JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The warm weather the Nebraska football team has enjoyed throughout its stay here as given way to slightly cooler temps as it's 57 degrees 10 minutes prior to kickoff at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.

The Cornhuskers will be wearing a round black sticker on the back of their helmets, showing the initials "AP" to honor the late Anthony Pelini, who died last week at the age of 85. Pelini was the father of Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini and defensive coordinator Carl Pelini.

While the win would obviously be meaningful for the Pelinis after going through some rough times in the last week and a half, Bo Pelini said Wednesday that winning the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl against Clemson is not about him or his family. Nebraska's players seem to think otherwise. Huskers' quarterback Joe Ganz said he and his teammates would like nothing more than to give their head coach and his brother a victory.

As for the game, it will be a battle of strength on strength when Nebraska's offense takes the field against Clemson's defense. While not statistically impressive, the Husker defense and Tiger offense made improvements in the closing weeks of the season, so that will be worth watching as well.

If there's one matchup that favors Nebraska, most figure it's the Huskers' defensive line against the Clemson offensive line. However, Carl Pelini warned several times this past week that the Tigers have solidified up front and not to put too much stock in the notion.

In the final analysis, this looks like a typical bowl-game toss-up and whoever can make a few big plays and avoid costly turnovers will come out on top. Oddsmakers list Clemson as a 2 1/2-point favorite, but we'll take Nebraska to win 27-24 on an Alex Henery field goal. Why not? After all, it's Henery's 57-yard kick against Colorado that got the Huskers here in the New Year's Day Bowl in the first place.

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