The most notable plays by Arizona in the history of its bowl games include many of the defensive variety, including 10 plays that comprise nearly half of the Wildcats’ 22 bowl games heading into Friday’s Holiday Bowl against SMU at San Diego.
The number of standout defensive plays in the bowl games are indicative of Arizona’s program as a whole with its Desert Swarm defense in the 1990s its calling card nationally.
The plays included interceptions by Doug Schlueter, Martin Rudolph, Scott Geyer, Todd Burden, Kelly Malveaux, Chris McAlister and Will Parks and noted fumbles caused and recovered by Chuck Cecil, Jerry Beasley, Martell Irby and Gunner Maldonado and a sack by Scooby Wright III.
The 87-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Maldonado in the win over Oklahoma two years ago in the Alamo Bowl is arguably the top play in the Wildcats’ bowl history.
Here is a listing of each of Arizona’s appearance in a bowl and one person’s opinion of the Wildcats’ top play in each game:
East-West Christmas Classic Bowl on Dec. 26, 1921 — Arizona’s performance in a 38-0 loss to Centre (Ky.) mirrored the rain-soaked muddy field at San Diego’s City Stadium. One of the few highlights did not involve one play but the rushing in a possession of Rudolph Manzo and Johnny Hobbs that put Arizona in position for a touchdown in the third quarter only to have the drive end in an interception.
Salad Bowl on Jan. 1, 1949 — The ever-elusive Charlie Hall took the third-quarter kickoff and sprinted 79 yards deep into Drake territory in Arizona’s 14-13 loss at Phoenix.
Sun Bowl on Dec. 28, 1968 — Safety Doug Schlueter intercepted an Auburn pass deep in Arizona territory, preventing the Tigers from extending an early lead in Arizona’s 34-10 loss at El Paso.
Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 25, 1979 — Trailing 16–3 late in the fourth quarter, Arizona fullback Hubie Oliver took a pitch and, instead of running, pulled up to launch a 47-yard halfback-option pass downfield to wide receiver Greg Jackson, who hauled it in at the 1-yard line. Oliver scored on a run on the next play in Arizona’s 16-10 loss to Pitt and Dan Marino at Tempe.
Sun Bowl on Dec. 28, 1985 — Arizona defensive back Martin Rudolph intercepted a pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown to put Arizona ahead 13–3, but Georgia rallied to tie the game. It would end in a 13-13 tie in the game at El Paso.
Aloha Bowl on Dec. 27, 1986 — Early in the third quarter, Chuck Cecil delivered a massive hit on North Carolina’s Jonathan Hall, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Jerry Beasley at the Tar Heel 30. The hit was emblematic of Cecil’s hard-hitting style and directly led to a quick Arizona touchdown in the Wildcats’ first bowl victory, 30-21, at Honolulu.
Copper Bowl on Dec. 31, 1989 — Scott Geyer took off down the sideline for an 85-yard interception return for a touchdown, electrifying the crowd in Tucson. The 14-point swing gave Arizona a 14–0 lead and eventually earned Geyer the game’s Defensive MVP honors in Arizona’s 17-10 win over North Carolina State.
Aloha Bowl on Dec. 25, 1990 — Not many top individual plays with Arizona’s 214-game scoring streak snapped by Syracuse but cornerback Todd Burden had two interceptions and a fumble recovery in the 28-0 loss at Honolulu.
Sun Bowl on Dec. 31, 1992 — Again, no top plays for Arizona in the 20-15 loss to Baylor at El Paso, but wide receiver Troy Dickey had a career day with nine receptions for 108 yards.
Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 1994 — A 68-yard touchdown run by Chuck Levy in the second quarter put Arizona ahead 16-0 en route to a 29-0 win over Miami (Fla.). Levy, who outran Miami’s defensive secondary to the end zone, finished with 142 yards rushing and earned the game’s Offensive MVP honors.
Freedom Bowl on Dec. 27, 1994 — Not too many highlights for Arizona in a 16-13 loss to Utah in the game at Anaheim, but running back Ontiwaun Carter caused some excitement with his tug-of-war touchdown reception giving the Wildcats their lone touchdown. Late in the first quarter, quarterback Dan White threw a 23-yard pass to the end zone. Defensive back Edwin Garette appeared to have the interception, but Carter ripped the ball away as they fell to the turf, scoring Arizona’s only touchdown.
Insight.com Bowl on Dec. 27, 1997 — On a night at Arizona Stadium in which the Wildcats recorded four interceptions, the biggest play has to be one of those, right? The late Kelly Malveaux had the last interception in the fourth quarter and weaved through traffic to return the ball 44 yards, preserving Arizona’s lead in a 20-14 victory over New Mexico.
Holiday Bowl on Dec. 30, 1998 — With just more than three minutes remaining and Nebraska trailing 23-20, All-American cornerback Chris McAlister effectively ended the game at San Diego. He leaped high at the Arizona 8-yard line to snag a pass from Nebraska’s Eric Crouch, returning it 22 yards. Earlier in the game, he also had a 75-yard “reverse” punt return touchdown (a handoff from Dennis Northcutt) called back for a controversial block in the back.
Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 20, 2008 — On the final play of the game won by Arizona 31-21 over BYU, wide receiver Mike “Money” Thomas caught a short pass from Willie Tuitama that allowed him to become the Pac-10’s all-time career receptions leader (259 catches), surpassing Derek Hagan of rival Arizona State. It was a poetic ending for a senior who had been the focal point of the offense for years. It occurred after Arizona was in the Victory Formation the play before. Mike Stoops was told Thomas was a reception away from breaking the record and called a short bubble-screen pass to Thomas at the slot position.
Holiday Bowl on Dec. 30, 2009 — One of the lone highlights in Arizona’s 33-0 loss to Nebraska was Keola Antolin’s 36-yard rush during Arizona’s last possession. It accounted for nearly one-third of the team’s total offensive production for the entire night. It moved Arizona into the red zone for the first and only time.
Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29, 2010 — The top play of the night in another downer of game (36-10 loss to Oklahoma State at San Antonio) for Arizona came in the first quarter. Facing a 14–0 deficit early, quarterback Nick Foles orchestrated a 63-yard drive that culminated in a spectacular 5-yard touchdown catch by Juron Criner, who out-leapt defender Andrew McGee in the corner of the end zone.
New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 15, 2012 — This is a two-parter with Arizona pulling off the miracle win over Nevada at Albuquerque, N.M., after trailing 45-28 early in the fourth quarter. 1A — The onside-kick by John Bonano was executed perfectly and recovered by linebacker Marquis Flowers with only 46 seconds left and Arizona trailing 48-42. 1B — Following the onside recovery, quarterback Matt Scott moved the offense 51 yards in just three plays. With 19 seconds remaining, Scott fired a 2-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Slavin. The extra-point gave Arizona their first and only lead of the game at 49–48.
AdvoCare V100 Bowl on Dec. 31, 2013 — Arizona’s dominating 42-19 win over Boston College at Shreveport, La., included the momentum shifting permanently in the second quarter when defensive back Will Parks intercepted a Chase Rettig pass and returned it 69 yards for a touchdown. Parks was later named the game’s Defensive MVP for this play, which sparked a run of 35 unanswered points for the Wildcats.
Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31, 2014 — The highlight of the night for Arizona in its 38-30 loss to Boise State in Glendale came late in the third quarter after the Broncos scored on a pick-6 to extend their lead to 18. Arizona quarterback Anu Solomon scrambled to his right and launched a deep ball to Samajie Grant. Grant hauled it in and outran the secondary for a 51-yard touchdown, breathing life back into the stadium and cutting the lead to 38–27.
New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 19, 2015 — In what would be his final game as a Wildcat, All-American linebacker Scooby Wright III provided the game’s most critical defensive stand in Arizona’s 45-37 win over New Mexico in Albuquerque. Late in the fourth quarter, with New Mexico trailing by only five and driving in the red zone, Wright sacked backup QB Austin Apodaca on 4th-and-13. This stop effectively broke the Lobos’ momentum.
Foster Farms Bowl on Dec. 27, 2017 — Arizona almost came back for the victory with 21 unanswered points highlighted by Khalil Tate escaping pressure and delivering a 24-yard touchdown strike to Shun Brown but it wasn’t enough in the 38-35 loss to Purdue in San Francisco. The play gave the Wildcats their first lead (35–31) since the first quarter and nearly completed a 17-point comeback.
Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28, 2023 — Arizona’s defense forced six turnovers, in its 38-24 comeback win over Oklahoma in San Antonio, none bigger than what happened late in the third quarter with Arizona trailing 24–13. After Oklahoma completed a long pass to the red zone, Arizona defensive back Martell Irby punched the ball loose on a completed pass. Safety Gunner Maldonado snared the loose bowl and sprinted 87 yards for a touchdown. A successful two-point conversion cut the lead to 24–21 and completely flipped the game’s momentum.
ARIZONA’S BOWL APPEARANCES
| Date | Bowl | Location | Opponent | Result |
| 12/26/1921 | East-West Christmas Classic Bowl | San Diego | Centre (Ky.) | L, 0-38 |
| 1/1/1949 | Salad Bowl | Phoenix | Drake | L, 13-14 |
| 12/28/1968 | Sun Bowl | El Paso | Auburn | L, 10-34 |
| 12/25/1979 | Fiesta Bowl | Tempe | Pittsburgh | L, 10-16 |
| 12/28/1985 | Sun Bowl | El Paso | Georgia | T, 13-13 |
| 12/27/1986 | Aloha Bowl | Honolulu | North Carolina | W, 30-21 |
| 12/31/1989 | Copper Bowl | Tucson | N.C. State | W, 17-10 |
| 12/25/1990 | Aloha Bowl | Honolulu | Syracuse | L, 0-28 |
| 12/31/1992 | Sun Bowl | El Paso | Baylor | L, 15-20 |
| 1/1/1994 | Fiesta Bowl | Tempe | Miami | W, 29-0 |
| 12/27/1994 | Freedom Bowl | Anaheim | Utah | L, 13-16 |
| 12/27/1997 | Insight.com Bowl | Tucson | New Mexico | W, 20-14 |
| 12/30/1998 | Holiday Bowl | San Diego | Nebraska | W, 23-20 |
| 12/20/2008 | Las Vegas Bowl | Las Vegas | BYU | W, 31-21 |
| 12/30/2009 | Holiday Bowl | San Diego | Nebraska | L, 0-33 |
| 12/29/2010 | Alamo Bowl | San Antonio | Okla. State | L, 10-36 |
| 12/15/2012 | New Mexico Bowl | Albuquerque | Nevada | W, 49-48 |
| 12/31/2013 | AdvoCare V100 Bowl | Shreveport | Boston College | W, 42-19 |
| 12/31/2014 | Fiesta Bowl | Glendale | Boise State | L, 30-38 |
| 12/19/2015 | New Mexico Bowl | Albuquerque | New Mexico | W, 45-37 |
| 12/27/2017 | Foster Farms Bowl | San Francisco | Purdue | L, 35-38 |
| 12/28/2023 | Alamo Bowl | San Antonio | Oklahoma | W, 38-24 |
| 1/2/2026 | Holiday Bowl | San Diego | SMU | TBD |
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