Alamo Bowl - Oklahoma

[84Cat]

[dovecanyoncat]

That's the Rosita's bridge stage part of the riverwalk.

[KillerKlown]

Is Jackson Arnold a mobile qb or a stationary qb? Arizona's only really had problems with qbs that can run out of pressure.

[azcat49]

Running so we will unleash the kraken, Justin Flowe to spy his every move

[azgreg]

Is Jackson Arnold a mobile qb or a stationary qb? Arizona's only really had problems with qbs that can run out of pressure.

[AZCatGirl]

[cerec_cat]

Are we wearing white jersey red pants?

[cerec_cat]

Game Day!

[EastCoastCat]

Let’s finish this amazing season on a high note.

Bust the Sooners…

[wyo-cat]

Are we wearing white jersey red pants?

I think so. They’ll be an official post at some point today.

[84Cat]

Looks like all white unis

[azgreg]

Are we wearing white jersey red pants?

I'm thinking all white.

[cerec_cat]

Hope so. I like the underdog look. Weird cause team pic had red pants. Not that it really matters

[azgreg]

Hope so. I like the underdog look. Weird cause team pic had red pants. Not that it really matters

Those were red shorts. The Oklahoma players were wearing black shorts.

[VegasCatFan]

On the airplane getting ready to leave Las Vegas. Several Arizona fans on board.

Bear Down!

[FreeSpiritCat]

Oklahoma fans think their defense will win the game. That makes me think that the OL is going to be very important this game.

[Carcassdragger]

Yippeeee! It's a great day! Let's get it done!

[AZCatGirl]

Can't figure out how to just post the video, so here's the whole tweet. You're welcome Big 12! We kicked those traitors on their way out.

[MrKyle]

Great win! Feels great seeing the Cats back to this level, grew up going to the games in the 90s!

[AZCatGirl]

[KillerKlown]

Ending the season with a winning record against a blue blood is the cheery on top.

[IrishAzCat]

[IrishAzCat]

[AZCatGirl]

For the final time in the Pac 12 era...

[UAEebs86]

[CalStateTempe]

Any way I can rewatch that game?

I forgot to record it and when to the sports bar with some cats fans.

[dmjcat]

Extended game highlights (21 minutes)

https://youtu.be/bazsGdGWm5s

[dmjcat]

Any way I can rewatch that game?

I forgot to record it and when to the sports bar with some cats fans.

If you are a Cox subscriber you can watch it streamed on ESPN

https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/ ... etId=34319

[EastCoastCat]

Its amazing to think it could have easily been a 31-13 “game over” situation if we don’t get that pick/fumble 6 by Johnson & Maldonado.

I haven’t uttered these words in a long, long time but the defense carried the ‘Cats to victory in the biggest game of the season.

Hats off to a squad that was literally laughed at a few seasons ago.

[AZCatGirl]

[CalStateTempe]

That’s some nice hardware

The best swag of all.

[dovecanyoncat]

In the event of cabin depressurization, air masks will deploy. Put your mask on first before securing the mask for your trophy.

[TheCatInTheHat]

Ranking wins is difficult, as there's a fairly complex combination of factors, and it's subjective regarding how much to weight each factor.

From my perspective, a win in a reasonably significant bowl game (the definition of which has been shifting sand for many years) is generally more memorable to more people than a regular season win. For Wildcat fans, particularly those living in Arizona (and especially metro Phoenix), the ASU game is huge, but to the casual college football fan, not as much. You can win a one-off regular season game against a "name" or highly-ranked team, but by definition they're going to drop after the loss. And maybe neither participating team in what at the time was a huge game will finish the year with much of a season to cheer about, which would also tend to devalue it. I'm not trying to minimize anybody's fond memories of the multiple times we've knocked off the top-ranked team or knocked ASU out of the RB. But, for building your national brand and reputation, I believe getting to and having an impressive performance in a reasonably well-regarded bowl game as the final statement to cap a season trumps most regular-season games in the public's memory. So, that said, I'd put it this way:

1993 Arizona 29 Miami 0 Fiesta Bowl
Miami was favored and ranked in the Top Ten going in and had a string of impressive seasons and NFL talent. To shut them out and finish in the Top Ten ourselves with arguably our most talented team made an impression.

1998 Arizona 23 Nebraska 20 Holiday Bowl
This was Frank Solich, not Tom Osborne, but it was not that long removed from their biggest glory days. We were running the offense Homer Smith had put in, and we had our best record of all time, finishing in the Top Five.

2023 Arizona 38 Oklahoma 24 Alamo Bowl
Yeah, there are portal issues and opt-outs, and OU fans can convince themselves that suffering aggressive interceptions and having the ball punched out from behind are just their teams' silly mistakes. But forcing turnovers is part of football, and beating a Top 15 Oklahoma Sooners team by two touchdowns speaks for itself. I expect we'll finish in the Top Ten.

1986 Arizona 30 North Carolina 21 Aloha Bowl
Obviously a lower bowl, less of a name opponent, and probably not much of a TV audience. But, a two score win (with Carolina getting two cosmetic fourth quarter scores after the game was over at 30-7 after three), and Arizona finished in the coaches poll final Top Ten.

After those, it's arguable. I'd probably say the 2008 Vegas Bowl win over BYU was the most fun. Whether close competitive losses in bigger name bowls (the other two Fiestas, for example) should get consideration in ranking "impactful" is subject to debate.

[Irish27]