College Football
Saturday, December 11
Nebraska, Tennessee are reluctant Fiesta Bowl opponents
Associated Press

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Fiesta Bowl isn't synonymous with the Envy Bowl just yet.

Frank Solich
Frank Solich and Nebraska were holding out hope for the No. 2 spot in the BCS.

Although Nebraska and Tennessee both had designs on playing for the national championship, which will be decided in New Orleans this season, they agreed that a trip to sunny Arizona isn't a bad consolation prize.

"Phoenix and the area there is just a tremendous place to come and visit," Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said Sunday after his sixth-ranked Volunteers were paired with No. 3 Nebraska in the Fiesta. "The people, the volunteers, the staff are great hosts, the best we've ever been treated. And, obviously we have very fond memories of the place."

Tennessee (9-2) completed a dream season last year with a 23-16 victory over Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl. It earned the Vols their first national title in the first game arranged under the Bowl Championship Series.

But this year they lost by two points to Florida early on and stumbled against Arkansas last month to end any chance of defending their crown.

Similarly, Texas upset Nebraska 24-20 on Oct. 23, and the Cornhuskers (11-1) never made up ground on No. 2 Virginia Tech, which will play No. 1 Florida State in the Sugar Bowl.

Fulmer said his team was a half-dozen plays away from being unbeaten, but he didn't plan to focus on that.

"Certainly it's the goal of Tennessee as it is for Nebraska to play for the highest stakes you can go for, and we're thrilled to have this opportunity," he said.

Nebraska coach Frank Solich, who held out hope as late as Saturday night that his team could move up after beating Texas 22-6 in the Big 12 championship game, was reconciled to playing for second.

"We had a good season," Solich said. "Personally, I feel like there are five or six teams right now that could play for the national championship, and who knows who would win if you put any of those teams together? In Tennessee, we're playing one of those teams."

Fiesta organizers seemed happy with the schools headed to Tempe.

"Any time you get two teams in the top five, it's cause to celebrate," executive director John Junker said, referring to Tennessee's No. 5 BCS rating. "They're also two teams that have that magical quality of tradition about them. They really are two of the top names in the history of college football, and two teams that don't play very often."

Actually, just once.

Nebraska beat Tennessee 42-17 in the Orange Bowl two years ago, earning the coaches' nod as No. 1. Michigan was chosen as the AP's top team.

The memory is still vivid for Fulmer, who credited the experience with helping his team learn to play at a higher level.

"We took some lessons from the Orange Bowl, and that really helped propel us to the season we had last year," Fulmer said.

The Cornhuskers will be playing in their sixth Fiesta Bowl -- tying Penn State and Tempe-based Arizona State for the most invitations in the bowl's 29-year history. Nebraska won an undisputed national championship with a 62-24 rout of Florida on Jan. 2, 1996.

The Vols went bowling in Tempe just once before their championship season, losing to Penn State 42-17 to end the 1991 season.

Finances are one reason Fiesta officials were upbeat.

Many Nebraskans consider Arizona an ideal place to ride out bitter prairie winters, providing a ready-made fan base, and Tennessee's rabid fans liked their last taste of the Phoenix metropolitan area as well as Fulmer did.

All but 1,000 seats in 74,000-seat Sun Devil Stadium have been sold, bowl vice president Steve Wheeler said.

"You take a look at Nebraska's last visit here in 1996 -- that brought in 50,000 visitors from out of town and an economic impact of almost $100 million," he said. "Our game last year, the national championship game, brought in 69,000 folks from around the country and produced a net economic inflow of almost $130 million."

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