Nebraska will play in its 53rd bowl game in school history in the 2016 Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl. The Huskers enter the Music City Bowl with a 9-3 record, including a 6-3 mark in Big Ten Conference play. The 2016 campaign marked the 50th nine-win season in school history. Nebraska is ranked in both the Associated Press Poll at No. 24 and the USA Today Coaches Poll, checking in at No. 21.
Tennessee will make the short trip to Nashville with an 8-4 overall record, including a 4-4 mark in SEC action. Like Nebraska, the Volunteers were ranked in the top 10 earlier in the season. Tennessee features one of the nation's most explosive offenses, having gained at least 450 yards six times during the season, including each of the past four games.
The Music City Bowl will feature two of the most successful programs in college football history. The schools have combined for 105 bowl appearances, more than any other 2016 bowl matchup. Nebraska and Tennessee are also two of 10 programs with more than 800 all-time victories, with Nebraska checking in at No. 4 on the list with 889 wins.
Date/Time: December 30, 2016 2:30 p.m. CST
Location: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN Capacity: 69,143
Surface: Grass
Opposition Blog: Check out Rocky Top Talk for everything Volunteer.
Series Record: Nebraska holds the all-time series advantage at 2-0 with both previous meetings coming in bowl games.
TV: The game will be televised on ESPN with Tom Hart, Play-by-Play; Andre Ware, Analyst; and Cole Cubelic, Sidelines. With a login from your cable or satellite provider, you can stream the game on WatchESPN.
Radio: Huskers sports radio network. The audio can also be streamed live for free at huskers.com The crew will be: Greg Sharpe, Matt Davison, and Brenden Stai.
More streaming options: The official Huskers app is available on iTunes. The app is free but accessing live audio costs $4.99 (per season). The app is available for Android users for free but the live content requires a payment (I could not see the amount but assume it is similar to the other). I often use the TuneIn app for game audio.
Weather: At kickoff, the temperature will be 45 degrees with sunny skies and light winds from the west around 7 mph.
Odds: Tennessee is favored by 6.5 points.
The #SF27 Captain trifecta.@rossDzuris, @TerrellNewby and @brandonreilly87.
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFBNation) December 29, 2016
✊ #ForeverTwoSeven pic.twitter.com/0dSC4PBfFE
Trivia
A victory in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl would be the Huskers' 10th win of the 2016 season. A 10th win would give NU its first 10-win season since 2012 and the 28th 10-win season in school history.
Nebraska's trip to Nashville marks its 16th bowl location and second in the state of Tennessee. This marks the second straight year Nebraska has appeared in a bowl game for the first time.
Quotables
Offensive Coordinator Danny Langsdorf spoke on the progress that senior quarterback Ryker Fyfe has made entering the final game of the season.
“(Ryker) had a ton of work this last month,” Langsdorf said. “He had a lot of work before Maryland, and being the backup all year, he’s gotten good time, but having him take the No. 1 reps for a month has been really good for him. He’s ready to go. He looks like he’s playing probably his best football.”
Langsdorf on the game plan with Fyfe projected to start on Friday.
“The plan hasn’t really changed a ton,” Langsdorf said. “We’re running our stuff with him in there. He’s smart. He’s had a lot of work. With the extra time, he got some reps on stuff he may not have done during the season. We’re not holding anything back for him.”