2007 Holiday Bowl
The 2007 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played December 27, 2007 in San Diego. It was part of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season and one of 32 games in the 2007–2008 bowl season. It featured the Texas Longhorns against the Arizona State Sun Devils. Texas won 52–34 and set Holiday Bowl records for the earliest score and for most points scored in the first quarter. Texas also set a school record for most points scored in a bowl game. A bizarre play involving Chris Jessee, a member of the Longhorn football operations staff and the stepson of the Texas head coach, has been cited as one of the strangest plays of the season.
2008 Humanitarian Bowl
In Nevada's final regular season game, Kaepernick led the Wolf Pack in a second-half comeback to defeat Louisiana Tech. The seventh win guaranteed Nevada a berth in one of the three WAC tie-in bowls. The Wolf Pack finished the season in a three-way tie for second place in the WAC alongside Hawaii and Louisiana Tech. Hawaii had a standing contract with the home-town Hawaii Bowl where it played Notre Dame. Louisiana Tech, having lost to both Nevada and Hawaii, appeared unlikely to be selected for a bowl at all. However, the Bulldogs were able to take advantage of a provisional WAC berth in the Independence Bowl since neither the Big 12 nor the Southeastern Conference could provide eligible teams. Two other WAC teams achieved bowl eligibility with 6–6 records. Fresno State secured a slot in the New Mexico Bowl, but San Jose State was unable to find an at-large berth.