Auburn (10-2) vs.
Nebraska (9-4)
Jan. 1st,
11:30 a.m. ET, Fox
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Cotton Bowl
Player Profile: Nebraska RB Brandon Jackson, team bowl history and more
It's a shame the Cotton Bowl is thrown
among the glut of all the other early New Years Day bowls. With its
tradition, history, and prestige, it's as close to the BCS a
non-BCS bowl can get, and Nebraska and Auburn are certainly worthy
of the big-time attention and national focus.
The Huskers were dreaming about playing
in the Fiesta Bowl before losing 21-7 to Oklahoma in the Big 12
championship. Even so, the program capitalized on the momentum of
the Alamo Bowl win over Michigan to win the Big 12 North for the
first time since 1999 in an important step in the program's
resurgence.
 |
|
National
Rankings |
|
Auburn |
Nebraska |
|
Total Offense |
|
68th 332.83 ypg |
8th 253.15 ypg |
|
Total Defense |
|
24th 297.50 ypg |
70th 343.69 ypg |
|
Scoring Offense |
|
49th 25.42 ppg |
13th 31.85 ppg |
|
Scoring Defense |
|
7th 13.92 ppg |
30th 18.38 ppg |
|
Run Offense |
|
43rd 155 ypg |
23rd 175.62 ypg |
|
Run Defense |
|
48th 125.83 ypg |
43rd 120.38 ypg |
|
Pass Offense |
|
87th 177.83 ypg |
18th 253.15 ypg |
|
Pass Defense |
|
19th 171.67 ypg |
89th 223.21 ypg |
|
Turnover Margin |
|
32nd 0.42 |
61st 0.00 |
|
Auburn
Wash St
W 40-14
at Miss St
W 34-0
LSU
W 7-3
Buffalo
W 38-7
at S Car
W 24-17
Arkansas
L 27-10
Florida W 27-17
Tulane
W 38-13
at Ole Miss
W 23-17
Ark St
W 27-0
Georgia
L 37-15
at Bama
W 22-15 |
Nebraska
La Tech
W 49-10
Nicholls St
W 56-7
at USC L 28-10
Troy
W 56-0
Kansas
W 39-32 OT
at Iowa St W 28-14
at Kansas St
W 21-3
Texas L 22-20
at Okla St
L 41-29
Missouri
W 34-20
at Tex A&M
W 28-27
Colorado
W 37-14
Big 12 Championship
Oklahoma L 21-7 |
|
Position
Ratings
relative to each
other |
|
A |
5
highest
1 lowest |
N |
|
3 |
Quarterbacks |
4.5 |
|
4.5 |
RBs |
4 |
|
3 |
Receivers |
3.5 |
|
3.5 |
O
Line |
3.5 |
|
4 |
D
Line |
4 |
|
3.5 |
Linebackers |
4 |
|
4 |
Secondary |
2.5 |
|
4.5 |
Spec
Teams |
3.5 |
|
4.5 |
Coaching |
4 |
|
With former Arizona
State Sun Devil Sam Keller set to take over the quarterback reins in
2007, and with a load of talent returning on both sides of the ball,
the future appears to be bright for the Huskers. Getting its first
ten-win season since 2003, and its biggest win yet under head coach
Bill Callahan, would inspire even more confidence from a fan base
that's starting to come around to the spread offense that
cranks out yards in chunks with a balanced attack utilizing several
different weapons.
While beating Missouri and Texas A&M was nice, the Huskers lost
against the three elite teams it faced with a puzzling offensive
gameplan never giving them a chance against USC, a late Colt McCoy
drive breaking their hearts in a 22-20 loss to Texas, and the loss
to the Sooners.
Even with a home loss to Arkansas, Auburn was in the national title
hunt after beating Florida 27-17 without scoring an offensive
touchdown followed up by wins over Tulane, Ole Miss and Arkansas
State. And then came the stunning 37-15 home loss to Georgia to ruin
any title dreams and call into question if the team was a
disappointment or if it just went through the motions all season
long.
It might seem strange to dog a 10-2 season from anyone in the SEC,
but the 7-3 win over LSU was hardly a thing of beauty, the offense
didn't do
much
against Florida, and the defense basically set the tone time and
again against vastly inferior teams. Six of the teams wins came over
teams that didn't go bowling.
As good as Auburn and Nebraska
have been, will they fall prey to the recent Cotton Bowl jinx?
The SEC has won three straight over the Big 12, but that hasn't
meant anything the following season. Ole Miss beat Oklahoma State in
2004, and then the Rebels went 4-7 the next year. Tennessee blasted
Texas A&M in 2005, and then went 5-6. Alabama beat Texas Tech in a
surprising defensive struggle, and then went 6-6 and canned head
coach Mike Shula.
Forget about the trend. The winner will be a sure-thing preseason
top ten team going into next year. The loser won't be that bad,
either.
Players to watch: Is Kenny Irons finally healthy? A
Heisman candidate before the season started after a sensational
1,283-yard, 14 touchdown 2005, he was never quite healthy after
ripping apart Washington State for 183 yards and a touchdown in
Auburn's opener. With a variety of issues from a shoulder injury to
various foot problems, he was rested in most of the easy games and
was average against the big boys rushing for 70 yards on 25 carries
against LSU, 67 yards against Florida, 49 yards against Georgia and
75 against Arkansas with only one touchdown over the final seven
games. Once thought of as a top 20 draft pick, he could use a big
performance to show the scouts that he still belongs in the first
round.
Nebraska has a diverse attack with several pieces to the puzzle, but
it needs QB Zac Taylor to be the conductor. While he doesn't
have a great arm and is relatively immobile, he's an accurate
playmaker who threw 24 touchdown passes and just four interceptions
before a lousy Big 12 title game. He's not going to throw deep and
he's not going to wing it all over the field, but he'll almost
always make the right decisions and gets the ball in the right spots
on his short to intermediate passes.
Taylor might have to shoulder more of the workload if top RB
Brandon Jackson is having problems with a broken hand suffered
just after the season. Kenny Wilson has had a knee problem,
Marlon Lucky has a bum back, and Cody Glenn has missed
practices with a sprained foot. Lucky and Jackson will likely get a
near even split of carries, but they could use all the help they can
get.
Whoever ends up running the ball for the Huskers will have a thin
Auburn linebacking corps to run through with Tray Blackmon
and top backup Kevin Spears suspended. That means Merrill
Johnson has to become an instant playmaker on the weakside,
while part safety, part linebacker Will Herring and Karibi
Dede will have to do even more. This isn't a big group, but they
can all move.
Nebraska will win if... Auburn has to throw. The time off has
helped top receiver Courtney Taylor get healthy, but the Tigers
aren't at their best when the game is in Brandon Cox's hands.
Despite being a two-year starter, Cox has regressed finishing this
year completing ten of 26 passes for just 172 yards and two
touchdowns with four interceptions against Georgia and Alabama. He
has yet to probe he can come through in the clutch and doesn't have
the type of arm to consistently take advantage of the porous
Nebraska secondary.
Auburn will win if... the defensive front turns
the pass rush up to 11. Zac Taylor is good at quickly making his
reads and can be deadly when he gets time. Nebraska doesn't run a
lot of deep pass routes relying more on timing and precision, but
the offensive line has still allowed way too many sacks on the
season. The more Quentin Groves and the rest of the Tiger defensive
front can hit Taylor, the more the Huskers will have to hurry things
up. Nebraska can't outrun Auburn..
What will happen: Auburn didn't appear to show up mentally in
last year's Capital One Bowl loss to Wisconsin; the coaching staff
isn't going to let that happen again. The Tigers have problems with
teams that can run well, not ones that throw. With the Husker
backfield banged up, the offense won't be effective enough to make
things happen against all the Tiger defensive speed. The Auburn
offense will be pedestrian at best, but it'll do enough to get the
job done.
Line: Auburn -3 ... CFN Prediction:
Auburn 24 ... Nebraska 17