Looks like Clemson, Nebraska in Gator Bowl

[HuskerTrucker]

Looks like Clemson, Nebraska in Gator Bowl

 

By BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star

Tuesday, Dec 02, 2008 - 08:02:51 pm CST

 

It was a New Year’s Day almost 27 years ago now when they last collided. Amid a clash of red and orange in the stands, Nebraska and Clemson met to figure out the national championship that night in the Orange Bowl.

 

With an injured Turner Gill sidelined, Nebraska spent a sweltering night in Miami laboring on offense, going three-and-out on eight of 12 possessions. A 34-year-old Alabama boy named Danny Ford rode off on the shoulders of his Clemson players with a 22-15 victory, the youngest coach to win a national title.

 

It’s a game worth recollecting right now.

 

 

It seems Nebraska and Clemson will play again this New Year’s Day — the implications not as grand, but the passion still plenty enough from both fan bases to have Gator Bowl officials riding high about their Jan. 1 contest in Jacksonville.

 

Multiple reports say Clemson will be offered a bid to the Gator Bowl today, a major coup for a team that went 7-5 and had a coaching change in midseason.

 

And though Gator Bowl officials likely won’t be able to announce Nebraska as Clemson’s opponent until Sunday, there is little mystery that the Huskers will also receive an invite.

 

The Huskers (8-4) cannot be officially announced yet because Big 12 Commissioner Don Beebe is not allowing conference teams to be chosen until Saturday night’s Big 12 championship game.

 

That seems no worry to Gator Bowl Association President Rick Catlett, who basically told the Journal Star on Monday night the Huskers were his bowl’s pick.

 

“We’re going to get a very good game, and eventually I think we’ll get the game we wanted,” Catlett told the Florida Times-Union on Tuesday. “We might not be able to announce both teams before Sunday, but it’s going to be an absolutely wonderful game.”

 

A Nebraska appearance in the Gator Bowl has been on the radar screen for a couple weeks, but the emergence of Clemson as the foe maybe surprised some.

 

Many considered Florida State likely to get the nod, given the Seminoles’ home-state presence, better record (8-4), their past history with Nebraska and ability to draw good TV ratings.

 

But Clemson is on a hot streak (having won four of its last five) and has an enthusiastic fan base after it was announced this week that Dabo Swinney would have the interim tag removed from his title and be the team’s permanent head coach.

 

Swinney is a 40-year-old coach with plenty of the same passion that draws Husker fans to their first-year head coach Bo Pelini.

 

Clemson’s fan base also has represented itself well at the Gator Bowl, a game the Tigers have played in eight times. The average attendance of Gator Bowls involving Clemson has been 74,000.

 

Attendance certainly is an important factor in the Gator Bowl’s decision, especially considering that last year’s contest between Texas Tech and Virginia drew just an estimated 40,000.

 

If FSU had been the pick, it would be the third time the Seminoles have played in Jacksonville in 15 months.

 

The Noles played there as recently as late September against Colorado. The game drew a crowd of less than 40,000. Clemson, on the other hand, hasn’t played in Jacksonville since 2001.

 

Clemson started the season with head coach Tommy Bowden at the helm, and was a hot pick by many pundits to do some serious damage, starting the year ranked in the top 10.

 

But the Tigers lost their opener 34-10 to Alabama, a loss that doesn’t seem as embarrassing now as it did then, and then lost to Maryland and Wake Forest to fall to 3-3. Bowden resigned. Swinney took over.

 

He lost his first game as head coach to Georgia Tech (21-17), but the Tigers have since won four games, with the only other loss coming to Florida State. The Seminoles beat the Tigers 41-27 in Tallahassee.

 

It will be the first time a five-loss team has played in the Gator Bowl, but Catlett is optimistic the place will still be packed. Clemson fans are as renowned for traveling as Nebraska fans.

 

The hope of Gator officials is that Husker fans will be excited to see NU’s first appearance in the Gator Bowl’s 64-year history. It will also be just the second time since Jan. 1, 1994, that NU has played on New Year’s Day.

 

“We’re excited about having them there,” Catlett told the Journal Star on Monday night. “ When we signed up with the Big 12, we wanted to have the ability to bring Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska to our game.”

 

Briefly

 

Clemson will have to make do in its bowl game without defensive coordinator Vic Koenning, who resigned Tuesday, one day after the Tigers officially hired Swinney as head coach.

 

Koenning said in a statement released by the school his role with the team next season was in question so he decided to leave before Clemson’s bowl game to have more job options.

 

Koenning had been defensive coordinator and secondary coach for the past four seasons. Clemson’s defense led the ACC in scoring defense and ranked ninth in the nation, allowing just 16.6 points per game.

[redout22]

Clemson is a very good team with two very good RB's. They have done a great job since Dabo has become the coach and it should be a fun game!!

[HSKRNOKC]

Two teams that finished strong.

[Clemson Fan JT]

Clemson may have been asleep during the first half of the season but you can count on them being very much awake now.....

 

Our Thunder and Lighting combo is the best in the land and our O line is actually playing as a unit now

 

Our Defense has been pretty good all season with a few flashes of brilliance and a few of WTH was that

 

Who will be our DC for this game is still unknown seeing how our quit recently to presumably explore other options but over all the D should be fine.

[tattooedhusker]

hopefully whoever your new DC is won't change the system too much, that can be rough to adjust. But I think Dabo will get someone in there that knows what they're doing and won't overhaul until the offseason, if at all.

[RedNLeader]

Can anyone get stats for the last six games for both of the teams to see how they have done down the stretch?

[blkskrts]

lets get rdy

[Enhance]

Can anyone get stats for the last six games for both of the teams to see how they have done down the stretch?

 

Stats would take too long for me to give you, but I will say this. Through quick comparison of the schedules, Nebraska has played a much tougher schedule. We played VA Tech, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech (3 of those 4 were in the top 10 at some point this season) most noticeably. Clemson played Alabama, Wake Forest, BC, and Florida State. Alabama is the only one to have eclipsed the top 10 to my knowledge. I will give Clemson this, however. They finished their season against some quality competition and haven't given up 50+ points twice this season (in our defense, it was Missouri and OU that ripped us for 50+ and OU will most likely be in the NCG).

 

I think it should play out to be a good game. Both teams have rookie coaches. I give the offensive edge to Nebraska especially because of our T.O.P. stats and how explosive they can be at times. Clemson does have a strong defense, and their offense probably has the upper hand over our defense. I'm really looking forward to the game. As always...

 

GBR

[Clemsontoby]

First, off. I am looking forward to this game. I am a Clemson alumni who lives in KC. I went to school when Clemson beat Nebraska for the National Championship. You can imagine that I was about the only Clemson fan in a sea of Red watching the game on TV here in Kansas City. That being said, it will be a good game. Clemson will be a better match for Nebraska than most people think. Clemson has a large stadium that holds over 80,000 people and is always sold out. They are used to loud environments. They have an alumni organization called IPTAY which has been around for about 80 years and is one of the largest in the country, they will be supporting the team. They travel very well and will show up in large numbers for the Gator Bowl, and they are loud. They also have very gracious fans. You will enjoy your encounters with them. Except, I am sure, they will remind you of the last time they played each other.

 

As far as comparisons, I have a link to the Sagarin ratings for both schools:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt08.htm

 

Clemson is rated 19 and Nebraska 30. Clemson has the 15th toughest schedule and Nebraska has the 27th. Point wise, it shows Clemson as a 3 point favorite. Very close.

 

The voter poles have been tough on Clemson this year because the terrible start they had. They were supposed to beat Alabama but lost. The O-line was very young and got hurt early, now they are starting to jell. Voters have been kind of ignoring them over the past 4 games. They are improving and on the way up. Kind of like Nebraska is doing.

 

It should be a great game (I hope) and I look forward to watching it.

 

Toby

 

 

 

 

Can anyone get stats for the last six games for both of the teams to see how they have done down the stretch?

 

Stats would take too long for me to give you, but I will say this. Through quick comparison of the schedules, Nebraska has played a much tougher schedule. We played VA Tech, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech (3 of those 4 were in the top 10 at some point this season) most noticeably. Clemson played Alabama, Wake Forest, BC, and Florida State. Alabama is the only one to have eclipsed the top 10 to my knowledge. I will give Clemson this, however. They finished their season against some quality competition and haven't given up 50+ points twice this season (in our defense, it was Missouri and OU that ripped us for 50+ and OU will most likely be in the NCG).

 

I think it should play out to be a good game. Both teams have rookie coaches. I give the offensive edge to Nebraska especially because of our T.O.P. stats and how explosive they can be at times. Clemson does have a strong defense, and their offense probably has the upper hand over our defense. I'm really looking forward to the game. As always...

 

GBR