To say that the season did not go as expected for the Nebraska Cornhuskers would be quite an understatement. Yes, they are in a bowl game, but by the skin of their teeth with a 5-7 overall record. Their worst loss of the year came against the Purdue Boilermakers, who defeated Nebraska by a total of 55-45. But for the 7 total losses, the average margin of defeat was only 4.4 points. They had four of those losses come within three points or fewer. Something to be said for them is that they do have a win against one of the teams that made the college football playoff, in the Michigan State Spartans. That win did come with it's fair share of controversy though, and they would love to be able to beat the 8-4 UCLA Bruins in a bowl game. Let's take a closer look at some of their top players.
Quarterbacks
| Player | Team | Pass Yards | TD | INT | Rush Yards | TD |
| Josh Rosen | UCLA | 3351 | 20 | 9 | 26 | 2 |
| Tommy Armstrong Jr. | Nebraska | 2856 | 21 | 16 | 324 | 6 |
These are two completely different quarterbacks for their teams. Tommy Armstrong Jr. has definitely both won and lost games for their team throughout this year. He single handedly helped bring Nebraska back in a game earlier this year against the Miami Hurricanes to force overtime, but then would throw an interception on their first overtime possession to give the Hurricanes a win. Josh Rosen is a Freshman though, and he has still been a highly efficient pocket quarterback. It will be completely important to see how Rosen can develop over the next few weeks as they will be looking to continue to rely on him for the future. The other main difference between the two is that Armstrong will probably have a few designed runs in the game, but Rosen simply is not going to attack with his legs.
Running Backs
| Player | Team | Rushing Yards | TD |
| Paul Perkins | UCLA | 1275 | 13 |
| Terrell Newby | Nebraska | 743 | 5 |
Both teams like to be able to run the rock as well. They have both been able to run for over 2,000 yards each as a team. Paul Perkins is a Junior, and at 5'11" and 210 pounds, he is able to bring some solid strength to the table. His best game of the year came against the UNLV Runnin' Rebels. He went off for a total of 151 yards and 2 touchdowns. Meanwhile Terrell Newby has not had the better season, but he did have a crazy game against the South Alabama Jaguars. He had 28 carries, 198 yards, and 2 touchdowns in that contest.
Wide Receivers
| Player | Team | Receiving Yards | TD |
| Jordan Payton | UCLA | 1069 | 4 |
| Jordan Westerkamp | Nebraska | 874 | 7 |
When in doubt, just throw the ball to Jordan. Seriously though, both Payton and Westerkamp have been doing rather well. Both of them lead their teams in receptions. They would both primarily be considered possession receivers. Also for UCLA, you have to watch out for Thomas Duarte, who has a total of 10 touchdowns this year and is their big red zone target.
Prediction
The UCLA Bruins are simply a better team that competed to try and win the Pac-12 South, while the Cornhuskers simply are lucky to be in a bowl. Bowl games always have a question in regards to motivation. Could UCLA be unmotivated to play in a bowl game just up the road in San Francisco? It's possible, but they are the better team and they should be able to come out of this one with the win. Expect Rosen to keep it clean and avoid any turnovers as the Bruins will come out on top in this one, by a final score of 31-21.