LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska and Colorado enter their Friday
meeting with different motivation.
The 23rd-ranked Cornhuskers have locked up the Big 12 North and
are hoping to generate momentum for next week's conference
championship game.
The Buffaloes are out to finish a disappointing season with a
measure of satisfaction.
For the fifth time since 1984 there will be no bowl for the
Buffs.
Nebraska receiver Maurice Purify said this is Colorado's biggest
game and that the Buffs will be out to ruin the Huskers' season.
Colorado offensive lineman Brian Daniels says it would make him
feel better to go out and beat a ranked team. Colorado heads into Friday's game at Nebraska looking for a second straight win for the first time since beating Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri in succession in the middle of the 2005 season.
The Buffaloes defeated Iowa State 33-16 on November Eleventh,
with Mell Holliday running for 126 yards and Bernard Jackson
throwing for two touchdowns and running for a third.
Nebraska has won seven of ten against the Buffs since the game
moved to the day after Thanksgiving in 1996.
Colorado linebacker Thaddeaus Washington said this is the Buffs'
bowl game.
He says the team has to come to Lincoln and make the most of the
opportunity.
Nebraska goes into Friday's game with Colorado trying to become the first Big 12 North team to sweep its divisional games since Kansas State in 2003.
Running back Brandon Jackson says Coach Bill Callahan stresses
to the players that they can't relax. Jackson says they don't just
want to win the North. They want to dominate it.
Nebraska is coming off a 28-27 come-from-behind victory at Texas
A-and-M on November 11th. A win would give the Huskers three in a
row heading into the December Second conference championship game
in Kansas City. The Huskers will play either Texas or Oklahoma,
with the winner reaching a B-C-S game.
Callahan said he won't rest any of his personnel against
Colorado.