For only the third time in twenty years the Nebraska Cornhuskers will play their final game of the season in a game other than one of the Big Four., so one might forgive them if they view today's Alamo Bowl game as something of a demotion.

"A lot of people talk about how hard it might be to motivate yourself, since you're not in the national championship game," said Husker defensive tackle Loran Kaiser. "But we're a very realistic team. We know what we put ourselves in."

What the Huskers put themselves into was a season that saw two losses drop them from a shot at playing for the National Championship. The Huskers entered the season a prohibitive number one. Losses to Oklahoma and Kansas State felled their hopes of a sixth title and relegated the Big Red to a number nine ranking in the AP poll. Instead of a date with Florida State in the Orange Bowl, Nebraska faces eighteenth ranked Northwestern.

"Early on, we did have a lot of national championship aspirations," said cornerback Keyuo Craver. "We were ranked No. 1 throughout most of the early part of the season, and it's real frustrating for us. As a captain, I see a lot of talent on this team and I think we are one of the top teams in the nation."

The frustrations aren't lost on the Husker coaches either.

"To say that we're somewhat disappointed not to be playing in the national championship game, that's correct," quarterbacks coach Turner Gill said. "We were hoping to be in (the Orange Bowl)"

The Huskers opened the season ranked first in both the coaches and writers polls. Things started to look shaky early on, however. The Huskers needed overtime to defeat a 23rd ranked Notre Dame team and showed signs of weakness against Iowa and Missouri. The Huskers dropped to number two in the ranking for one week but returned to number one as they continued to win against Iowa State, Texas Tech and Baylor. Then came the real tests for the Huskers, and they failed them.

In an October 28th battle of top ranked teams, Oklahoma defeated the Huskers 31-14. Two weeks later a 16th ranked Kansas State Wildcat team dropped the Huskers 29-28. The loss of luster in the Husker armor continued to show in the regular season finale when they needed a last second field goal to pull out a two point win over an unranked Colorado team at home.

"A lot of people were upset after the first loss to Oklahoma and more upset after the loss to Kansas State," said quarterback Eric Crouch. "Then the national championship was out of reach for sure and that was kind of hard to take"

"We lost those two games. A loss is just like any other game, you've got to put it behind you." said Kaiser. " We always, always look forward to the next game, take each game as seriously as the next."

That next game will be against a team that is feeling exactly the opposite emotions when it comes to their expectations for being in the Alamo Bowl.

Northwestern had almost become synonymous with losing. After several season where wins were scarce, the Wildcats were picked to finish at the bottom of the Big 10 standings in the pre-season polls. Eight wins later the Wildcats ended up in a three-way tie for the conference crown with Purdue and Michigan.

Wildcat head coach Randy Walker knows he needs to keep his players from developing a deer-in-the-headlights attitude.

"I've addressed that with them. It's like Babes in Toyland or kids in a candy store - this is so atypical, so out of our routine that you just don't know what to expect," Walker said. " It's something we haven't experienced. None of our guys have been a guy in a bowl game before and now they're guys and they need to understand what it takes to get the distractions out of their mindset and get ready to play."

Northwestern never truly developed an eye on this year's National Championship, so the prospect of facing Nebraska provides all the incentive the team needs.

"Everyone wants respect, so Nebraska's a great opportunity for us." said Wildcat guard Jeff Roehl. "Anytime you get a chance to play a program that has such an incredible tradition, if you're able to win, it speaks a lot about your program, how far you've come, where you're going."

In a game that could swing on emotions, those feelings will have a lot to say about who ends up victorious. But the Huskers say they are motivated and know what is at stake for them on Saturday.

"We have a chance to be rated we think maybe in the top five if we win this game. All that is great motivation." head coach Frank Solich said.

"Nobody on this team is hanging his head," said cornerback Keyuo Craver. "We want this game."