The NFL has issued invitations to four Huskers: defensive tackle Jared Crick, cornerback Alfonzo Dennard, linebacker Lavonte David, and offensive tackle Marcel Jones. Nobody should be surprised by the first three invitees; Jones is a pleasant surprise. In the weeks' ahead, more invitations may be coming. Offensive tackle Yoshi Hardrick did not earn an invitation but hopes to still impress scouts by working hard. At least that's what he's said on Twitter earlier today:

Gotta lot to prove , I'm at the bottom on the barrel ! Disrespectful , no senior bowl or combine invite #hardworkpayoff

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You had to have a sneaking suspicion that this was not going to be Nebraska's day when South Carolina blocked the extra point after Nebraska's first touchdown and returned it for a two-point conversion. But even with that miscue, the Huskers seemed to controlling much of the game the rest of the first half. In fact, Nebraska twice had opportunities to extend their lead, only to turn the ball over. Ameer Abdullah coughed up the ball at the Gamecock 7, then Taylor Martinez threw his first interception since before Halloween in the closing minute before halftime. Without those turnovers, it's not inconceivable that the Huskers could have had a 26-9 lead at that point.

Instead, South Carolina scores on a Hail Mary and head to the locker room up 16-13. Nebraska started out firing on all cylinders right after halftime, capped by Martinez's 36 yard run down to the South Carolina 8 yard line. SEC speed??? B1G speed! The Huskers looked to be ready to retake the lead at that point, but it turns out that it was all downhill from there. A bad screen pass meant Nebraska had to settle for a field goal attempt that went wide right.

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Happy New Year!

2012 has started, but there's still one more day before your favorite team plays in their last game of the season, and one more chance for us to get to know a little bit more about our opponent.

Gamecock Man joins us from the SB Nation Sakerlina site Garnet and Black Attack, to answer our questions about his team. What kind of offense can we expect, and who are the guys that stand out on defense? All those and more after the jump.

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It was the best of times, It was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness....

You know how it goes, Charles Dickens' opening line in a Tale of Two Cities. It fits the 2011 Husker football season pretty well. The best of times - Nebraska joined a whole new conference, played a whole new set of teams, and we all met a whole new set of fans. The worst of times - two of those teams beat the living snot out of us, while another set of brainiacs won just because that's what they do from time to time - beat teams they're not supposed to beat.

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Nobody was really surprised when senior quarterback Stephen Garcia finally was kicked off the squad in October. What was surprising was that Garcia had been demoted to backup status in favor of sophomore Connor Shaw. Put away any expectations that Shaw is another Danny Wuerffel; he's a dual threat quarterback who's had double-digit carries in each game since October. He's rushed 116 times for 483 yards and seven touchdowns this season, including a 107 yard performance to close out the season against Clemson. Spurrier's "fun-and-gun" is history; in fact, the Gamecocks look more like 2011 Nebraska than 1995 Florida on offense. It's a run-first offense with the option in the mix, and that's caused major problems for the Blackshirts all season.

Shaw is also a decent passer as well, completing over 65% of his passes this season for 1,218 yards and 12 touchdowns with only six interceptions in 171 attempts. Shaw's backups haven't played much this season; sophomore Andrew Clifford and freshman Dylan Thompson are each 2 for 2 passing this season, and have a combined four rushing attempts.

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Earlier today, Head Coach Bo Pelini finally made a couple of Nebraska's worst-kept secrets official regarding the defensive side of the coaching staff. Welcome aboard, Mark Stoops, and welcome back, Kevin Cosgrove!

Stop spitting pop all over your keyboards, I'm kidding.

Pelini announced that defensive line coach John Papuchis would replace Carl Pelini, who was hired as Florida Atlantic's head coach on Dec. 5, as defensive doordinator and that Rick Kaczenski has been hired as NU's new defensive line coach. Papuchis also served as NU's special teams coach and recruiting coordinator and Kaczenski served in the same postion at Iowa. At 33 and 36 years old respectively, Bo appears to be going with youth and energy as trademarks of the defensive staff.

More details on the hires can be found here. But more importantly, comment below:

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Senior Mike Caputo, the starting center for the Huskers, will be arraigned this afternoon on charges of reckless driving as a result of his arrest on December 11th. That night, police found Caputo asleep behind the wheel of his F-150 pickup truck in the parking lot of a convenience store on West "O" street. A preliminary test at that time showed Caputo's blood alcohol level at .103; Nebraska's legal limit is .08.

Why the reduced charges? That's unclear, but it is clear that Bo Pelini was aware that the details of the case might not result in a DUI charge. That explains why Pelini has held back on disciplinary action on Caputo, preferring to wait for the legal system to run it's course. That could be due to the fact that the truck was parked when Caputo was arrested. It's still illegal to be in control of a parked vehicle while under the influence, and being in the driver's seat with the car keys is in control. The reduced charges could be a reflection that Caputo stopped driving and parked the car, perhaps after realizing he was not in condition to drive. It may also be that Caputo's alcohol level, at the time of his actual driving, may not have been over the legal limit. In either case, it's just speculation as to the reasons why

In any event, with the reduced charge, it's unlikely that Caputo will be suspended from the team now. He'll almost assuredly be penalized within the program. Note that Eric Martin will not be allowed to participate in some of the activities around Orlando prior to the Capital One Bowl game against South Carolina; Martin was ticketed the same night as Caputo for leaving the scene of an accident. I expect similar punishment for Caputo. At most, he might be held out of the starting lineup.

It's time to get to know a little about our upcoming bowl opponent, the South Carolina Gamecocks. The first Q&A has to do with head coach Steve Spurrier, South Carolina traditions and the Gamecock fan base. Good enough to join us is John, or "Gamecock Man", from the SB Nation South Carolina site Garnet and Black Attack.

CN provided a similar Q&A segment for their fans. Head on over to Garnet and Black Attack and have some fun introducing yourselves. Hell, if nothing else, you can provide some more insight to what makes Husker fans tick. There's plenty of time left before the bowl game.

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