Holiday Bowl Preview

Tonight’s game is all about two things: 1. The motivation level of the heavily favored Nebraska Cornhuskers, and 2. The health level of starting QB Taylor Martinez. Lucky for you I just graduated with a double major in Psychology and Physical Training.

If both of those questions can be answered in the Huskers favor, then I can’t imagine the game being played within 20 points. Nebraska is that much better than Washington, as has been previously proven.

We won’t know the answer to either of these questions until gametime, but should know the answer to both of them after the 1st quarter. I could easily see this game being 41-6 or 17-14.

So can the Nebraska players really get up for this game?  They have the potential to be the perfect victim of the classic bowl game letdown, given they’ve already defeated this team in impressive fashion at their home. On top of that, they lack a real leader on the offensive side of the ball, starting a freshman at QB. Piled on that, each and every player played the biggest game of their careers less than a month ago, a game in which they came up just short.

So it’s possible that they’ll want to show everybody that their first defeat of the Huskies was no fluke, or that they’l want some sort of semi-revenge after losing the Big 12 Championship Game. It’s also possible that Washington is so bad that it won’t even matter. Nebraska very well could sleepwalk their way to a victory tonight.

Now for T-Mart’s health. He hasn’t truly been healthy the entire second half of the season since first injuring his ankle against the Missouri Tigers, but has now had an entire month off to rest. If he’s healthy, the offense becomes infinitely more explosive. And if he is back to old form, it will be more of the same for the Huskies tonight.

Martinez is the most interesting player in tonight’s game (we already know the Hurt Locker sucks). Pelini gave him the keys to the Nebraska offense for the next 3 years, by sticking with him in the Big 12 Championship Game, despite horrendous play and a history of pulling QB’s. It was tough to take at the time, but might make him seem very smart in a year or so. I’m very intrigued to see how T-Mart responds in his first game out since those events transpired.

When it comes down to it, there is one major reason I am switching my prediction from a weeks back, and now believe the Huskers will win: Bo Pelini. By first impressions, he may not strike you as a smart individual, but if he gets any time to gameplan against a team, he has proven to dominate the opposing offense in every case. He is 3-0 in bowl games for his career, and has prepared two outstanding defensive efforts in conference championship games thus far.

I hope Nebraska comes out and gives a crap tonight. I’d like to beat the Huskies senseless, sending a message that Nebraska shouldn’t be playing in secondary bowl games anymore, similar to the beatdown of Northwestern back in 2000. My biggest reason for caring tonight is the departing seniors who will be playing their final game in a Huskers uniform.

I would love to hear who you will miss watching most on gamedays. My favorite player throughout the years has been Dejon Gomes, who will do whatever it takes to make a play when it matters most. I believe he is the most underrated player in the nation, and will go on to make a great NFL player, despite probably not being drafted very high.

As far as the game goes tonight, I think Washington will come out fired up and hold a lead after the 1st quarter, something like 10-7. Locker will come out hot, but will throw at least 2 picks (Gomes will get one) that will swing control of the game. Nebraska will start to care sometime around the 2nd quarter, and will be led back by T-Mart, who will be back to mostly healthy, and will rush for over 100 yards. Nebraska will have firm control of the game by the 3rd quarter, and the 4th quarter will be little more than a walkthrough for both team’s young players in preparation for next season.

Score Prediction: Nebraska 30, Washington 17