Huskers Set for New Year's Day Bowl Game
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2007 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic Nebraska vs. Auburn Huskers Set for New Year's Day Bowl Game Nebraska Set for First AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic Appearance in 27 Seasons Husker Football Notables 2007 AT&T COTTON BOWL CLASSIC BROadcast InfORmatiON 4 Five national championships Television—Fox (1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997) Pat Summeral–Play-by-Play Brian Baldinger–Analyst 4 43 conference championships Krista Voda–Sideline 4 Three Heisman trophies 4 Eight Outland trophies Radio—Husker Sports Network 51-Station Network 4 Four Lombardi awards Jim Rose—Play-by-Play 4 106 All-Americans Adrian Fiala—Color 4 803 all-time victories (fourth all-time) Randy Lee–Booth Matt Davison—Sideline 4 Nation-leading 86 academic All-Americans vs. Internet: Huskers.com 4 NCAA-record 282 consecutive sellouts in Satellite Radio: Sirius, Channel 144 Memorial Stadium National Radio–Westwood One Radio 4 44 all-time bowl appearances–fifth in NCAA Nebraska Auburn Brad Sham–Play-by-Play 4 22 all-time bowl victories Terry Bowden–Color (9-4, 6-2) (10-2, 6-2) 4 Fourth appearance in the Cotton Bowl 4 Fourth all-time meeting with Auburn Date: Monday, Jan. 1, 2007 Time: 10:40 a.m. NU in AT&T COttON BOWL CLassic 4 12-3 bowl record against SEC opponents Site: Dallas, Texas Fourth Appearance Stadium: Cotton Bowl 4 31st all-time January bowl game Surface: Natural Grass Capacity: 72,262 Previous Appearances Rankings: NU (AP-22, Coaches-22) 1965–Arkansas 10, Nebraska 7 Auburn (AP-10; Coaches-10) 1974–Nebraska 19, Texas 3 Series Record: Nebraska leads, 3-0 1980–Houston 17, Nebraska 14 Last Meeting: Nebraska 41, Auburn 7 Oct. 2, 1982 at Auburn Huskers Set to Make 44th All-Time Postseason Bowl Appearance Following a season highlighted by capturing its first Big 12 North Division title in seven seasons, Nebraska returns to the New Year’s Day bowl menu in 2007. The Huskers will be making their first appearance in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic in 27 seasons, taking on Auburn in the traditional New Year’s Day bowl. Game time for the matchup between Nebraska and the Tigers is set for 10:40 a.m. CST. The game will be televised by Fox. This year’s appearance in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic marks Nebraska’s first bowl game on New Year’s Day since a victory over Miami in the 1995 Orange Bowl. The Huskers have played their bowl game in January four times since that Orange Bowl, but have not played on New Year’s Day in 11 seasons.The appearance in the Cotton Bowl marks Nebraska’s 44th all-time bowl appearance, the fifth-most in college football. Nebraska is familiar with the state of Texas for recent bowl appearances, but has not been in Dallas for the holidays for nearly three decades. The Huskers’ trip to the Lone Star State will be Nebraska’s fourth bowl game in the state of Texas in the past seven seasons, joining Alamo Bowl trips in 2000, 2003 and 2005. However, Nebraska last played in the Cotton Bowl following the 1979 season when the seventh-ranked Huskers were knocked off by Houston. The Huskers are coming off a tough loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game on Dec. 2. The setback dropped Nebraska to 9-4 overall, after finishing Big 12 Conference play as the North Division champions with a 6-2 league record. Despite the loss, Nebraska remained in the final regular-season national rankings, checking in at No. 22 in both the Associated Press and USA Today coaches polls.The Huskers have the opportunity to record the 25th 10-win season in school history with a victory in the Cotton Bowl. Auburn enters the Cotton Bowl with a 10-2 overall record and finished 6-2 in the rugged Southeastern Conference, good for a tie for second place in the West Division. The Tigers were ranked as high as second in early October and are 10th in both polls entering bowl action. Auburn has posted the nation’s third-best record over the past three seasons, boasting a 32-5 record, including a perfect 13-0 record in 2004. The matchup with the Tigers continues a tough 2007 slate for Nebraska. Auburn will be the fourth Husker opponent ranked in the top 10 at game time, joining USC, Texas and Oklahoma. The game will mark just the fourth meeting between the two schools, but the second in postseason play. The Huskers defeated Auburn, 13-7 in the 1964 Orange Bowl. Nebraska also won two regular-season meetings between the two schools, knocking off the Tigers in Lincoln in 1981 and winning at Auburn the following season. 44th All-Time Bowl Appearance Nebraska vs. Auburn 2007 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic NATIONAL POLLS 2006 Nebraska Season Recap Associated Press (Dec. 3) Nebraska opened the 2006 season with the goal of reaching the Big 12 Conference Championship Game and No. Team (1st) Record Points collecting the school’s first Big 12 title since 1999. The Huskers reached the first portion of that goal, sweeping 1. Ohio State (65) 12-0 1,625 their North Division opponents to earn a trip to Kansas City in early December, and fell just short of grabbing 2. Florida 12-1 1,529 the conference crown in a title game loss to Oklahoma. 3. Michigan 11-1 1,526 The Huskers showed their explosiveness on offense and 4. LSU 10-2 1,365 Huskers in the 2006 Polls an improved running game in rolling past Louisiana Tech (49- Date A C H Results 5. Louisville 11-1 1,333 10) and Nicholls State (56-7) to open the season. Nebraska Pre. 20 22 – def. La. Tech, 49-10 6. Wisconsin 11-1 1,255 9-5 21 21 – def. Nicholls St., 56-7 7. Oklahoma* 11-2 1,232 totaled 584 yards of offense against Louisiana Tech, including 252 on the ground, then posted 496 yards against Nicholls 9-10 19 19 – lost to USC, 28-10 8. USC* 10-2 1,182 9-17 23 24 – def. Troy, 56-0 9. Boise State 12-0 1,097 State, with 261 of those yards by rush. 9-24 21 21 21 def. Kansas, 39-32 (ot) 10. Auburn* 10-2 1,020 Nebraska’s first big test of 2006 came at No. 4 USC. 10-1 22 22 21 def. Iowa State, 28-14 11. Notre Dame 10-2 939 While the Trojans posted a comfortable 28-10 victory, 10-8 21 20 19 def. Kansas State, 21-3 12. Arkansas 10-3 867 it was evident Nebraska had the ability to stand toe-to- 10-15 17 16 16 lost to Texas, 22-20 13. West Virginia 10-2 865 toe with the nation’s best teams in 2006. The Huskers 10-22 20 20 20 lost to Okla. St., 41-29 14. Virginia Tech 10-2 798 completed non-conference play with a complete effort in 10-29 RV RV RV def. Missouri, 34-20 15. Wake Forest 11-2 766 11-5 RV 25 25 def. Texas A&M, 28-27 16. Rutgers 10-2 631 a 56-0 whitewashing of eventual Sun Belt champ Troy in 11-12 24 22 23 idle 17. Tennessee 9-3 576 Lincoln. The Huskers amassed nearly 600 yards of offense, 11-19 23 19 22 def. Colorado, 37-14 18. Texas* 9-3 564 including 316 rushing yards. 11-26 19 18 20 lost to Oklahoma, 21-7 19. Brigham Young 10-2 436 Big 12 Conference play began with a dramatic 39-32 12-3 22 22 22 20. California 9-3 390 overtime win over Kansas. The Huskers jumped to a quick A=Associated Press; C-Coaches; H-Harris 21. Texas A&M* 9-3 379 17-0 lead, but KU was resilient, taking the lead in the fourth 22. Nebraska 9-4 193 23. Boston College 9-3 179 quarter. However, quarterback Zac Taylor threw his third touchdown pass of more than 75 yards late in the 24. Oregon State 9-4 112 game to force overtime. In the extra session, Nebraska scored first, then held on defense for the victory. Nebraska picked up a pair of solid road victories in Ames and Manhattan, ending losing streaks at both sites. 25. TCU 10-2 80 Brandon Jackson and Cody Glenn both topped 100 yards on the ground in Nebraska’s 28-14 victory at Iowa USA Today Coaches (Dec. 3) State, the Huskers’ first in Ames since 2000. A week later, the Huskers jumped to an early lead, then watched No. Team (1st) Record Points the defense dominate Kansas State in a 21-3 win, ending a streak of four straight losses in Manhattan. 1. Ohio State (62) 12-0 1,550 2. Florida 12-1 1,470 Any remaining questions about Nebraska’s ability to compete with the best were answered a week later 3. Michigan 11-1 1,444 against defending national champion Texas in Lincoln. Trailing 16-7 entering the fourth quarter, Nebraska forged 4. LSU 10-2 1,299 a 20-19 lead with less than five minutes left. The Longhorns pulled out a dramatic 22-20 victory with a field goal 5. Wisconsin 11-1 1,263 in the final 30 seconds, but Nebraska was confident it was on the right track. A week later, Nebraska ran into a 6. Louisville 11-1 1,223 fired-up Oklahoma State team on the road. The Huskers could not hold a 16-0 first-half lead, as the Cowboys’ 7.