Alamo Bowl Preview

— -- Where: San Antonio

When: Sat., Dec. 30, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Payout: $1.2 million

Teams’ Bowl Performances Last Year:

Nebraska beat Tennessee 31-21 in the Fiesta Bowl Northwestern did not play in a bowl game

What to Watch For

The nation’s No. 1 rushing offense of Nebraska takes on the nation’s No. 2 rusher in Damien Anderson and the unconventional Northwestern Wildcats.

The Cornhuskers averaged 349.3 yards rushing a game, and leading the attack for Nebraska is senior Dan Alexander. He tallied 1,154 yards and averaged 6.3 yards per carry this season, while Correll Buckhalter’s 750 yards rushing gave Nebraska a 1-2 punch at running back.

But the most valuable player on this Cornhuskers team is Eric Crouch, a versatile and agile quarterback who nearly eclipsed his 100.1 passing yards per game with his 88.3 yards rushing. An early candidate for the Heisman Trophy, Crouch scored more touchdowns running (20) than he threw (12), and his 971 rushing yards and 5.7 yards per carry were second only to Alexander. But he also struggled late in the season with a sore throwing shoulder and might undergo surgery again in the offseason.

Northwestern’s notoriously weak defense, ranked 82nd against the rush, will have its hands full against Crouch & Co. The Wildcats gave up 180 rushing yards per game this season, compared to 113.5 yards by Nebraska, and fared poorly against such fleet-footed teams as TCU — the Horned Frogs rushed for 387 yards and routed Northwestern 41-14. Senior Dwayne Missouri, who had 14 tackles for a loss and 9 sacks on the season, is the lone bright spot along the defensive line for Northwestern and will be a key player to watch against Crouch.

The cornerstone of the Northwestern offense is All-American running back Anderson, who finished the season with 1,914 yards rushing and 22 touchdowns. He averaged a remarkable 174 yards a game for Northwestern, a team that also can rely on the mobile quarterback Zak Kustok to run the ball if necessary. Kustok ran for 9 touchdowns on the year and gained 450 yards.