Two of the historical powers in college football will face off in the 2016 Music City Bowl, with Nebraska playing Tennessee.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
The Cornhuskers had a pretty easy schedule, but finished at 9-3 for a good bounce back season. Their only losses came to bowl eligible teams. They beat several bowl eligible teams though, like: Wyoming, Northwestern, Indiana, Minnesota and Maryland.
Quarterback Tommy Armstrong has continued to battle throughout the year. He has 2,180 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Those stats aren’t eye-popping, but it has gotten the job done for Nebraska. He adds the ability to run with 512 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.
Armstrong will be without favorite receiver Jordan Westerkamp, who is out with an injury. He led the team in receiving yards, touchdowns and catches. Stanley Morgan Jr. will be expected to step up in his absence. He only has two touchdowns on the season and 425 receiving yards.
Terrell Newby is the leading rusher for the Cornhuskers with 864 yards and seven touchdowns. He and Armstrong combine to provide a pretty solid rushing offense for Nebraska.
Nebraska’s run defense is solid, allowing just 141 yards per game. With the pass defense only giving up 209 yards per game, the defense is good overall.
The Cornhuskers are great at forcing turnovers and two of their defensive backs are the reason. Nate Gerry has four interceptions, while Kieron Williams has five.
Tennessee Volunteers
The Volunteers were supposed to have a great season, but stumbled and finished at 8-4. They only lost to bowl eligible teams this season. Six of their eight wins came over bowl eligible teams, showing how tough their schedule was.
Josh Dobbs will be playing in his last college football game in the Music City Bowl. He has had a pretty good season, throwing for 2,655 yards, 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He is also the teams leading rusher with 713 yards and nine rushing touchdowns.
His favorite target is Josh Malone who has 852 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Jajuan Jennings is his big play guy, who always seems to make a play when it is needed.
Jalen Hurd decided to transfer, but Alvin Kamara was the best running back on the team anyways. Kamara 565 rushing yards on 5.9 yards per carry. He added nine rushing touchdowns, but also helps in the passing game. His 33 catches for 346 yards and four touchdowns are all third on the team.
Tennessee’s rush defense is abysmal allowing 232 yards per game. Their pass defense is average and gives up 229 yards per game, making their total defense bad.
Derek Barnett has been a great player for Tennessee his whole career with 12 sacks on the season. He also has 18 tackles for loss, an interception and two forced fumbles.
Prediction
Armstrong and the offense won’t be able to take advantage of Tennessee’s bad defense, especially without Westerkamp. Kamara and Dobbs will help Tennessee run to victory.
Tennessee Volunteers 32 Nebraska Cornhuskers 23
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