Bowl Breakdown: Cotton No. 10 Auburn (10-2) vs. No. 22 Nebraska (9-4) Jan. 1, 11:30 a.m. (Fox) Cotton Bowl (68,252) Dallas

SI.com's Cory McCartney analyzes the matchup.

Breaking down Auburn

Zac Taylor, the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, threw for 3,071 yards and 25 TDs in leading the nation's eighth-ranked offense. Bob Rosato/SI

Auburn had designs on a national championship, but two home losses to Arkansas and Georgia and a rash of injuries put a kink in those plans. The Tigers have an experienced offense behind junior quarterback Brandon Cox and senior running back Kenny Irons. Cox threw for 2,087 yards and 13 touchdowns. But Cox injured his right knee and saw a huge decline in his play down the stretch, when he threw seven interceptions in the three games leading into the Iron Bowl. Irons, the SEC's leading rusher a year ago, had just three 100-yard games this season. He was slowed by turf toe and a sprained left ankle against LSU in Week 3, then a sprained right ankle four weeks later. Top receiver Courtney Taylor (634 receiving yards, two TDs) was also bit by the injury bug, missing the regular-season finale with a strained hamstring.

On defense, the Tigers have a dominant front seven led by speedy ends Quentin Groves (12 tackles for loss, 9½ sacks), Marquies Gunn (seven tackles for loss) and safety-turned-linebacker Will Herring, who led the team with 65 tackles. This group was one of the country's stingiest, allowing 12.9 points per game (seventh nationally) and was 20th against the pass, though in both losses Auburn had trouble against the rush, allowing 279 yards to Arkansas and 227 to Georgia.

Breaking down Nebraska

Coach Bill Callahan found that oh-so-important balance in the West Coast offense, as running back Brandon Jackson emerged with 951 yards and seven touchdowns to bolster a running game that went from 107th in 2005 to 25th this year. The Cornhuskers have a capable veteran quarterback in Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year Zac Taylor, who passed for 3,071 yards and 25 touchdowns, though he is coming off a shaky performance in the conference title game in which he threw three picks and completed just 46 percent of his passes. The nation's 18th-ranked passing attack (253.2 ypg) features a strong receiving corps with receivers Maurice Purify, Terrence Nunn, Nate Swift and tight end Matt Herian.

The Blackshirts have a talented front behind defensive ends Adam Carriker (13 tackles for loss) and Jay Moore (13½ tackles for loss) and an athletic group of linebackers headlined by leading tacklers Andre Jones (58 tackles) and Stewart Bradley (53), but as a whole this unit struggled mightily. Nebraska was 70th in total defense (343.7 ypg) and gave up 381.9 yards per game in Big 12 play. But the pass defense has been the biggest problem, allowing 223.3 yards per game (89th nationally), largely because of a secondary that's susceptible to the big play, giving up 23 plays of 25-plus yards.

Final Analysis

The Tigers have a big, veteran line anchored by All-SEC Ben Grubbs and that should be able to give Cox enough time to pick apart the Huskers' porous secondary. Taylor and the Nebraska offense will keep this close, but after a month layoff, Auburn should be healthy and ready to show off the offense that had so many thinking this was the SEC's best team before the season began.

The pick: Auburn 20, Nebraska 17