Big Red means big green
Holiday Bowl felt obligated to take Nebraska
Posted: Tuesday December 08, 1998 04:22 PM
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Nebraska running back Correll Buckhalter and the Cornhuskers will be taking a holiday in San Diego this winter AP |
LINCOLN, Nebraska (AP) -- Holiday Bowl officials had to make a tough
choice when Kansas State was bypassed for an upper-tier bowl
despite ranking third in the final Bowl Championship Series
standings.
With the third pick from the Big 12, should the San Diego bowl
stick with No. 14 Nebraska (9-3), as it had indicated it would do?
Or should it take a matchup of No. 4 Kansas State (11-1) vs. No. 5
Arizona (11-1)?
In the end, the Huskers won out. Kansas State will play Purdue
in the Alamo Bowl.
"We were so far down the road with Nebraska, selling tickets in
San Diego, Lincoln and Omaha that we felt we needed to follow
through on that," Holiday Bowl president Weldon Donaldson said.
The Huskers have struggled this season and were happy to accept
the Holiday Bowl invitation, but Arizona backed into the slot when
UCLA lost to Miami last weekend. That bumped Arizona from the Rose
Bowl.
"Everybody, the players, the staff, the fans, are disappointed
about not going to the Rose Bowl but we did not control our own
destiny," Arizona coach Dick Tomey said.
Last week the Holiday Bowl invited Oregon, contingent on a UCLA
victory. Nebraska coach Frank Solich was already studying film of
the Ducks when he learned his team would play the Wildcats instead.
Solich said from what he's seen of Arizona, he's impressed by
platooning quarterbacks Keith Smith and Ortege Jenkins and running
back Trung Canidate.
"Arizona has a great pair of quarterbacks who can do it all, a
great I-back," Solich said. "They are as complete a team as we've
seen -- similar to Kansas State, excellent special teams and
explosive offensive personnel."
Tomey, meanwhile, said he saw Nebraska film earlier this season
when the Wildcats were preparing to play Washington. The Huskers
beat the Huskies 55-7 on September 26.
"And I'd just as soon forget that," Tomey said. "Nebraska
totally obliterated a good, not great, but good Washington team."
Despite a three-loss season that wiped out Nebraska's national
title hopes, the Huskers are headed to their 30th bowl game in 30
years. It's also the 30th straight year Nebraska has won at least
nine games.
Solich said there's a chance for the return of running back
DeAngelo Evans, out six games with a bruised tailbone, and
quarterback Bobby Newcombe, who has missed four games with a torn
knee ligament.
"They had injury problems and had a 9-3 season that would be
great for most teams but not for them," Tomey said. "They have
such an incredible reputation and have been the outstanding team
for the last 20 to 25 years."
Tomey said although his team is young, it's good. With only five
seniors, Arizona was picked during the pre-season to finish in the
middle or lower half of the Pac-10.
"The players grew tremendously during the year and they have
been a delight to be around," Tomey said.
Holiday Bowl officials are expecting a record crowd. By Monday,
all 70,500 tickets had been sold. That would break the Holiday's
attendance record of 61,892, set in 1987 when Wyoming played
Oklahoma State.
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