The Nebraska Cornhuskers left no doubt as to who would take the 2009 Holiday Bowl, In front of more than 64,600 fans The 20th ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers defeated the 22nd ranked Arizona Wildcats 33-0, in the first shut out in the bowl’s 32 year history. Nebraska’s game plan worked to near perfection from the opening kickoff. By the end of the night, Nebraska had out gained Arizona in total offense by an incredible 396 -109 margin, converted 19 first downs to Arizona’s 6, and held nearly an 18 minute advantage in time of possession.

Offensive Highlights - Junior wide receiver Niles Paul was named the game’s Offensive MVP, Paul finished the game with 237 all purpose yards, including 123 yards receiving, highlighted by a 74 yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Zac Lee in the third quarter for a touchdown to cap off the game. Lee ended the day 13 of 23 passing for 173 yards and a touchdown, while also carrying the ball 18 times for 65 yards and adding another score. Freshman running back Rex Burkhead led the way on the ground with a game high 89 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Nebraska held the ball for over 38 minutes as compared to Arizona who was on offense for just over 21.

Defensive Highlights - They should respect the Cornhusker defense now after Nebraska completely shutdown the Arizona offense, allowing them to only 109 total yards. The Cornhuskers were in the Arizona offensive backfield all night long, causing problems for quarterback Nick Foles. On the night Foles finished 6 of 20 passing for 28 yards. This marked the only time all season Arizona failed to score.

Special Teams Highlights - Alex Henery finished the game with a Holiday Bowl record four field goals, from 47, 50, 41 and 22 yards.

* Final Comments *

Arizona head coach Mike Stoops commented after the game,

“We got whacked by a very good team.”

Nebraska’s All American defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said in a post game interview,  We have been getting better week in, week out and we had one last chance to do it as a team in 2009. That’s why we wanted to shut them down and make them realize that they needed to respect us.

Nebraska reached 10 wins for the first time since the 2003 season. Cornhusker head coach Bo Pelini commented after the game,

“Nebraska’s back and we’re here to stay.”