The Cowboys beat out Big 12 finalist, Nebraska for the selection in the contest.
This is the first time in history that an Oklahoma State team had won 10 games in a season.
On the defense, the team was led by Orie Lemon (119 tackles, 93 solo), Jamie Blatnick (5.0 sacks for 29 yards) and Andrew McGee (5 interceptions for 90 yards).
[3] The Wildcats started the season 7–1 and looked like a serious contender for the Pacific-10 Conference championship.
This was the first time that Arizona played in the Alamo Bowl in school history.