Auburn 17
Nebraska 14

Jan. 1, 2007 • 10:40 a.m. Central
Cotton Bowl • Dallas, TX • Fox
1st2nd3rd4th F 
Auburn773017
Nebraska770014
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1st quarter
NU: N.Swift 13 pass from Z.Taylor (J.Congdon kick) 7:37
AU: C.Stewart 9 pass from B.Cox (J.Vaughn kick) 0:56
2nd quarter
AU: Stewart 1 run (Vaughn kick) 12:22
NU: B.Jackson 20 run (Congdon kick) 9:00
3rd quarter
AU: Vaughn 42 field goal, 6:20

                           AU        NU
FIRST DOWNS............... 12        17
  Rushing.................. 5         6
  Passing.................. 6         8
  Penalty.................. 1         3
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)..... 35-67    38-104
PASSING YDS (NET)........ 111       126
  Att-Comp-Int....... 21-10-0   27-14-1
TOTAL OFFENSE......... 56-178    65-230
Punt Returns-Yards....... 3-3      1-23
Kickoff Returns-Yards... 2-58      2-40
Int. Returns-Yards...... 1-52       0-0
Punts-Avg............. 6-43.0    6-40.2
Fumbles-Lost............. 2-2       1-1
Penalties-Yards......... 6-45      4-45
Possession Time........ 27:00     33:00
Third-Down Conv. ....... 4/12      5/14
Fourth-Down Conv. ....... 0/0       0/2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.. 3-3       2-2

RUSHING
AU: K.Irons 24-72, B.Tate 4-23, C.Taylor 1-3, C.Stewart 1-1, B.Cox 5-minus 32

NU: M.Lucky 25-88, B.Jackson 7-38, T.Nunn 1-minus 2, Z.Taylor 4-minus 5, D.Todd 1-minus 15

PASSING
AU: B.Cox 10/21, 111 YDS, 0 INT
NU: Z.Taylor 14/26, 126 YDS, 1 INT;
    Team 0/1, 0 YDS, 0 INT

RECEIVING
AU: C.Taylor 6-70, P.Rodriguez 1-18, G.McKenzie 1-12, C.Stewart 1-9, K.Irons 1-2

NU: M.Lucky 6-67, N.Swift 3-44, M.Purify 1-9, T.Nunn 1-8, D.Todd 1-4, B.Jackson 2-minus 6

Attendance: 66,777
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Coverage

Stats & recap
Complete Stats

Tigers win battle of defenses in Dallas

In a classic defensive struggle, No. 10 Auburn managed the only points of the second half on a 42-yard field goal in the third quarter to defeat No. 22 Nebraska, 17-14, in the 2007 Cotton Bowl.

The Huskers fell to the Tigers despite surrendering just 178 total yards, with both Auburn touchdowns coming in the first half on drives of less than 15 yards following NU turnovers. Nebraska generated 230 yards of total offense, including 126 yards passing and 104 yards on the ground.

Nebraska was in position to tie or win the game late in the fourth quarter after linebacker Stewart Bradley recovered an Auburn fumble at the Tiger 42 with 5:24 remaining. The Huskers drove to the Auburn 27 before losing yardage on consecutive plays to set up a decision on fourth down-and-11 at the AU 30. NU elected to go for it, but Zac Taylor’s pass to Frantz Hardy was incomplete.

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Omaha World-Herald
Lincoln Journal Star*
More Neb. Sources
Alabama sources
More Sources
Photos/Audio/Video
Pregame & team info
2006 schedule
04/15Reds 35, Whites 7
09/02Louisiana TechW 49-10
09/09Nicholls St.W 56-7
09/16@ S. CaliforniaL 10-28
09/23TroyW 56-0
09/30KansasW 39-32
10/07@ Iowa St.W 28-14
10/14@ Kansas St.W 21-3
10/21TexasL 20-22
10/28@ Oklahoma St.L 29-41
11/04MissouriW 34-20
11/11@ Texas A&MW 28-27
11/24ColoradoW 37-14
12/02OklahomaL 7-21
01/01AuburnL 14-17

Commentary

Colonel Mustard

The fake punt certainly didn't help, but that didn't cost us the game, as no single play does.

Shatel

If Callahan were a car salesman, he would go hungry. He can't close the big game.

Omaha World-Herald
McKeever

Callahan still needs to add some high-performance parts before his West Coast offense can handle the speed of the express lane.

Lincoln Journal Star
Reeves

The game was littered with questionable calls by Callahan.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Douglass

Particularly vexing for Nebraska was that Auburn's touchdown drives traveled all of 9 and 14 yards

Grand Island Independent
Sherrington

A former NFL head coach, Callahan has demonstrated an affinity for overthinking the college game, and he did it again Monday.

Dallas Morning News
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