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Southern California, Nebraska meet in Holiday Bowl

USC’s Cody Kessler has a 70.7 completion percentage. (Associated Press)
Bernie Wilson Associated Press
USC’s Cody Kessler has a 70.7 completion percentage. (Associated Press)

SAN DIEGO – Southern California coach Steve Sarkisian said he has always been a fan of the Holiday Bowl.

He remembers watching Barry Sanders running wild against Wyoming in 1988 and then Brigham Young’s Ty Detmer separating his left shoulder and then his right shoulder against Texas A&M two years later.

Sarkisian said he grew fond of Detmer because of his toughness, and he ended up playing at BYU as well.

“We weren’t fortunate enough to come to this game but I remember that game,” Sarkisian said Friday, a day before leading No. 24 Southern California against No. 25 Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl.

“When you think about the Holiday Bowl, everybody watches because, geez, here it comes again. You never know what’s coming,” Sarkisian said.

The Trojans (8-4) will play the Cornhuskers (9-3) for the first time in a bowl game and just the fifth time overall.

Sarkisian was coach at Washington when the Huskies beat Nebraska in the 2010 Holiday Bowl.

This is USC’s first appearance in the Holiday Bowl.

With a new contract in place, this marks the return of the Big Ten to the Holiday Bowl for the first time since 1994. Nebraska made three trips to the Holiday Bowl while it was still in the Big 12.

Nebraska fired coach Bo Pelini on Nov. 30 after a seven-year stint marked by an inability to restore the football team to national prominence and too many embarrassing defeats.

Some things to know about the Holiday Bowl:

Cody Kessler: The Trojans quarterback’s completion percentage of 70.7 is above the school season record of 69.1 percent by Matt Barkley in 2011 and his 168.8 passing efficiency is better than USC’s season record of 164.6 by Mark Sanchez in 2008. He has thrown for 3,505 yards and 36 touchdowns, with just four interceptions.

Ameer Abdullah: Despite being slowed by a sprained left knee suffered Nov. 1 against Purdue, the Nebraska running back will finish one of the most prolific careers in ’Huskers history. With 1,523 yards, he has registered his third straight 1,000-yard season, a first in Nebraska history. He has 4,500 career yards, trailing only Mike Rozier’s record 4,780 yards.

Bittersweet: Interim head coach Barney Cotton’s time at Nebraska is coming to an end. A 1983 Cornhuskers graduate, he has been on the staff as associate head coach for the past seven seasons, and has eight seasons total at Nebraska.