 yards on 22 carries. Smith, who completed 11-of-19 passing for 143 yards and ran for 25 more, was named Holiday Bowl Offensive MVP. UA’s Mark McDonald, who was 8-17 in field goals during the regular season, was a big key with a perfect 3-for-3 day, including a career-long 48-yarder. NU outgained the Cats, but UA won the turnover battle and kicking game.
