As mentioned in the recap in San Jose’s regular season loss to Boise State, which sealed their fate at 5-7, it was mentioned that even though it wasn’t likely, there would still be a chance that the Spartans can make it to a bowl game with a plethora of bowls in today’s college football. Nebraska is one of three 5-7 teams to get a bowl berth.
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Nebraska head football coach Mike Riley says the team is excited for the opportunity to keep practicing and then play in a bowl game. 0-its-first-26 against FBS teams after moving up to the FBS world, and 1-for-30 going into mid-October, the passing game geared it up, and all of a sudden the Panthers became unstoppable at times winning five of their last seven games to become bowl eligible. UCLA vs. Nebraska is the type of match-up we dreamed about when we made our agreements with the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences… two iconic brands with a great history.
UCLA will close out what would have been Nick Pasquale’s senior season against Nebraska. But the school’s all-time leader with 3,121 receiving yards could have played in a bowl game had San Jose State been selected.
UCLA last faced Nebraska in 2013, as part of the second game of a home-and-home series that began at the Rose Bowl the season before.
3- I had heard rumors we might play Air Force, a team from the MAC conference or at best another team from the SEC.
“It’s obviously exciting to get to play in a bowl game”, Riley said. A lot of times bowl games are about motivation and leadership.
The Bruins had hoped to be playing there for the Pac-12 title. Nebraska (985) was tops among those teams and has said it will accept a bid. But, it sure sounds a whole lot better than Not to mention, a bowl win over a sound UCLA team (who beat us two years in a row not long ago) is something to build on going into the season next year, for players and fans alike.
Now an executive for Staples Corporation and an assistant coach at Crenshaw High in Los Angeles, Grigsby won’t be able to attend the Spartans’ first bowl game since 2012. The Huskies also knocked off Houston, probably the biggest reason why they ended up bowl-bound for the first time since their Fiesta Bowl run to end the 2010 season.
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Kansas State and Georgia State both won their games Saturday, earning six wins and a bowl spot.
