Nebraska @ Georgia preview

CAPITAL ONE BOWL STORYLINES

1. Which team can better handle disappointment? Instead of the BCS Championship Game and the Rose Bowl, Georgia and Nebraska are headed to Orlando. The Bulldogs came up five yards short of beating Alabama in the SEC Championship Game and playing for a national title. The Cornhuskers were demolished 70-31 by Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game, giving up an astounding 539 rushing yards. This is only the second all-time meeting - Nebraska beat Georgia 45-6 in the 1969 Sun Bowl.

2. The balanced Bulldogs scored three touchdowns against the Crimson Tide’s top-ranked defense - a fourth came on a blocked field goal - and face a Cornhuskers' defense allowing an average of 26.2 points. Georgia is on pace to set school records in scoring (37.2) and total offense (458.3), and quarterback Aaron Murray leads the nation in pass efficiency. He is the first player in SEC history to throw for 3,000-plus yards in three straight years.

3. Nebraska features the nation’s eighth-best rushing attack (254.5). Running back Ameer Abdullah (1,089 yards, eight touchdowns), dual-threat quarterback Taylor Martinez (973 rushing yards, 10 TDs) and RB Rex Burkhead (535 yards, 7.2 yards per carry) lead a deep backfield. Georgia just gave up 350 rushing yards to Alabama, and the Tide didn’t do anything fancy. Look for the Cornhuskers to run right at the Bulldogs.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, ABC. LINE: Georgia -10

ABOUT NO. 21 NEBRASKA (10-3, 7-1 Big Ten): Nebraska, one of only four teams in the nation to win nine games each of the last five years, makes its second straight trip to the Capital One Bowl after losing 30-13 to South Carolina last season. Junior guard Spencer Long is a key to the Big Ten’s best ground game - the 6-4, 305-pounder was named a second-team Walter Camp All-American. While Nebraska is vulnerable to the run, the Blackshirts' defense leads the nation in passing yards allowed (148.2). Nebraska’s all-time record against the SEC is 94-47-4.

ABOUT NO. 5 GEORGIA (11-2, 7-1 SEC): The Bulldogs are making their sixth appearance in the Capital One Bowl, most recently beating Michigan State in 2009. Georgia is loaded with NFL talent, starting with outside linebacker Jarvis Jones, who could be the first overall pick in April. Jones has 22.5 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, seven forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception. He is one of several defensive playmakers, including linebacker Alec Ogletree (98 tackles in nine games) and safety Bacarri Rambo (16 career interceptions). Freshman running back Todd Gurley has run for 1,260 yards and 16 touchdowns, one more than the old freshman record set by Herschel Walker. Murray has overcome the loss of two top receivers, with wide receiver Tavarres King (39 catches, 846 yards, eight touchdowns) emerging as the top outside threat.

PREDICTION: Georgia 41, Nebraska 31