LINCOLN — Outback Bowl CEO Jim McVay has enjoyed watching Nebraska’s football team this season — especially quarterback Tommy Armstrong. And he’ll be watching the Huskers as they play Iowa on Black Friday.
“Nebraska’s one of the iconic names in college football,” McVay said.
According to most national media bowl projections, which are unofficial and often change depending on the results of games, Nebraska is headed to the Jan. 2 Outback Bowl, which pits a Big Ten team against an SEC team. NU has never played in the Outback Bowl, which is held in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida home of the NFL’s Buccaneers.
“It’s a spectacular trip,” said McVay, stumping for his game.
The Outback Bowl will be played at the same time as the Cotton Bowl and before the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl.
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The Huskers (9-2) don’t exactly control their bowl destination, and the Big Ten’s bowl partners don’t exactly control their invitations, either. The league works in conjunction with bowls, outside the New Year’s Six games, to match Big Ten teams with locations and opponents that are a good fit for that particular year.
Nebraska, for example, is unlikely to return to the Dec. 27 Holiday Bowl in San Diego because NU has been there three times in the past seven years most recently in 2014 and the Huskers just went to the West Coast for last year’s Foster Farms Bowl.
Iowa (7-4) hasn’t played in a Holiday Bowl since 1991. Hawkeye fans, like Husker fans, tend to travel well to bowl sites. If Iowa beats NU, the teams would have identical Big Ten records.
“If we had the chance to host Iowa, we’d be ecstatic,” said Mark Neville, Holiday Bowl executive director.
But nothing for these bowls is set in stone, in part because the Big Ten East and West Division crowns are up for grabs headed into this weekend.
One could create a scenario where Wisconsin beats Minnesota and thus wins the West, and Michigan beats Ohio State and thus wins the East. The winner of that Big Ten title game would likely get a College Football Playoff berth, while the loser heads to the Rose Bowl. Then, the CFP committee could pick Ohio State and Penn State for slots in the New Year’s Six Bowl games, leaving 10-2 Nebraska for the Outback.
But perhaps Nebraska wins Friday, Wisconsin loses Saturday, Penn State beats Michigan State and Ohio State beats Michigan. Under that scenario, NU plays Penn State for the Big Ten title, Ohio State maybe secures a playoff berth despite not winning its division, and the Huskers and Nittany Lions are playing for the Rose Bowl.
So bowl executives, McVay said, tend to “hurry up and wait.”
Should the Huskers come to the Outback Bowl, McVay would expect a good turnout, especially as fans would want to see Armstrong’s last game as a Husker.
“He’s been a great quarterback,” McVay said.
On the SEC side, the most common opponent for Nebraska is Florida, but the Gators could get an upgrade to the Sugar Bowl if they beat rival Florida State this weekend. Florida is a long shot to upset Alabama in the SEC title game, but a win there, too, would shoot the Gators to the front of the Sugar Bowl line, or perhaps put them in position for a playoff bid.
Other SEC teams in the mix for the Outback Bowl include Auburn, LSU and potentially Texas A&M, which is generally projected to stay in Texas or go to the Sugar Bowl. The Outback has never hosted the Aggies.
Tennessee would be a possible partner, but it beat Northwestern 45-6 in the Outback last season, so it is likely destined for another game in the SEC bowl lineup.
The Citrus Bowl is a possibility for Nebraska, too, but that’s only if the Orange Bowl doesn’t take a Big Ten team. Considering the league may have five teams with 10 or more wins, it’s likely that the Orange Bowl has a Big Ten team, thus forcing the Citrus Bowl to pick from the ACC.
