By Jeremy Kahn

photo credit: USA Today Nebraska Cornhuskers running back Imani Cross carries against UCLA defense

SANTA CLARA-After falling behind the UCLA Bruins 21-7, the Nebraska Cornhuskers could have mailed it in; however they certainly did not that.

Quarterback Tommy Armstrong, Jr. led the Cornhuskers all the way back to give the Cornhuskers a 37-29 victory over the Bruins before an announced crowd of 33,527 at Levi’s Stadium.

Armstrong went 12-for-19 with 174 yards passing, and a touchdown, and carried the ball 10 times for 76 yards and a touchdown, as the Cornhuskers ended the season with a record of 6-7.

Everything was going the Bruins way in the first half, as Freshman quarterback Josh Rosen looked fantastic, as he went 13-for-17 for 181 yards and two touchdowns.

Rosen found Kenny Walker for a 60-yard touchdown pass to give the Bruins a 14-7 lead. Following Nebraska’s next possession that saw them go three-and-out, Rosen found Sophomore Nate Starks to give the Bruins what looked like a commanding 21-7 lead.

The Cornhuskers did not give up, as they drove right down the field and cut the Bruins lead in half, as Terrell Newby scored on a three-yard run. After the Bruins went three-and-out on their next possession, the Cornhuskers tied up the game on a Andy Janovich one-yard run.

After the Cornhuskers touchdown that tied up the game, the Bruins began their drive deep in their own territory; however they were helped out by a targeting penalty on Cornhuskers junior safety Nate Gerry with :33 seconds remaining in the first half. The officials reviewed the penalty, and the play stood, and as a result of the targeting penalty, Gerry was ejected from the game.

Following the Gerry ejection, Rosen’s ensuing pass was intercepted by Joshua Kalu at the Cornhuskers 38-yard line.

With the Cornhuskers getting the ball on the initial series in the second half, Armstrong and the Cornhuskers drove all the way down the field, and the drive culminated with a Armstrong six-yard touchdown pass to Stanley Morgan, Jr. from 22 yards out that gave the Cornhuskers their first lead of the game at 27-21, but Brown missed the extra point.

The Bruins were forced to punt on their first series of the second half, and the Cornhuskers took advantage of that, and drove all the way down to the Bruins three-yard line; however the Bruins defense was able to keep the Cornhuskers out of the end zone and they were forced to settle for a Brown 20-yard field goal.

Armstrong drove the Cornhuskers down the field once again after the Bruins were unable to convert a first down, and it ended up by seeing Armstrong scoring on a three-yard touchdown run.

After seeing the Cornhuskers scored 30 unanswered points, the Bruins finally broke through in the second half, as Rosen found Jordan Payton for a nine-yard touchdown pass and the Bruins got the two point conversion, as Rosen found Thomas Duarte in the end zone to cut the Cornhuskers lead down to eight.

Following the Cornhuskers ensuing possession, the Bruins reclaimed the ball and drove into Cornhuskers territory; however Ka’imi Fairburn missed a 46-yard field wide to the right, giving the ball back to the Cornhuskers.

Unfortunately, the Cornhuskers were unable to gain a first down and the Bruins got the ball back; however Rosen was intercepted by Chris Jones in the end zone on fourth down with just under three minutes remaining in the game.

Armstrong put the game away, as he gained 23 yards on second down to give the Cornhuskers another set of downs.

Junior Cethan Carter put the final touches on the game, as he gained 16 yards on an end around to give the Cornhuskers a hard fought eight-point victory.

Cornhuskers head coach Mike Riley, who finished his first season in Lincoln became the first coach in the history of the Foster Farms Bowl to win two games, as he also won the 2007 game as the head coach of the Oregon State Beavers, when they defeated the Maryland Terrapins.

The Cornhuskers even their all-time bowl record at 26-26 with the eight-point victory over the Bruins. This was the second consecutive bowl trip to the State of California for the Cornhuskers, as they lost to the USC Trojans 45-42 in the 2014 Holiday Bowl in San Diego.

Overall, the Cornhuskers improve to 2-5 in bowl appearances in the State of California, as they are 1-0 in the Foster Farms Bowl, 1-3 in the Holiday Bowl and 0-2 in the Rose Bowl.

Also, the Cornhuskers up their record to 2-5 against the Pac-12 in bowl action, as they picked their first win over a Pac-12 school since shutting out the University of Arizona Wildcats 33-0 in the 2009 Holiday Bowl.

On the other hand, the Bruins fall to 0-3 all time in the Foster Farms Bowl, as they lost to the Florida State Seminoles in 2006 and then lost to the Illinois Fighting Illini in the 2011 version of the bowl game, when both games were played at AT&T Park.

Overall, the Bruins are slumping in bowl games that are played in the State of California, as they have not won a bowl game in their home state since December 30, 1986, when they defeated the Brigham Young Cougars in the now defunct Freedom Bowl at Anaheim Stadium.

Since that win over the Cougars nearly 29 years ago, the Bruins have lost two Rose Bowls to the University of Wisconsin Badgers in 1994 and 1999, a loss to the Fresno State Bulldogs in the now defunct Silicon Valley Classic in 2003, a loss to the Seminoles in the 2006 Emerald Bowl, a loss to the Fighting Illini in the 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, a 49-26 defeat at the hands of the Baylor Bears in the 2012 Bridgepointe Education Holiday Bowl in San Diego and finally to the Cornhuskers. The Emerald, Kraft Fight Hunger and the Foster Farms Bowl are the same bowl, only the sponsors changed.

The Bruins are now 16-18-1 in their 35 bowl appearances, and saw their two-game bowl winning streak come to an end.