Huskers want one more shot
Let’s not beat around the bush. The 2015 Nebraska football season was considered a disappoint by most people.
For just the third time since 1962 the Huskers (5-7) had a losing season, but because of a surplus in bowl games they will get an opportunity to somewhat salvage things against UCLA (8-4) in the Foster Farms Bowl on Dec. 26.
Most of NU’s players know this is a rare opportunity to not only get to a bowl game with a losing record, but to also face a quality team in a stadium where the Super Bowl will be played later this February.
“Personally I love a challenge like this,” junior wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp said. “(UCLA) has a fast defense, so I’m really looking forward to it.
“This is a great team, so if we don’t prepare right or get our mind right we could get beat pretty well. I know that’s not going to happen though and the guys won’t let that happen.”
There’s also some recent history between these two teams, with UCLA winning both meetings in 2012 and 2013.
You could easily say the Huskers could’ve won both games, but failed to close out the Bruins in Pasadena in 2012 and blew a 21-3 lead in 2013.
“I just remember that game at home,” senior center Ryne Reeves said. “We had (UCLA) and we were beating them at halftime 21-10. Then we let them back into it and ended up losing. This will be a great opportunity to see what we can do.”
It’s also a chance for this senior class to end things the right way after a disappointing senior day loss to Iowa on Black Friday.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for us to show that we are a better team than what our record shows,” Reeves said. “For us seniors it’s an opportunity for us to go out on top with a win. So that would be good and it would be a good springboard going into next year.”
After that Iowa loss there was some chatter on if the Huskers should even accept a bowl invite at 5-7.
Westerkamp clarified that a lot of guys didn’t quite understand the whole bowl selection process and now everybody is excited to get the chance to play in the Foster Farms Bowl.
“We didn’t do the selecting, we got selected,” Westerkamp said. “We earned it based off the APR and that stuff. I personally feel we did earn it. We were close in every game. We never got blown out. We beat a team that’s in the final four playoffs and we almost beat a team in Iowa that’s highly ranked. We’ve been neck and neck in every game we’ve played. I personally think we earned it. We’ve got a lot of guys that work hard, so it’s great to have this extra game.”