Nebraska to Face Arizona Wildcats in Pacific Life Holiday Bowl

Nebraska has been selected to participate in the 32nd annual Pacific Life Holiday Bowl on Dec. 30 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. The 9-4 Cornhuskers are set to take on 8-4 Arizona, one of three teams that finished tied for second in the Pacific-10 Conference.

Kickoff for the Holiday Bowl is set for 5 p.m. PST (7 p.m. CST) on Dec. 30, with ESPN providing the telecast to a national audience.

Nebraska is making its second appearance in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl and its first since 1998. Ironically, Nebraska also squared off against Arizona in that contest, dropping a 23-20 decision in front of a sold-out Qualcomm Stadium. This will mark just the third overall meeting between the schools, including a 14-14 tie in Lincoln in 1961.

The Huskers are coming off a 13-12 loss to No. 2 Texas on Saturday evening in the Big 12 Championship Game in Arlington, Texas. The loss ended a five-game Nebraska win streak and was its third of the season by either one or two points. The Huskers' four losses this season have come by a total of 25 points.

Arizona has also had its share of close games this fall. The Wildcats four losses have come by a total of 24 points, and they also have four wins by five or fewer points, including Saturday's 21-17 victory at USC to earn the Holiday Bowl bid.

Arizona is strong on both sides of the football, ranking 40th nationally in total offense, while featuring a balanced attack. The Wildcat defense is ranked 21st nationally in total defense allowing just 315.8 yards per game. Wildcat coach Mike Stoops is in his sixth season at the school and he has guided Arizona to back-to-back eight-win seasons.

Nebraska received a team allotment of 11,000 tickets for the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. The remaining tickets in Nebraska's allotment will be available available to the general public at Huskers.com, beginning at 8 p.m. Sunday night.

The Athletic Ticket Office (Stadium Drive Parking Garage) will open Monday morning at 8 a.m. and at that time will also sell tickets in person or by phone at 1-800-8-BIG-RED. There will not be tickets held for in-person or phone sales in the event that all tickets sell on-line before 8 a.m. on Monday morning. Tickets for the game are $60 and $30.

Other Nebraska Bowl Notes       
--The 2009 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl appearance will be Nebraska's 46th all-time bowl appearance, the fifth-most in college football history.

--Nebraska has a 23-22 record in bowl games and has won nine of its last 13 bowl games and three of its past four since 2003.

--This year's game will be Nebraska's fourth bowl game in the state of California, including the two Holiday Bowl appearances and the 1941 and 2002 Rose Bowl games.

--Nebraska is 0-3 against the Pac-10 in bowl games. In addition to the 1998 Holiday Bowl against Arizona, Nebraska also lost bowl games against Stanford (1941 Rose) and Arizona State (1975 Fiesta).