There were so many cameras and reporters at the end of Nebraska’s football practice Monday that one could have easily figured a scandal had just hit the wires.

Nope. Just the start of NU’s Gator Bowl prep for Clemson.

Cornhuskers’ Coach Bo Pelini, who won the 2003 Alamo Bowl as Nebraska interim coach and rattled off three straight bowl wins at LSU as defensive coordinator, is confident the plan he’s laid out is, in his words, “smart” – balancing rest and final exams with the intense workouts NU had in the regular season.

“I’ve had a lot of success in bowl games since I’ve been back in college football,” Pelini said. “Everybody has a different view, everybody has different philosophies. We’ve put together a schedule we think will work for us.”

Expect a mixture of Clemson preparation, underclassmen work and conditioning done at the Huskers’ usual tempo.

“When we come to practice, we come to practice,” Pelini said. “There’s only one way we do things. That’s full speed. I think our guys have grown up in that manner, they’ve developed, they understand what we’re asking of them.”

Offensive guard Matt Slauson welcomed a plan that kept Nebraska sharp for a month while bowl season unfolds methodically over 20 days.

“You’ve got a month off,” Slauson said. “It’s hard to focus for a month, so you’ve really got to buckle down.”

Will the Huskers mix in some fun? Sure. Slauson said he considered the trip a “work vacation” that will include some perks and presents. Slauson said he wasn’t entirely sure which gifts the Huskers would get for their presence in the game, but did involve a combination of “Oakley sunglasses, luggage, a watch, the basic bowl stuff.”

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