As Arizona prepares for its showdown with SMU in the Holiday Bowl, we went digging through the KGUN 9 archives to find the first time the Wildcats played in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. The game capped off Arizona's magical 1998 season, the best in program history.
The 1998 Holiday Bowl ended with Arizona players hoisting the Holiday Bowl on a late December night. The Wildcats had just knocked off the reigning National Champion Nebraska Cornhuskers.
"It's a great memory for me," Brent Brennan recently said. "It's a great memory for my family."
Current Arizona Head Coach Brent Brennan remembers the game against Nebraska, well that's because he was there, rooting on his younger brother.
"Nebraska was a big-time opponent coming in there ranked," recalled Brennan. "(Eric) Crouch was their quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner. At that time, that was when Nebraska was rolling at a crazy level, right. Big time football game, and it was fun."
Fun because Brent's brother Brad played a major role in the Wildcat win.
Brad Brennan's touchdown catch from quarterback Keith Smith gave Arizona a brief lead at the start of the 4th quarter.
After trading touchdowns, the Wildcats "Desert Swarm" defense -- led by Chris McAlister -- sealed the 23-20 victory. The Wildcats finish with a school record 12 wins.
A great memory for Wildcat fans and for the current head coach, who's preparing his team for their shot at Holiday Bowl history.
"It was kind of fun to remember that, what a special time that was."
Arizona meets SMU on January 2 in the Holiday Bowl.
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