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TEMPE, Ariz - In the week leading up to the Fiesta Bowl, the Nebraska offense and fullback Willie Miller felt Tennessee called them out.
With a performance that mirrored that of the great Husker rushing attacks of the past, NU paid them back in a 31-21 win.
"The offensive line had a great game tonight," Miller said. "They have been on a personal mission since we have been down here. The linebackers of Tennessee kind of called them out and said we weren't that physical of a football team. We really took that personally."
Miller gained 87 yards on 8 carries in the game through the holes that the offensive line opened up but took a beating opening up holes of his own. A bloody lip and bruised face was a testimony to the hard work that Miller put in while helping the NU offense to 321 yards on the ground.
Husker guard Russ Hochstein, an All-Big 12 selection, said Miller was destined for a great game reminiscent of those by other fullbacks in past bowl games.
"Willie runs extremely hard and is a very smart runner," Hochstein said. "He deserves all the yards he can get because fullbacks don't get very many yards.
They are usually out blocking and take a lot of punishment throughout the game."
I-back Dan Alexander, Miller's roommate, backed up Hochstein's comments about his No. 1 blocker.
"We have expected that from him every game," Alexander said. "He has been a stable guy in the backfield and has been running good all year long. I love him like a brother, and he is one guy you can count on to get things done. He was hurting a little bit as the game wore on, but he pushed through it for the team."
Miller came into the Fiesta Bowl averaging only 3.5 yards per carry after starting eight of 10 games. The junior saved his best for last, gaining almost half as many yards as he had accumulated all year.
Alexander led the Huskers in rushing with 108 yards on 21 carries while Eric Crouch and Correll Buckhalter had 64 and 59 yards, respectively. While those three gained their yards on options and sweeps, Miller knew his time would come on the trap plays up the middle.
"They were really afraid of the option game," Miller said. "They have some great athletes and have a tendency to be real quick, and fortunately for me they were over-pursuing when it came time for the trap plays because they would have been in great position to defend the option."
With the Volunteers knocking on the door and having just pinned NU at its own four-yard line, the Husker rushing attack went to work. NU pounded out a 96-yard drive that included six running plays out of nine total and a 47-yard Miller run that was culminated on the following play by a 13-yard Crouch touchdown pass to Aaron Golliday.
Crouch said the drive was a testament to the offense's pride.
"I think it showed a lot of stamina," Crouch said. "A lot of heart out of those linemen, running backs, pretty much everybody on the field."
Following another Vol punt that landed on NU's one-yard line, the Huskers prepared to make a statement and would run the ball 10 times on 10 plays to put the game seemingly out of reach on a Buckhalter touchdown run.
With those two drives of 96 and 99 yards, the Huskers wore down the Tennessee defense and eventually their hopes of winning the game.
"We went down and scored each touchdown," Crouch said. "It was a great feeling knowing that we could do that. You don't see that a lot, and I think it says a lot about the physical play that we brought to the table today."
Alexander said the two drives and the whole game showed the offensive line, after a shaky start to the season, demands respect.
"Eric is the leader of the team, but we have a lot of seniors on our offensive line," Alexander said. "As running backs, we were really playing for them. We said, 'Hey, if they are going to give us their best effort and go out there and make big holes, then we have to run through them and get something done.'"
NU Coach Frank Solich said the game held true to the mystique of Husker football.
"I think if you talk to anybody on our football team, they will tell you that is the case," Solich said.
"That is what Nebraska is known for, what Nebraska has been all about over the years."
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