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Published Thursday December 29, 2005 NU Notes: Title game, bowl lineup pleases Weiberg BY MITCH SHERMAN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

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SAN ANTONIO - This month is a good one to work as commissioner of the Bowl Championship Series - no doubt the best in at least three years.

Big 12 Conference Commissioner Kevin Weiberg, who doubles as chief of the BCS, attended the Alamo Bowl on Wednesday night. But his mind was not far from Pasadena, Calif., where Texas arrived earlier in the day.

The Longhorns' league title and unbeaten regular season earned them a meeting with top-ranked Southern California on Jan. 4 in the Rose Bowl. UT also spared Weiberg a month of headaches similar to what the BCS officials endured in December of 2004 and 2003.

"That's made it a little more sweet," Weiberg said.

Weiberg will arrive in Los Angeles on Saturday to bask in the glow of the best title-game pairing since the 2002 season, when Ohio State upset Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.

A year later, USC and Louisiana State split the crown.

The Trojans won it outright last season, but not without controversy, as Auburn also finished undefeated after a Sugar Bowl victory.

Weiberg said he believes the clarity at the top of the BCS contributed to intriguing matchups throughout the bowl lineup, including the Alamo Bowl.

"I really feel like it's a quality set of games," he said.

Other premier bowl matchups include Miami-LSU on Friday in the Peach Bowl and Notre Dame-Ohio State on Monday in the Fiesta Bowl.

Weiberg happy with NU appearance

The Big 12 commissioner stopped last week at the Fort Worth Bowl, where Kansas blasted Houston, before he traveled to San Antonio.

Weiberg said the Huskers' presence here - along with approximately 20,000 NU fans - served as a boon for the Big 12.

"Having Nebraska here means a lot to us as far as building bowl relationships," Weiberg said. "Also, on the television side of it, I would expect a very strong rating."

The Big 12, during the next four seasons, will add the Gator Bowl and the Sun Bowl to its postseason lineup.

The Insight Bowl also returns next season.

"I like what we're adding," Weiberg said. "It's important to add another New Year's Day game in Florida. We've also got all the games post Christmas, which I think is an improvement."

'95 Huskers to face USC

ESPN's 11-day series of matching the top teams in college football history against USC of 2005 ends today. It ends with the Trojans pitted against 1995 Nebraska, voted by fans as the best team ever.

Prior to Wednesday night, when ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit and Mark May revealed their choices in the fantasy matchup of USC against 2001 Miami, neither analyst had selected any of the great teams to beat the Trojans.

Herbstreit, who worked in the booth at the Alamo Bowl Wednesday, wasn't revealing his pick, but he hinted at it.

"My thought is that when you want to play with USC and beat USC, you've got to have tremendous balance," Herbstreit said. "I think Nebraska's defense would keep them in that game. They were so physical and so imposing.

"But to win that game, you have to be able to throw and run."

Ten years ago, NU averaged 399.8 rushing yards per game and 52.4 points en route to a 12-0 record.

Herbstreit said the response to the series has been positive.

"People have had fun with it," he said. "If you can't have fun with it, you're not understanding the purpose of why we're doing it."

Cook observes NU meetings

Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook, whose team finished as the NCAA runner-up this month in San Antonio, was back for more this week.

Cook observed the NU meetings on Monday and Tuesday at the invitation of coach Bill Callahan. He was invited to San Antonio by Athletic Director Steve Pederson.

"I talked to (the football coaches)," Cook said, "and they said why don't I come to their meetings.

"They told me I could do what ever I wanted. I said, 'You've got to be kidding me.'"

Cook said he came away impressed.

"I thought we were really well prepared," Cook said of his team, "but they do so much more."

Josh Bullocks on sidelines

Ex-Husker Josh Bullocks watched from the NU sideline on Wednesday as his twin brother, Daniel, played his final college game.

Josh Bullocks, a rookie safety for the New Orleans Saints, left Nebraska a year early after last season.

"It's a great feeling to see how everything has worked out this season (at Nebraska)," Josh Bullocks said.

"I'm very happy, proud of (Daniel) and the team, what they've done"

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