Saturday, December 11Nebraska, Tennessee are reluctant Fiesta Bowl opponentsAssociated PressTEMPE, Ariz. -- The Fiesta Bowl isn't synonymous with the
Envy Bowl just yet.
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| Frank Solich and Nebraska were holding out hope for the No. 2 spot in the BCS. |
Although Nebraska and Tennessee both had designs on playing for
the national championship, which will be decided in New Orleans
this season, they agreed that a trip to sunny Arizona isn't a bad
consolation prize.
"Phoenix and the area there is just a tremendous place to come
and visit," Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said Sunday after his
sixth-ranked Volunteers were paired with No. 3 Nebraska in the
Fiesta. "The people, the volunteers, the staff are great hosts,
the best we've ever been treated. And, obviously we have very fond
memories of the place."
Tennessee (9-2) completed a dream season last year with a 23-16
victory over Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl. It earned the Vols
their first national title in the first game arranged under the
Bowl Championship Series.
But this year they lost by two points to Florida early on and
stumbled against Arkansas last month to end any chance of defending
their crown.
Similarly, Texas upset Nebraska 24-20 on Oct. 23, and the
Cornhuskers (11-1) never made up ground on No. 2 Virginia Tech,
which will play No. 1 Florida State in the Sugar Bowl.
Fulmer said his team was a half-dozen plays away from being
unbeaten, but he didn't plan to focus on that.
"Certainly it's the goal of Tennessee as it is for Nebraska to
play for the highest stakes you can go for, and we're thrilled to
have this opportunity," he said.
Nebraska coach Frank Solich, who held out hope as late as
Saturday night that his team could move up after beating Texas 22-6
in the Big 12 championship game, was reconciled to playing for
second.
"We had a good season," Solich said. "Personally, I feel like
there are five or six teams right now that could play for the
national championship, and who knows who would win if you put any
of those teams together? In Tennessee, we're playing one of those
teams."
Fiesta organizers seemed happy with the schools headed to Tempe.
"Any time you get two teams in the top five, it's cause to
celebrate," executive director John Junker said, referring to
Tennessee's No. 5 BCS rating. "They're also two teams that have
that magical quality of tradition about them. They really are two
of the top names in the history of college football, and two teams
that don't play very often."
Actually, just once.
Nebraska beat Tennessee 42-17 in the Orange Bowl two years ago,
earning the coaches' nod as No. 1. Michigan was chosen as the AP's
top team.
The memory is still vivid for Fulmer, who credited the
experience with helping his team learn to play at a higher level.
"We took some lessons from the Orange Bowl, and that really
helped propel us to the season we had last year," Fulmer said.
The Cornhuskers will be playing in their sixth Fiesta Bowl --
tying Penn State and Tempe-based Arizona State for the most
invitations in the bowl's 29-year history. Nebraska won an
undisputed national championship with a 62-24 rout of Florida on
Jan. 2, 1996.
The Vols went bowling in Tempe just once before their
championship season, losing to Penn State 42-17 to end the 1991
season.
Finances are one reason Fiesta officials were upbeat.
Many Nebraskans consider Arizona an ideal place to ride out
bitter prairie winters, providing a ready-made fan base, and
Tennessee's rabid fans liked their last taste of the Phoenix
metropolitan area as well as Fulmer did.
All but 1,000 seats in 74,000-seat Sun Devil Stadium have been
sold, bowl vice president Steve Wheeler said.
"You take a look at Nebraska's last visit here in 1996 -- that
brought in 50,000 visitors from out of town and an economic impact
of almost $100 million," he said. "Our game last year, the
national championship game, brought in 69,000 folks from around the
country and produced a net economic inflow of almost $130
million."
