LINCOLN — Steve Spurrier. South Carolina’s stingy defense. And that vaunted SEC speed.
That’s what awaits Nebraska’s football team in the Jan. 2 Capital One Bowl. The 10-2 Gamecocks, No. 9 in the final BCS standings, will play the 9-3 and No. 21 Huskers at noon CST in Orlando, Fla.
Played in the 65,438-seat Citrus Bowl and televised on ESPN, it’s one of five Jan. 2 games involving Big Ten teams. It’s Nebraska’s highest-ranked bowl opponent since No. 9 Auburn in the 2007 Cotton Bowl. And its $4.6 million payout is the highest of any non-BCS game.
“We had a good year, and the Capital One bowl recognized us for that,” coach Bo Pelini said. “We know we’re going to be challenged down there. It’s a great opportunity for us to get our 10th win.”
South Carolina, meanwhile, is looking for a school-record 11th win. The Gamecocks have never been to a BCS bowl or even the Capital One bowl; indeed, they’ve rarely tasted bowl success at all, losing three straight under Spurrier, who won the 1996 national championship at Florida.
“This may be the biggest bowl game — highest rank, biggest payout — we’ve ever been a part of,” Spurrier said. “We’ve never been to one of those BCS ones.”
Each school will get an allotment of 12,500 tickets; each is expected to sell out quickly.
Nebraska and South Carolina are a pair with similar journeys in 2011.
• Both were hit hard by injuries. South Carolina lost star running back Marcus Lattimore midway through the season to a knee injury. NU lost several defensive players — including tackle Jared Crick — for entire chunks of the year.
• Both failed to win their conference divisions, but beat the eventual division champion. Those teams — Michigan State and Georgia — are playing in the Outback Bowl at the same time as Nebraska and USC.
• Both had a blowout November loss on the road to shoot down their BCS bowl hopes. NU lost 45-17 to Michigan. South Carolina lost 44-28 at Arkansas.
• Both use a spread offense featuring mobile sophomore quarterbacks. The Huskers’ Taylor Martinez ran for 837 yards and nine touchdowns while the Gamecocks’ Connor Shaw ran for 483 yards and seven touchdowns, most of that coming after he took over the starting job six games into the season.
• Both have playmakers on defense. NU relies on Butkus finalist Lavonte David and cornerback Alfonzo Dennard. South Carolina calls on two dominant defensive ends: Melvin Ingram and true freshman Jadeveon Clowney, the consensus No. 1 recruit of the 2011 class. The two have combined for 14.5 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss.
As a whole, South Carolina boasts one of the nation’s stingiest, speediest defenses. Fourth nationally in total defense, 13th in scoring defense, ninth in takeaways and second in pass efficiency defense.
And, yes, they can run, like most SEC defenses can.
Not that Pelini, a former coordinator in the SEC, is overly worried about the Gamecocks’ team speed.
“People act like the only place where people can run is in the Southeastern Conference,” he said. “I’m sure South Carolina’s a fast football team. I’m sure they have some speed. But we got guys who can run, too.”
Spurrier’s seen a Nebraska team that could do that in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl, when the Huskers routed his Gators 62-24 for the national crown. That squad, Spurrier said Sunday, was one of the best in college football history.
And this version of NU?
“They’re a big, strong, physical team,” he said, “and we really got to play well if we’re going to have a chance against them.”
Contact the writer:
402-202-9766, sam.mckewon@owh.com
twitter.com/swmckewonOWH
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
RSS Feeds