Nebraska takes on Tennessee in the Music City Bowl on Friday afternoon in Nashville. Here are three things to know about the matchup.
A 10th win for Riley?
Historically, 10-win seasons are no rarity in Lincoln, but a win in the Music City Bowl would make it 10 wins in Mike Riley’s second season, something pretty remarkable given the 6-7 finish in Year 1. A 10-win campaign would be a bit of a vindication for athletics director Shawn Eichorst, who opted to cut Bo Pelini loose despite that coach’s tendency for nine- and 10-win seasons. When Riley won just six last season, it made that decision look mighty questionable, but that would all go away if Riley can pull off 10 wins in his second season. Pelini won 10 games three times during his seven-year tenure. Bill Callahan never won 10 games in his four years. So that means a 10-win season in 2016 would be the program’s fourth since 2003, putting Riley in pretty exclusive company and setting a very positive outlook for the program moving forward.
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Sidelined senior stars
The Huskers will be without arguably their three best players in this one, as a trio of their senior stars is sidelined for one reason or another. Quarterback Tommy Armstrong hasn’t practiced all month while being bothered by a hamstring injury and in all likelihood won’t play, telling reporters earlier this week that he hopes he can serve as an emergency third-stringer. Wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp — Armstrong’s roommate and favorite target — is out while recovering from knee surgery. And on the defensive side, safety Nathan Gerry was deemed academically ineligible, bringing an abrupt end to his college career. Obviously, the losses will be impactful, particularly on offense and particularly at quarterback, where Ryker Fyfe is pressed into starting duty. Fyfe made one start this season, when Armstrong was out vs. Maryland, and subbed in in that game against Ohio State when Armstrong had to be taken to the hospital after suffering a concussion. While all three absences hurt for Friday’s game, they’re an even bigger bummer in the big picture, as none of the three seniors will get to play in the final game of their senior seasons.
Home-field advantage
Man, you can’t really get a better home-field advantage for a bowl game than Tennessee will have in the Music City Bowl. It’s a mere three-hour drive from Neyland Stadium in Knoxville to Nissan Stadium in Nashville, and obviously all the fans in the Volunteer State will be there to support the Volunteers. It makes for what is practically a road game for Nebraska, not great considering the last three road games of the regular season were all losses for the Huskers. Two of those games were blowouts: at Ohio State and at Iowa. But the Vols were in Nashville for their regular-season finale against Vanderbilt and lost. So there you go.