Nebraska and Washington will square off for the second time this season when they meet in tonight's Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl. The Huskies will attempt to avenge the 56-21 beating the Cornhuskers laid on them in September when the two foes take to the field at Qualcomm Stadium at 10:00pm ET this evening (ESPN). 2010 Holiday Bowl Odds are favoring a repeat performance for Nebraska, though, which is listed as a -13.5 against the spread favorite. Tonight's game total is set at 53.
Washington hoped to move into 
contention for the Pac 10 title this year after posting a 5-7 record in Steve Sarkisian's first season as Head Coach. The Huskies did improve by one game, finishing the regular season with a 6-6 mark; however, they fell short of their conference goals, placing third behind Oregon and Stanford with a 5-4 league record.
Part of the reason Washington did not reach the heights it expected was the performance of senior quarterback Jake Locker. Locker came into the season with a great deal of Heisman hype, but he did not put up the kind of numbers needed to be considered for the award. The Ferndale, Washington native threw for 2209 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions while completing just 56.6 percent of his passes.
Locker, who rushed for 316 yards on 101 carries, had his worst outing of the season in the Huskies home loss to Nebraska, completing 4-of-20 passes for 71 yards, one touchdown, and two picks.
Nebraska had eyes on a conference championship in its final season in the Big 12, but the Cornhuskers fell three points short of that goal, losing 20-23 to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game.
Nebraska did win the North Division with a 6-2 conference record, and it posted an impressive 10 wins, including victories over Oklahoma State and Missouri.
The Cornhuskers ranked 28th in the nation in points per game (32.7), thanks to the exploits of freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez. Martinez finished the regular season with 942 rush yards and 12 rushing touchdowns; he also threw for 1578 yards and nine scores. The California native did not play well down the stretch, though, rushing for just 56 yards in his final three starts.
Nebraska is 2-0 under Head Coach Bo Pelini in postseason action. The Huskers beat Clemson 26-21 in the 2008 Gator Bowl and they took out Arizona 33-0 in last year's Holiday Bowl.
2010 Holiday Bowl Betting Trend: The Over is 7-3 in the Huskies last 10 games as an underdog with a spread between 11 and 13.5.
2010 Holiday Bowl Nebraska vs Washington Odds:
Nebraska Cornhuskers -13.5 (-110), Over 53 (-110)
Washington Huskies +13.5 (-110), Under 53 (-110)
