Eric the Red
Team HuskerBoard
He won two awards at the teams banquet, which is also noted in a thread belowfrom NH.
GII: Cory Ross recalls bitter-sweet Alamo Bowl Reply
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Ross recalls bitter-sweet Alamo Bowl
By Terry Douglass
terry.douglass@theindependent.com
LINCOLN -- To say it was the best of times and the worst of times would be cliché. Still, it's difficult to find a more succinct way to describe the feelings Cory Ross had following Nebraska's 2003 Alamo Bowl victory over Michigan State.
The Cornhuskers capped a tumultuous month -- and a 10-3 season -- with a bruising 17-3 victory over the Spartans in San Antonio with interim coach Bo Pelini at the helm. Nebraska was still in the midst of a coaching search after the firing of Frank Solich, and the future leadership of the program was completely up in the air.
For Ross, who had taken over the starting I-back spot late in the '03 season, it was one of the best individual performances of his career. The Denver native rushed a school-record 37 times for 138 yards and two touchdowns to help send the Husker seniors out with a victory.
"It was fun," said Ross, now a senior himself. "We just let it all loose and everybody was trying to leave it on the field and just have fun doing it. That's what we liked."
Nebraska (7-4) is set to return to the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28 to play Michigan in a 7 p.m. (ESPN) contest. As game day approaches, Ross and some of the other veteran Huskers will almost certainly be reminded of their last trip to San Antonio.
"You could kind of use that game as kind of a stepping stone," Ross said, recalling the 2003 Alamo Bowl. "We were trying to win for those seniors. Our coach was gone and we had an interim coach in at the time and we wanted to make their last game a game they could remember.
"It's pretty much the same going on now: Us seniors want to win and I'm pretty sure the young guys want to get us out of here with a victory."
Ross and his classmates have endured the roughest four-year stretch for Nebraska football since 1960-63 when the Huskers won just 26 games over a four-year period. In the previous four seasons, NU has won 29 games.
The low point was 2004 when Nebraska finished 5-6 under first-year coach Bill Callahan, marking the program's worst record since 1961. The Huskers' NCAA record of 35 consecutive bowl appearances was also snapped.
For that reason, Ross said it was important for the seniors to get to the postseason this year.
"I think for myself, and for the guys that have been here for five years and went through the ups and downs of Nebraska in the last three years, I definitely feel this is well worth the wait," Ross said. "The fans probably had a hard time like we did, sitting off last year and watching from the house, so you look at all the challenges we had this year and enjoy that we're in a bowl game."
And it's a better bowl game than originally thought for Nebraska. Thanks to late-season losses by Colorado and Iowa State, the Huskers climbed up the ranks to receive the Alamo Bowl bid, slotted for the No. 4 team in the Big 12 Conference.
"It's just good to know where we're going," Ross said. "The Alamo Bowl is going to be a fun one. It was fun last time I was there and a lot of the older guys had a lot of fun, so we know what it's like being down there.
"We feel good. I definitely feel that all the seniors are pretty much ready to end this thing with a victory."
Nebraska will be attempting to close the season with three consecutive victories. The Huskers closed the regular season with a 30-3 win at Colorado on Nov. 25 in a game where NU entered as a 16.5-point underdog.
"I think we know what we can do when everybody's coming together and playing together," Ross said. "You can just accomplish so much, and that's what we did. We put together a complete game and I think that's definitely going to help our confidence, just from the fact that we know we're able to have a big game."
Ross said he was surprised to find out the Huskers were going to play Michigan. He had heard that Nebraska would likely take on Iowa in the Alamo Bowl and had even been receiving phone calls from former Husker Marques Simmons, who now plays for the Hawkeyes, about the potential match-up.
"That's where they thought they were going, but it didn't turn out that way," Ross said. "But Michigan is another big team with a lot of tradition. It's going to be a big game.
GII: Cory Ross recalls bitter-sweet Alamo Bowl Reply
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ross recalls bitter-sweet Alamo Bowl
By Terry Douglass
terry.douglass@theindependent.com
LINCOLN -- To say it was the best of times and the worst of times would be cliché. Still, it's difficult to find a more succinct way to describe the feelings Cory Ross had following Nebraska's 2003 Alamo Bowl victory over Michigan State.
The Cornhuskers capped a tumultuous month -- and a 10-3 season -- with a bruising 17-3 victory over the Spartans in San Antonio with interim coach Bo Pelini at the helm. Nebraska was still in the midst of a coaching search after the firing of Frank Solich, and the future leadership of the program was completely up in the air.
For Ross, who had taken over the starting I-back spot late in the '03 season, it was one of the best individual performances of his career. The Denver native rushed a school-record 37 times for 138 yards and two touchdowns to help send the Husker seniors out with a victory.
"It was fun," said Ross, now a senior himself. "We just let it all loose and everybody was trying to leave it on the field and just have fun doing it. That's what we liked."
Nebraska (7-4) is set to return to the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28 to play Michigan in a 7 p.m. (ESPN) contest. As game day approaches, Ross and some of the other veteran Huskers will almost certainly be reminded of their last trip to San Antonio.
"You could kind of use that game as kind of a stepping stone," Ross said, recalling the 2003 Alamo Bowl. "We were trying to win for those seniors. Our coach was gone and we had an interim coach in at the time and we wanted to make their last game a game they could remember.
"It's pretty much the same going on now: Us seniors want to win and I'm pretty sure the young guys want to get us out of here with a victory."
Ross and his classmates have endured the roughest four-year stretch for Nebraska football since 1960-63 when the Huskers won just 26 games over a four-year period. In the previous four seasons, NU has won 29 games.
The low point was 2004 when Nebraska finished 5-6 under first-year coach Bill Callahan, marking the program's worst record since 1961. The Huskers' NCAA record of 35 consecutive bowl appearances was also snapped.
For that reason, Ross said it was important for the seniors to get to the postseason this year.
"I think for myself, and for the guys that have been here for five years and went through the ups and downs of Nebraska in the last three years, I definitely feel this is well worth the wait," Ross said. "The fans probably had a hard time like we did, sitting off last year and watching from the house, so you look at all the challenges we had this year and enjoy that we're in a bowl game."
And it's a better bowl game than originally thought for Nebraska. Thanks to late-season losses by Colorado and Iowa State, the Huskers climbed up the ranks to receive the Alamo Bowl bid, slotted for the No. 4 team in the Big 12 Conference.
"It's just good to know where we're going," Ross said. "The Alamo Bowl is going to be a fun one. It was fun last time I was there and a lot of the older guys had a lot of fun, so we know what it's like being down there.
"We feel good. I definitely feel that all the seniors are pretty much ready to end this thing with a victory."
Nebraska will be attempting to close the season with three consecutive victories. The Huskers closed the regular season with a 30-3 win at Colorado on Nov. 25 in a game where NU entered as a 16.5-point underdog.
"I think we know what we can do when everybody's coming together and playing together," Ross said. "You can just accomplish so much, and that's what we did. We put together a complete game and I think that's definitely going to help our confidence, just from the fact that we know we're able to have a big game."
Ross said he was surprised to find out the Huskers were going to play Michigan. He had heard that Nebraska would likely take on Iowa in the Alamo Bowl and had even been receiving phone calls from former Husker Marques Simmons, who now plays for the Hawkeyes, about the potential match-up.
"That's where they thought they were going, but it didn't turn out that way," Ross said. "But Michigan is another big team with a lot of tradition. It's going to be a big game.
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