By Ethan Wobken/Gator Galaxy Staff
Nebraska will be playing in the Foster Farms Bowl on Dec. 26 against the UCLA Bruins. The Cornhuskers and the Bruins have played each other 12 times, having a 6-6 record against each other, but the Foster Farms Bowl will mark their first postseason match-up.
The Cornhuskers are one of three five-win teams that made it into one of the 40 bowl games. Nebraska finished with a losing record for only the third time since 1962, with six of their losses this year by eight points or fewer. They became only the second team in the FBS program since 2006 to lose four times on the final play of regulation or in overtime.
Tommy Armstrong Jr. its the leader of Big Ten’s second-ranked total offense and is the only Cornhusker to record two seasons with at least 3,000 total yards.
Jordan Westerkamp tied Nate Swift for the most single-season receptions in school history with 63 in Nebraska’s 28-20 loss to Iowa in the regular-season finale.
Although defensive tackles Vincent Valentine and Maliek Collins combined to miss seven games in 2015, Nebraska still ranks eighth in the country in run defense (113.4 yards per game).
UCLA was expected to do a lot better than they did this year. They started the season this year ranked 13 and they slowly worked their way out of the Top 25. The Bruins finished the season 8-4, but witnessed a number of record-setting performances this season. Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn became the conference’s all-time leading scorer, and receiver Jordan Payton became the school’s all-time receptions leader. Quarterback Josh Rosen threw two interceptions against the Trojans to stop his streak of not throwing one at 245 attempts, one of several school records he broke to earn Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year. Paul Perkins ranked third in the conference in rushing (1,275 yards), while first-team All-Pac 12 junior defensive tackle Kenny Clark is the leader of a defense that is tied for first in the conference in fewest yards allowed per play (4.9).
The key to victory for Nebraska is to limit their turnovers. They’ve had 26 turnovers this year ranking themselves 117th in the nation. Another big key for Nebraska will be how well Armstrong plays. He needs to take apart a UCLA defense that has allowed 393.5 ypg. For UCLA they need to establish a strong run game. Bruins running back Paul Perkins has averaged 186.8 yards a game while, the Cornhuskers are No. 8 in the nation vs. the run, only allowing 113.4 yards per game on the ground. Also freshman quarterback Josh Rosen who has thrown for 3,351 yards and 20 touchdowns this year should be able to pass the ball with ease against Nebraska’s struggling pass defense.
