Holiday Bowl from Arizona's perspective

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http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/20223/holiday-bowl-debacle-still-haunts-arizona

 

They kind of had it coming...

[knapplc]

I think this is the key to the game for Arizona:

 

Stoops wasn't happy with some of the bowl preparation and his team's frame of mind on game day. And Nebraska surprised the Wildcats with their schemes on both sides of the ball. On offense, the Wildcats "just couldn't get open," Stoops said.

 

Cornerback Trevin Wade offers his own theory.

 

"People wanted to go home for Christmas and see their families," he said. "I know it's all business and everything, but we're still college kids and people wanted to go home. Had they given us a couple days, people would have come back happy and ready to go."

 

Hmm. Asked about that, quarterback Nick Foles said, "He might have something there but I don't know. I really have no comment on that."

 

Sure, we played with passion and heart, but they didn't come to play at all. Put a motivated team up against an unmotivated team and you're going to get a blowout like this. Put two motivated teams together and you have the Gator Bowl from two years ago.

[HUSKER FREAK]

Well, They or we can call it undermotivated, undercoached or out schemed, But the fact of the matter is, Is that we took a team there that was hungary and wanted to prove to college nation that we belong. Now, I also think that we came ready to rip someones fricking head off, and guess what we did.

[nillie welson]

Whatever excuse they want to use - it just doesn't matter because the results will always be the same. You only get one chance to play each game, and if you'd rather go home...

 

Christmas happens every year, but the 2010 Holiday Bowl only happens once. And they blew it.

[rawhide]

 

 

We tailgated with skersfan at his toy hauler and some of the UA fans were talking some smack prior to the game. They were gone like a popcorn fart before the game was even over.

Went to Hooters after the game and told some UA fans there GOOD GAME and they said I was ugly, I'm not ugly just older . Luckily the two deputies I was with were amused at my lack of a snappy comeback. I think a hooterette had just walked by and I was distracted.

 

GBR GBR GBR

[knapplc]

Speaking of their fans, when we went over to their forum to talk before the game, several of them brought up the 1998 Holiday Bowl. I told them they had a great team in 1998, but we were also unmotivated to play the game, and our lackluster attitude affected the outcome of the game. They would have NONE of that. It was all about how good teams play to win, and how they were just so much better than us that year, and how they were going to mop the floor with us this year, yadda yadda yadda.

 

I'm not into kicking people when they're down so I didn't go back after the game and talk about the role motivation plays in a game like that, but I have to wonder if any of what I said beforehand sunk in at some point during the game.

 

It's shocking to me to see their players talk about not going home for Christmas being the reason they played so poorly. That's a pretty big problem for a coach to overcome.

[Igetbored216]

lol...ridiculous

[UGAHusker]

Whatever excuse they want to use - it just doesn't matter because the results will always be the same. You only get one chance to play each game, and if you'd rather go home...

 

Christmas happens every year, but the 2010 Holiday Bowl only happens once. And they blew it.

 

 

Yeah, they blew the 2009 Holiday Bowl too, McFly.

[junior4949]

It reminds me of a time when it seemed Nebraska just couldn't win a bowl as I think we lost like 7 in a row. The common belief for our poor performance then was that TO and the rest of the staff let the players run wild with little to no discipline. Therefore, the team wasn't focused or ready to play. We used it as an excuse for years.

[Apathy]

Excuses are like a$$hole$.....everybody has one and they all stink.

 

For an Arizona team that made it to two consecutive bowl games where 1998 was the last time they were at a bowl game before that was ended when they went to the Las Vegas bowl game for the 08 Season. This bowl game meant alot to the fans, coaches, players, and the University and the players talked soo much trash before the bowl game even started and how they were going to dominate Suh. All fo that talk lead to a 33-0 ass whooping and now they're going to come up with any excuse to make them feel better.

 

No football team is ever unmotivated for a bowl game I don't buy that.

[Enhance]

Excuses are like a$$hole$.....everybody has one and they all stink.

 

For an Arizona team that made it to two consecutive bowl games where 1998 was the last time they were at a bowl game before that was ended when they went to the Las Vegas bowl game for the 08 Season. This bowl game meant alot to the fans, coaches, players, and the University and the players talked soo much trash before the bowl game even started and how they were going to dominate Suh. All fo that talk lead to a 33-0 ass whooping and now they're going to come up with any excuse to make them feel better.

 

No football team is ever unmotivated for a bowl game I don't buy that.

I agree, for the most part.

 

It was pretty obvious that they just weren't ready to play. However, it's a bowl game. It's the culmination of your whole season. They got beat, and after the all of the trash their players were talking, they now have to come up with mundane excuses for their performance.

[oNe]

I think a team can come in unmotivated if they had been screwed by something that landed them in that bowl. Albeit that wasn't the case on our part, but if a team was expecting to be in a certain bowl but got picked to a less inportant game against a team they don't think they should be playing against, that can mess with one's head IMO.

[Guy Chamberlin]

I think a team can come in unmotivated if they had been screwed by something that landed them in that bowl. Albeit that wasn't the case on our part, but if a team was expecting to be in a certain bowl but got picked to a less inportant game against a team they don't think they should be playing against, that can mess with one's head IMO.

 

Arizona and Nebraska came into the Holiday Bowl on pretty much the same footing — happy to be there and representing their conference. Although not a major bowl, the Holiday has been notorious for some great shootouts, and they have college football to themselves for the night. I don't think the motivation excuse works. I think Arizona was seriously outcoached by the Pelinis & Watson.

 

What was the year when a Top 10 ranked K-State got majorly disrespected, then tanked it against the lesser team in the crappier bowl?

 

Their heads were seriously messed up that year.

[GSG]

Oh no! I wanna go home for Christmas too! Geez, I don't know how many holidays I've spent ALONE. These guys are essentially getting paid to play football but they can't get up for a game cuz they didn't get to see what was in the stocking come Christmas morning? Lame, lame, lame excuse. I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but there are soooooo many people out there that don't have families to go to, or don't have money to celebrate holidays, or have to work during the holidays just to make sure they can keep a roof over their heads for another month. Buncha crybabies, seriously.

[irieboy8]

they just got beat...... beat beat beat... if the team was more focused on going home for christmas then well that says a lot about their state of mind.. their committment and the coaching.... i think a lot of them might have been bummed to play the game as well... just as some nebraska fans were ( 60:01) but we came to play regardless while they felt a level of i guess apathy to the whole situation......

 

blaming anyone or anything doesn't cut it..... but i also thinks its time ot move on from this victory as well.... onwards and upwards!