GATOR BOWL WINNER: JACKSONVILLE, FL

If there is ever any discussion about "Do Husker Fans Travel Well", this year's GATOR BOWL should put the debate to rest. "Visitors to Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl will spending an estimated $13.4 million, the city said Monday." With the game reaching 'near sell-out' status, it's being called the most popular GATOR BOWL ever. Last year's game between Texas Tech and Virgina was played with the 65k stadium half-full.

This year's GATOR BOWL will feature 2 first year coaches, but can we call it Bo's first bowl as a head coach?

Both teams are .500 in their bowl games. NU is 22-22 and Clemson is 15-15, but not for much longer.

I am not trying to make fun of how they talk in the south, but I had to snicker when I hear that Clemson coach Dabo Swinney's nickname came for a bigger kid that had a hard time pronouncing 'that boy'.

The GATOR BOWL Parade is Wednesday at 2PM CT. The Husker Pep Rally is at 4:30PM at Jacksonville Landing.

Does College Football need a playoff? Not according to the Football Bowl Association. Visit their website and snicker about how proud they are that LSU and Ohio State are going to square off in the "BCS Championship Game in New Orleans this year"

Ndamukong Suh to Try Basketball:

It seems like the shortest team in college basketball is about to get some help from an unlikely source...defensive end Ndamukong Suh will join the basketball team after the Jan 1 Gator Bowl.

Suh has been working out with the team after he finishes his football work at the TO Complex. Asked about his plans, Suh stated: 'This team needs a big man in the middle and you all have seen that I have soft hands. Bo said I need all the conditioning I can get in the off season and I will wear knee braces to protect me, beside I saw Alex Maric play last year and that guy never left his feet. I'll be ok.'

When asked about how he expected to play center, considering he's only 6'4", Suh simply shugged and added, "What I lack in height I make up in width. I'll be like Rodman on the boards. Nobody is going to move me off the blocks and with me in the middle you won't get within 4 feet of the basket."


Of course, none of the above post is true, but it's a slow week and it's fun to dream.

BASKETBALL LOSS:

Another Nail in the Coffin that is Husker Basketball or a Tough Road Loss for a Young Husker Team against a PAC 10 Team that is Better than their 2-5 Record Suggests?

At first blush, the 7-1 Huskers looked ready to recover from just their first loss of the season by feasting on a team that had just 1 win--despite having played some unimpressive teams like Yale and Howard.

But if you dig deeper, you might have seen tonight's dogfight coming:

• 3 of Oregon State's 5 losses have been by 6 points, combined.
• Oregon State has a new coach and the players have struggled early to adjust.
• Calvin Hayes was just declared eligible and in his first game of the season tonight he was 3rd in minutes and 2nd in scoring for the Beavers.

Anytime you get beat by 1 on the road, it's easy to look back at the missed chances the team let slip away--and this game had more than it's share. In fact, this game was a mirror of the KU lost today to a 2-6 UMass team at KU's home away from home--the Sprint Center in KC where the Jayhawks have a near perfect record.

In many ways, NU played better today than KU--who trailed by double digits in both halves. The Huskers went toe to toe all night and never trailed by more than 6 but never lead by more than 4. And just like in KU's game, the better team did win today, but you would not have guessed the outcome by looking at the teams records going in.

I guess that's why they play the game.

Some might argue that I have no business comparing NU's & KU's losses today. Sure they are in the same conference, but as programs go, they aren't in the same league, not even close. Add to that the fact that KU lost to a respectable program in UMass, where as the Husker fell in the road to Oregon State, a basketball nobody of a school.

But, it turns out, last year's National Championship provided little benefit for KU today, just as NU's storied NCAA tournament frustration didn't stop the Husker today. Where a program has been can help, sure--it puts fans in the stands and it opens some doors for you on the recruiting trail--but today proved for KU that a team;s history isn't very relevant when you get beat. And if KU's strong history doesn't matter when they get beat by 1, then it is fair to say that NU's lack of (successful) history didn't hold them back today either.

Today's Huskers aren't 0-6 in the NCAA Tournament. They are 0-0. They haven't lost in 37 of the last 38 conference tournaments. Most haven't played in any, or maybe one--only a few have play in 2 or 3.

Just as history didn't change the outcome for NU or KU today, it also didn't play much of a role for UMass or Oregon State. And while some will argue that at least KU lost to a respected program like UMass while NU lost to 'nobody' Oregon State, an astute fan will know that Oregon State has been to the NCAA tournament twice as many times as UMass and has more wins as well.

NU has lost 2 games and looks like a team that will be stuck in the middle of the pack in the Big 12 this year--and you know what: that's about as good or better than most expected from this line-up. They still out hustle every team they play and I suspect they will give us fans plenty of excitement this season. If just one of the 3 adverse rulings had gone Doc's way, this team might be even better right now, but you play with the team you have-nothing more, nothing less.

BASKETBALL TEAM WILL GET A BOOST:

NU can't make it official just yet but expect Jorge Diaz, the 6'11" player from the Puerto Rico Junior National Team to join the Huskers on Dec. 20th.

Bienvenida.

FOOTBALL UPDATE:

While the GATOR BOWL can't make the invitation to the Huskers official until after the Big 12 Title Game, the Big XII is now allowing NU to sell their allotment of 12,500 tickets, starting at $50. Tickets may be purchased on-line at Huskers.com or by calling the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-8-BIG RED.

The Big XII is making noises that suggest that Kansas City may not be in the running to host future Big XII Title games. One dispute is the condition of the field, which is controlled by the Chiefs. Prior to the KU vs MU game last week, the center part of the field was resodded and offered excellent footing but outside the numbers, the surface had players slipping and falling. Look for the two-tone field on Saturday. After getting the tax payers to fund a $300 million stadium improvement, the Chiefs mights cost Kansas City the chance to host future title games, just because they saved some money by doing a patch job on the field.

Ndamukong Suh says he'll be back for his senior season. If he returns, he will be doing as the reigning first-team All-Big 12 player.

GATOR BOWL UPDATE:

Things to note:

1. NU hasn't been invited yet but the Alumni Association is busy selling bowl trips--I guess we can assume the invitation is just a formality.
2. Clemson's coach was ousted earlier this year after a 3-3 start. Since then, the Tigers are 4-2.
3. Neither Clemson nor Nebraska have won a bowl game since 2005.
4. The Tigers have a very capable back up QB named Willy Korn.

NU BASKETBALL:

The Huskers got things rolling last night and used a 17-1 run late in the first half on their way to a 50-25 halftime lead. The second half saw more of the same as the Huskers nailed a 3pt shot on 3 straight possession as they continued to outscore Alabma State 2-1 with a 62-31 lead. The 80-51 final marked NU's first 80 point outing in 26 games. NU has held all six opponents under 60 thus far--a feet not matched since WW II. NU managed season highs in scoring, 3 pt makes-14, assists-23, fg% 56% and 3pt %-51.7%.

The Huskers return to action on Sunday at 1:00 PM for a nationally televised (FSN) game against Arizona State--who features one of the nation's best offenses lead by 6'9" forward Jeff Pendergraph and difficult to crack zone defense.

THE LATEST:

It looks like NU will be playing in the GATOR BOWL against Clemson, although the Big XII will not let the Jacksonville, FL folks make it official until after the Big XII title game.

Jacksonville is a fun city and we will have more and the area soon, but for now we wanted to note that you can likely get the Marriott Sawgrass Resort (Jacksonville Beach - Ponte Vedra) for $175/per night via Hotwire. Note that we can't be 100% sure that the 4 star resort they show is the Marriott, but our sources tell us that it most likely is.

One of the reasons the GATOR Bowl is so happy to have NU is because the representative they sent to the NU vs CU game was still having another drink at the Embassy Suites at kick-off and missed the first 2 CU scores. Other than having to wear a green jacket, being a bowl representative is a good gig, if you can get it.

The NU basketball team tries to get to 6-0 for only the second time since the Big XII was formed tonight with a 7:07 tip-off. They got a vote in the AP poll which hasn't happened for about 10 years--so students can shout 'We're #43' like they really mean it.