Call it a Hunch...

...but I think the Huskies have a chance tonight. In fact, I am going to go out on a limb and predict a Holiday Bowl win.

My reasons are simple:

• Momentum. The Huskies have some after three straight wins to become bowl eligible. Sure there has been roughly 3 weeks since they played their last game, but I think something like this can certainly carry over.
• Health. Jake has had 3 weeks to fully recover from the rig injuries that side tracked him late in the year. Meanwhile, Taylor Martinez is a little banged up and whispers out of Lincoln say that he is not getting along with head coach Bo Pelini. In the Big 12 championship game, he threw 1 INT, was sacked 7 times and fumbled 3 times.
• Hunger. The Huskies are clearly the hungrier team of the two. I think this will be a classic let-down game for Nebraska. Had they beaten longtime rival Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game, they would be playing in the Fiesta Bowl. However, with the loss they were passed on by two bowls (Alamo and Insight) and had to settle for the Holiday bowl which gets the 5th pick of Big 12 teams. Some suggest it is punishment for leaving the conference. I don't care what you call it, I call it a letdown. No such thing for the Huskies who are excited to be in San Diego.
• Pride. Being a Husky football fan has been painful the past 5 years. A win in the Holiday Bowl won't erase those memories, but it will help lay the foundation for the future. Look, you can say what you want about the BCS and the bowl system, but what you can't say is that there is no appeal to the lower bowls. To teams that finish the season with 6-8 wins, bowl games are their BCS title game. This is important not only to the psyche of those involved, but to the Husky fans and future Husky recruits. If we can come out and beat Nebraska it will have huge ripple effects in the future. And of course, the Seniors can go out with their first and only bowl win.
• Finally, Hope. I'm a Mets fan. Our motto has always been "Ya Gotta Believe". When you go against a bully that has already beaten ya down (ok, really it was classified as an ass-whooping), sometimes you just gotta believe that you can get the win.

Bow Down.