Sports – Page 645 – North Platte Post Archive

AP Study: Hits to head still prevalent in NFL

Posted on December 10, 2013

An Associated Press review of penalties through the first 11 weeks of the NFL season finds that an average of nearly once a game, a player absorbs an illegal blow to the head or neck that could put his career at risk.

Over the past four years, the NFL has toughened the rules in an attempt to prevent such blows. Yet the AP breakdown found those hits are still prevalent.

Of the 491 major infractions charted over the first 162 games of the season, the AP identified 156 involving contact with the head and neck — an average of .962 per game. Of those, 93 were for hits to the head. Quarterbacks and receivers shared the largest brunt of those hits, with the quarterbacks taking 40 and receivers taking 38.

L’Esperance Named Player of the Week

Posted on December 9, 2013

KEARNEY, Neb. – Storm forward Joel L’Esperance was named forward of the week by the USHL league office on Monday afternoon after scoring five goals and an assist over the weekend, including a four-goal game in a 6-3 win over Cedar Rapids on Saturday night.

The performance against the RoughRiders cemented his name in the team’s record books, becoming the first Tri-City Storm player to ever score four goals in a single game.

The Brighton, Mich. native leads the team with 13 goals and 20 total points on the season.

After his unforgettable weekend, the 18-year-old is now tied for fourth in the league among the goal scoring leaders and eighteenth in overall scoring.

Since the franchise joined the USHL in 2000, 20 players have put up hat tricks, but L’Esperance is the only one to find the back of the net four times.

L’Esperance had a nice start to his week with a goal in Thursday’s game at Waterloo, and an assist in Friday’s game in Des Moines.

Then on Saturday, the third game in three days for Tri-City, he scored on the game’s first shift 21 seconds in. L’Esperance added another tally in the second period, finding a rebound in front to beat Cedar Rapids goaltender Chris Birdsall.

In the third period the first line center scored twice, first on the power play for the game-winning goal 1:09 into the frame, and then just over four minutes later, beating Birdsall five-hole to cement himself in the Storm record books.

The big forward is the second Storm player to garner honors from the league this season, as Jacob Johansson was named goaltender of the week on Oct. 7 after shutting out Des Moines.

It will be a second three-game week in a row for Tri-City as they head to Omaha to face the Lancers on Wednesday at 7:05 before returning home for a weekend series with the Youngstown Phantoms on Dec. 13 and 14.

Area High School Wrestling Roundup

Posted on December 9, 2013December 9, 2013

Area high school wrestling results for the week of December 5-7.

Saturday, December 7

Kearney Invitational

The North Platte Bulldogs wrestling team placed fifth at the Kearney Invitational on Saturday. The Dawgs scored 132.5 points. Grand Island won the tournament with 249 points. North Platte only had 10 wrestlers compete in the varsity tournament and nine of them placed.

Alex Guerra placed sixth at 106 pounds, David Mata placed fifth at 120 pounds with one pin, Aaron Houser placed fourth at 126 pounds, Dylan Peterson took second at 132 pounds, Austin Matthews placed fourth at 145 pounds with one pin, Shawn Roblee took second at 152 pounds, Jobie Loving placed fourth at 160 pounds with one pin, Tyler Bornsen took second at 195 pounds with one pin and Alek Morales placed second at 285 pounds with one pin.

Bronco Invite

The Sutherland and St. Pat’s wrestling teams both competed at the Bronco Invite in Mullen on Saturday. The Sailors took second place with 115.5 points and the Irish finished third with 100 points. Bridgeport won the tournament with 122 points.

Sutherland was led by 132 pound tournament champion Collin Fleecs. Fleecs had two pins before winning the championship 8-7 over Bo Slingsby of Ansley-Litchfield. Nathan Fleecs placed second at 138 pounds with two pins, Zachary Blake placed second at 170 pounds with two pins, Landan Fear took third at 182 pounds with one pin, Nathaniel Foster placed third at 195 pounds with one pin, and Bryson Dick placed second at 285 pounds with two pins.

St. Pat’s had two champions with Nathan Chrisman at 120 pounds and Ryan Dilley at 160 pounds. Chrisman had two pins in the tournament, while Dilley had one. Justin Gafke took second with one pin at 106 pounds, Cody Weaver placed third at 113 pounds, and Trey Dodson took second at 126 pounds with one pin.

Cozad Invitational

The Gothenburg Swedes wrestling team placed eighth at the Cozad Invitational on Saturday with 71 points. Adams Central won the tournament with 233 points. Five wrestlers placed for the Swedes at the tournament.

Bryce Larson took third at 106 pounds with two pins, Jayden Miller placed fourth at 145 pounds with two pins, Skyler Kottwitz took second at 170 pounds with two pins, Tyson Miller placed fifth at 182 pounds with two pins, and Dalton Sylvan placed sixth.

Friday, December 6

Ravenna Invitational

The Hershey Panthers wrestling team placed ninth at the Ravenna Invitational on Friday. The Panthers scored 61 points, the tournament champion was Amherst with 257 points.

The Panthers were led by Tucker Hicks at 106. He placed third with three pins. Chayton Crow at 138 pounds placed fourth with one pin. Lane Richardson at 285 pounds placed second with one pin.

Elwood Invitational

The Maxwell Wildcats placed second at the Elwood Invitational on Friday. The Wildcats scored 121 points, the tournament champion was Kearney Catholic with 146 points.

Maxwell had 10 wrestlers place in the tournament, led by Jaylon Sturdivant and Levi Simmons who placed first. Sturdivant won the 152 pound weight class and went 3-0 with three pins. Simmons won the 195 pound class and went 2-0 with two pins.

Josh Meyers placed second at 132 pounds, Ethan Lunkwitz took third at 138 pounds, Jacob Whisenhunt placed second at 160 pounds, Taylor McKeeman took third at 170, Wyatt Strickland placed fourth at 182, Kameron Purdy took third at 195, Kenny Essman placed fourth at 220 and Houston Crane took second at 285.

Thursday, December 5

RPAC Duals @ Southern Valley

Maxwell, Sutherland and North Platte St. Patrick’s competed in the RPAC duals in Southern Valley on Thursday. Maxwell finished with the best record of the three by going 4-1. The lone loss was to Southern Valley. The Wildcats beat Alma, Perkins County, Cambridge and Southwest. Maxwell was led by Jaylon Sturdivant at 152 pounds, he went 2-0 with one fall; Jacob Whisenhunt at 160 went 4-0 with four falls; Levi Simmons went 4-0 with four falls at 195 pounds; and Houston Crane went 4-0 with four falls at 220 pounds.

The Sailors of Sutherland went 3-2 in the duals. Sutherland beat Hitchcock County, St. Pat’s and Loomis-Bertrand. Collin Fleecs went undefeated on the day at 132 pounds by going 3-0 with two falls. The Sailors two losses were to Southern Valley and Arapahoe.

St. Pat’s finished the day 2-3. The Irish beat Hitchcock County and Dundy County and were beaten by Sutherland, Loomis-Bertrand and Cambridge.

Team results for each round can be seen below.

Chart A Results
Guaranteed Places
1st Place – Southern Valley
2nd Place – Arapahoe
3rd Place – Dundy County
4th Place – Medicine Valley
Round 1
Southern Valley defeated Dundy County 57-24.
Arapahoe defeated Medicine Valley 33-24.
Round 2
Southern Valley defeated Arapahoe 54-22.
Medicine Valley defeated Dundy County 36-27.
Round 3
Southern Valley defeated Medicine Valley 49-15.
Dundy County defeated Arapahoe 34-30.

Chart B Results
Guaranteed Places
1st Place – Sutherland
2nd Place – Loomis-Bertrand
3rd Place – North Platte St. Patricks
4th Place – Hitchcock County
Round 1
Sutherland defeated Hitchcock County 54-12.
Loomis-Bertrand defeated North Platte St. Patricks 37-21.
Round 2
Sutherland defeated North Platte St. Patricks 45-36.
Loomis-Bertrand defeated Hitchcock County 54-18.
Round 3
Sutherland defeated Loomis-Bertrand 48-30.
North Platte St. Patricks defeated Hitchcock County 48-21.

Chart C Results
Guaranteed Places
1st Place – Maxwell
2nd Place – Southwest
3rd Place – Cambridge
4th Place – Perkins County
5th Place – Alma
Round 1
Maxwell defeated null 0-0.
Southwest defeated Cambridge 33-30.
Perkins County defeated Alma 18-16.
Round 2
Maxwell defeated Alma 60-6.
Southwest defeated Perkins County 30-18.
Cambridge defeated null 0-0.
Round 3
Maxwell defeated Perkins County 54-12.
Southwest defeated null 0-0.
Cambridge defeated Alma 54-12.
Round 4
Maxwell defeated Cambridge 39-18.
Southwest defeated Alma 33-18.
Perkins County defeated null 0-0.
Round 5
Maxwell defeated Southwest 48-18.
Cambridge defeated Perkins County 45-18.
Alma defeated null 0-0.

1st Place A+B Results
Guaranteed Places
1st Place – Southern Valley
2nd Place – Sutherland
1st Place Match
Southern Valley defeated Sutherland 39-30.

2nd Place A+B Results
Guaranteed Places
1st Place – Loomis-Bertrand
2nd Place – Arapahoe
1st Place Match
Loomis-Bertrand defeated Arapahoe 36-27.

3rd Place A+B Results
Guaranteed Places
1st Place – North Platte St. Patricks
2nd Place – Dundy County
1st Place Match
North Platte St. Patricks defeated Dundy County 42-30.

4th Place A+B Results
Guaranteed Places
1st Place – Medicine Valley
2nd Place – Hitchcock County
1st Place Match
Medicine Valley defeated Hitchcock County 54-6.

1st Place Chart C Results
Guaranteed Places
1st Place – Southern Valley
2nd Place – Maxwell
1st Place Match
Southern Valley defeated Maxwell 39-34.

2nd Place Chart C Results
Guaranteed Places
1st Place – Loomis-Bertrand
2nd Place – Southwest
1st Place Match
Loomis-Bertrand defeated Southwest 48-18.

3rd Place Chart C Results
Guaranteed Places
1st Place – Cambridge
2nd Place – North Platte St. Patricks
1st Place Match
Cambridge defeated North Platte St. Patricks 48-30.

4th Place Chart C Results
Guaranteed Places
1st Place – Medicine Valley
2nd Place – Perkins County
1st Place Match
Medicine Valley defeated Perkins County 48-16.

1-2 Loser A-B Results
Guaranteed Places
1st Place – Arapahoe
2nd Place – Sutherland
1st Place Match
Arapahoe defeated Sutherland 30-24.

3-4 Loser A-B Results
Guaranteed Places
1st Place – Dundy County
2nd Place – Hitchcock County
1st Place Match
Dundy County defeated Hitchcock County 42-18.

Gluchowski Chosen As Team Captain

Posted on December 9, 2013

KEARNEY, Neb. – Storm head coach Jim Hulton announced the leaders of the Tri-City Storm team for the 2013-14 season on Monday morning, choosing defenseman Nolan Gluchowski as the team’s captain and defenseman Garrett Cecere along with forwards Christian Horn and Drew Mayer as assistant captains.

The four players combine for experience at multiple levels of junior hockey, along with experience at the collegiate level.

“I think this group offers a great example of leadership in the way they guide the locker room and the way they guide the other players off the ice,” Hulton said “They exemplify the work ethic that we want this team to be all about. To me, that’s what a leader does. He leads by example, not necessarily with words.”

“These guys are warriors on the ice, they work hard in practice and they work hard in the weight room. That’s the example we want to set.”

Gluchowski is in his second season as one of the leaders on the defensive end. A season ago the Wixom, Mich. native played in 48 games, scoring eight goals and 11 assists. In 22 games this year he is fourth in team scoring with nine assists, five of them coming on the power play.

“I’m very excited,” Gluchowski said. “I learned a lot from our captains last year and I’m looking forward to putting our own spin on it with my assistants this season.”

The defenseman, who turns 20 next month and is committed to play collegiately at St. Lawrence, has previous experience in a leadership role, serving as captain of his high school team before joining the Storm.

“You can’t always be very vocal,” said Gluchowski. “You have to lead by example and take guys under your wing because they’ll learn from you by watching.”

Cecere is also in his second year with the Storm, and will help to lead on the defensive side. A native of West Des Moines, Ia., Cecere accounted for three goals and 16 assists a season ago, and has eight more helpers from the back end this season.

“I think this is going to be a turning point in the season for us,” Cecere said. “We are trying to loosen things up a bit and make sure guys are having fun all the time. You’re not going to play the game well if you’re not having fun. I think that’s something that all four of us want and I think we did that this weekend.”

Horn, who began his season with the University of Minnesota, has a collegiate experience under his belt, differentiating himself from the rest of the Storm roster.

After joining the team a few weeks in, the forward has been a big help offensively, with five goals and eight assists in his first 16 games.

“It’s a big honor,” Horn said. “I wasn’t really expecting it but for the guys to look up to me like this already it really does mean something. They’re a great group of guys and I’m having a blast out here; I absolutely love it. To be named an assistant captain is just icing on the cake to what has been a great couple weeks so far.”

Mayer, also a 20-year-old committed to play at Ferris State, is another positive voice for some of the younger players in the locker room. He also accounts for a big part of the Storm’s physical presence on the ice.

“We’re excited to get going and take it one shift at a time,” Mayer said. “We can’t focus on a negative; we have to focus on all the positives. Our coach wants us to have an ‘Us Against the World’ mentality and I think the four of us can help bring that to our locker room.”

The Storm are in the midst of back-to-back three-game weeks after a trio of games away from Kearney last weekend.

Tri-City heads to Omaha to face the Lancers on Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. before returning home for a weekend series with the Youngstown Phantoms on Dec. 13 and 14.

No. 12 NPCC Knights Host No. 13 Northeastern Junior College Wednesday

Posted on December 9, 2013December 9, 2013

North Platte – The No. 12 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team (11-0, 3-0 South Sub-Region) will close out the fall semester on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. as they host No. 13 Northeastern Junior College (12-1, 1-1 South Sub-Region) at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.

The Knights face the Plainsmen for the first of two scheduled meetings this year. Last year the two teams faced off three times, with the third being in the Region IX Tournament Semifinals. The Knights were able to defeat the Plainsmen in all three meetings.

Ethan Montalvo leads the Knights in scoring at 15.3 points per game while Cameron Williams is second on the team with 12.3 points per game. Tim Simmons leads the Knights in assists at 2.5 per game to go along with 9.5 points per game. Marco Pascolo also averages 9.5 points while shooting 53 percent from behind the 3-point line. Jake Maslo leads the team in rebounding at 6.6 to go along with 7.1 points per game.

Northeastern has five players’ average double figures in scoring while scoring 93 points per game as a team. Duol Mayot leads the way in scoring and rebounding with 15.3 points and 7.2 rebounds. Bronson Moton (14.2), Joe Uke (13.0), Odessa Lear (12.2) and Jamal Peterson (10.4) are the other players in double figures for the Plainsmen.

The game will follow the women’s game and will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 1410 and online.

The Knights return to action in 2014 on Jan. 10 as they travel to Scottsbluff to take on Western Nebraska Community College (7-6, 0-1 South Sub-Region) at 8:30 p.m. CST. North Platte remains on the road as they face Eastern Wyoming in Torrington, Wyo. on Jan. 11 at 5 p.m. CST. The Knights first seven games of 2014 are on the road.

NPCC Lady Knights Host NJC in Final Game of 2013

Posted on December 9, 2013

North Platte – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (6-5) hosts the Northeaster Junior College Plainswomen (4-7) on Wednesday night at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium in their final game of 2013.

The Lady Knights and Plainswomen meet for the first of two meetings. The Lady Knights will make the return trip to Sterling, Colo. on Feb. 4. The Lady Knights are led by their front line of DaVontaye Merritt and April Stull. Merritt leads the team in points and rebounding at 18.6 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game while Stull is second in both at 13.4 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per game. Jordan Dickerson leads the Lady Knights in assists from her point guard position with 4.7 assists per game.

The Plainswomen are led by Arianna Sheka and Brooke Blair who both average in double figures at 14.5 and 12.2 points per game. The Plainswomen shoot 42 percent from the field and 29 percent behind the 3-point arc while holding their opponents to 36 percent from the field and 20 percent behind the 3-point arc.

The game will precede the men’s game and will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 1410 and online. Northeastern defeated North Platte twice a year ago, including a one point victory in North Platte.

The Lady Knights will return to action in 2014 on Jan. 10 as they host Doane College JV with a tip scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Area High School Basketball Roundup

Posted on December 9, 2013December 9, 2013

Area high school basketball scores for the week of December 5-7.

Thursday, December 5

Boys Basketball

North Platte 66 Grand Island 62

The Dawgs led by as many as 16 in the second half before hitting clutch free throws late to beat the Islanders. Shane Mauch led the way with 20 points, Drew Callaghan finished with 14 and Kade Erickson had 13 for North Platte. Pierce Almond led all scorers with 25 for GI.

Broken Bow 49 Sutherland 33

Lexington 47 Gothenburg 37

Lewis Lewis led the Minutemen with 18 points in the win.

Wallace 60 Wauneta-Palisade 35

Girls Basketball

North Platte 66 Grand Island 61

The Lady Dawgs led by 13 at the half, got outscored 14-3 in the third quarter and won the fourth quarter for the win. Madalynn Doughty was sensational in the game scoring 10 points in each half for a game-high 20 points. Jessy Hunt came off the bench to score 15 points for North Platte, including 12 in the second half and Kaitlynn Harvey finished the game with 12 points.

No. 10 Sutherland 36 Broken Bow 33

Sam Staggs led the Lady Sailors with 15 points and nine rebounds to start the season 1-0.

No. 10 Gothenburg 39 Lexington 27

Wauneta-Palisade 55 Wallace 26

Friday, December 6

Boys Basketball

St. Patrick’s 49 Broken Bow 47

Gothenburg 52 Hershey 25

SMC 57 Maxwell 39

Brady 43 Wauneta-Palisade 40

Troy Lusk led the Eagles with 16 points, shooting 60 percent from the three point line and finishing with four assists.

Wallace 53 Maywood 37

Girls Basketball

St. Patrick’s 33 Broken Bow 26

Hershey 37 Gothenburg 15

Maxwell 45 SMC 33

Brady 50 Wauneta-Palisade 44

Valerie Most led the Lady Eagles with 18 points, five rebounds and four steals. Madison Elliott scored in double-figures as well with 13 points and she added six rebounds.

Maywood 64 Wallace 60

Saturday, December 7

Boys Basketball

Creighton Prep 58 North Platte 42

The Junior Jays of Creighton Prep jumped out to an early lead and held on late when the Dawgs cut the lead to eight points in the fourth quarter to get the win over North Platte. Drew Callaghan scored the first 13 points of the game for North Platte then finished with a game-high 21 points.

St. Pat’s 65 Sutherland 38

Tyler Fear scored 18 points for the Sailors in a losing effort.

Hershey 43 Perkins County 24

Maxwell 56 Creek Valley 46

Girls Basketball

Lincoln Southwest 60 North Platte 38

North Platte trailed Southwest 13-12 at the end of the first quarter, but it was all Lady Silver Hawks after that as they outscored the Lady Bulldogs 47-26 the next three quarters en route to a 60-38 win. Jessy Hunt came off the bench to lead North Platte with 10 points.

St. Pat’s 34 Sutherland 30

Sam Staggs scored 13 points in a losing effort for the Lady Sailors.

Hershey 60 Perkins County 15

Brooke Munsen and Maegan Hiatt each scored 12 points to lead all scorers as the Lady Panthers improved to 2-0 with a dominant win over the Lady Plainsmen.

Creek Valley 49 Maxwell 33

Huskers Fall to Creighton, 82-67

Posted on December 8, 2013

Omaha, Neb. – All-American Doug McDermott scored a game-high 33 points to lead three Creighton players in double figures, as the Bluejays posted an 82-67 victory over Nebraska Sunday night.

McDermott hit 12-of-23 shots from the floor and grabbed eight rebounds, as the Bluejays led from start to finish in snapping Nebraska’s three-game win streak. Ethan Wragge and Jahennes Manigat added 16 and 10 points, as the Bluejays (7-2) raced out to an 18-2 lead and never looked back.

Sophomore Shavon Shields and Terran Petteway led Nebraska with 22 and 21 points, respectively in a losing effort, as Nebraska (6-3) was unable to get untracked offensively in the opening 20 minutes in its first road game of the year.

Creighton never let the Huskers get comfortable, as the Bluejays scored the first eight points and raced out to an 18-2 lead behind McDermott, who scored 11 of his 17 first-half points in the early surge.

In all, Creighton hit 13 of its first 20 shots from the floor, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range, before cooling off in the final portion of the half, while Nebraska missed 17 of its first 20 shots, as the Bluejays led by as many as 32 in the first half before the Huskers cut the deficit to 51-25 at the break.

Petteway had 17 of his 21 points in the second half, as Nebraska outscored Creighton, 42-31, in the second half, shooting 59 percent from the field.

The Huskers return to action next Saturday as they take on Arkansas State on Saturday, Dec. 14. Tipoff is at 3 p.m. and the game will be on the Husker Sports Network and televised nationally on BTN.

Notes
*-Shavon Shields posted his third career 20-point game and second of the season with 22 points.
*-Terran Petteway posted his third career 20-point game and team-high third of the season with 21 points
*-Tai Webster tied his season high in assists for the fourth straight game with five assists.
*-Doug McDermott’s 33 points is the most points by a Husker opponent this season. Chad Frazier of UAB had 32 against the Huskers on Nov. 22.

Bowl Destinations Set for Seven Big Ten Programs

Posted on December 8, 2013

Rosemont, Ill. – Seven Big Ten schools were selected for bowl competition on Sunday night, including two teams earning Bowl Championship Series (BCS) berths. Big Ten Champion Michigan State will represent the conference in the historic 100^th edition of the Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO and Ohio State is headed to the Discover Orange Bowl. In addition, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin collected bids to postseason contests.

After winning the Big Ten Football Championship Game to secure the Amos Alonzo Stagg Championship Trophy, Michigan State will take on Stanford in the Rose Bowl Game. Kickoff of the 2014 contest is set for5:10 p.m. ET on Jan. 1. The Spartans are heading to Pasadena for the first time since the 1988 Rose Bowl Game and competing in the contest for the fifth time in program history. Michigan State has advanced to a program-record seven straight postseason contests and is making its 24th bowl appearance in team history. The Spartans are 3-2 against Stanford, having last played the Cardinal in the 1996 Sun Bowl.

Ohio State makes its first official BCS appearance since the 2010 Rose Bowl Game when it heads to the Orange Bowl to take on Clemson. The game will be contested in Miami Gardens, Fla. at 8:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 3. The Buckeyes will be making their 43rd official appearance in postseason competition, having last appeared in the 2012 Gator Bowl. Ohio State will officially appear in its ninth BCS contest and will take part in the Orange Bowl for just the second time after winning the 1977 game. The only previous meeting between Ohio State and Clemson was in the 1978 Gator Bowl.

Wisconsin heads to the Capital One Bowl for the first time since the 2007 game and will face South Carolina at 1 p.m. ET on Jan. 1, in Orlando, Fla. The Badgers are taking part in postseason play for a school-record 12th straight season and are making their 25th bowl appearance. Wisconsin will make its third trip to the Capital One Bowl, with consecutive victories following the 2005 and 2006 seasons. The New Year’s Day matchup will mark the Badgers’ first meeting with South Carolina.

Iowa returns to the bowl scene with its fifth bowl berth in the last six seasons and will take on LSU in the Outback Bowl at 1 p.m. ET on Jan. 1 in Tampa, Fla. The Hawkeyes will make their 27th postseason appearance overall, having won three of their last four bowl contests. Iowa will make its fourth trip to the Outback Bowl, including victories in 2004 and 2009. The Hawkeyes have faced LSU just once in program history, knocking off the Tigers on a last-second touchdown in the 2005 Capital One Bowl.

Michigan heads to the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl for the first time in team history and will face Kansas State. The game is slated for Dec. 28, with kick scheduled for 10:15 p.m. ET in Tempe, Ariz. The Wolverines will take part in postseason competition for the fourth straight season and 43rd time in program history. The postseason contest will be the first meeting between Michigan and Kansas State.

Nebraska will face Georgia in the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl at 12 p.m. ET on Jan. 1 in Jacksonville, Fla. The Huskers will make their 50th bowl appearance and seventh straight. Nebraska will take part in the Gator Bowl for the second time in school history after defeating Clemson in the 2009 contest. The Huskers have faced Georgia twice, including last season’s meeting in the Capital One Bowl.

Minnesota will take part in the Texas Bowl for the second straight season and will face Syracuse on Dec. 27 at 6 p.m. ET in Houston, Texas. The Gophers will be making their 16th postseason appearance and second straight bowl trip. Minnesota has faced the Orange four times in program history, owning a 3-1 mark, most recently a victory in 2012.

Huskers Selected for TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl

Posted on December 8, 2013

Nebraska will appear in a New Year’s Day bowl game for the third straight season, as the Huskers were selectedon Sunday to participate in the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl in Jacksonville. Nebraska will take on Georgia in theJan. 1 game at EverBank Field. The game will kick off at Noon ET (11 a.m. CT) with ESPN2 providing television coverage of the matchup.

The Huskers go into the bowl game with an 8-4 record, including a 5-3 mark in Big Ten Conference play. Nebraska will enter the Gator Bowl looking to pick up its ninth win of the 2013 season and extend its streak of nine-win seasons to six straight years.

“The Gator Bowl gives our football team the opportunity to play in a New Year’s Day bowl for a third straight season, and we look forward to the trip to Jacksonville,” Nebraska Head Coach Bo Pelini said. “We had a great experience at the Gator Bowl when we played there in my first year here. We have some familiarity with Georgia having played them last year in the bowl game, but these are two different football teams. This will be a great challenge for our football team, and we look forward to the opportunity.”

Nebraska’s appearance in the Gator Bowl will be the Huskers’ 50^th all-time bowl game. Nebraska will join Alabama and Texas the only schools with 50 or more bowl appearances. The 2013 season marks Nebraska’s sixth straight season with a bowl trip.

Nebraska will be making its second trip to the Gator Bowl, both under Pelini. Nebraska defeated Clemson 26-21 in the 2009 Gator Bowl to conclude Pelini’s first season as head coach with a 9-4 record.

“We are proud to celebrate our 50^th bowl appearance with a trip to Jacksonville for the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl,” University of Nebraska Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst said. “The Gator Bowl has been a wonderful partner for the Big Ten for several years, and our student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans will have a great experience in Jacksonville. The University of Georgia is an exceptional institution, has an outstanding football program and will be a great matchup for our team.”

The matchup with Georgia marks the second straight year the Huskers and Bulldogs have squared off on New Year’s Day. Last season, Georgia defeated Nebraska, 45-31, in the Capital One Bowl. It will mark the third all-time meeting between the schools with the other matchup occurring in the 1969 Sun Bowl, a 45-6 Husker victory.

The rematch with Georgia marks the first time Nebraska has faced the same opponent in a bowl in back-to-back years since taking on Florida State in the Orange Bowl following the 1992 and 1993 seasons.

Georgia enters the contest with an 8-4 record, including a 5-3 record in Southeastern Conference play. The Bulldogs have won four of their past five games after dropping consecutive contests in October to Missouri and Vanderbilt. Georgia capped its season with a 41-34 double-overtime victory over Georgia Tech on Nov. 30.

Tickets for the Gator Bowl will go on sale Monday morning beginning at 8 a.m. Tickets can be purchased online at Huskers.com, or through the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office by calling 1-800-8-BIG RED. Fans can purchase tickets by using VISA, MasterCard or Discover.

Gator Bowl tickets available for sale are priced at $60, $80 and $125. Nebraska will receive an allotment of 12,750 tickets for the game.