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Lincoln -- Three former Huskers will take to football's greatest stage on Feb. 1, as the Carolina Panthers will take on the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
Carolina, which is making its first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, boasts a pair of starters on defense in safety Mike Minter and defensive end Mike Rucker, while the Patriots, who will be going for the second NFL title in three years, feature offensive guard Russ Hochstein. All three will be making their first Super Bowl appearances, as a total of 43 Husker football players and coaches have combined for 54 Super Bowl appearances.
Russ Hochstein
New England Patriots
Mike Minter
Carolina Panthers
Mike Rucker
Carolina Panthers
Hochstein, who made his second start of the season, helped the Patriots win the AFC title with a 24-14 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. The third-year pro led the way for Antowain Smith, who rushed for 100 yards on 22 carries, as the Patriots (16-2) won their 14th consecutive game. This will mark the second straight year that Hochstein has played for a team in the Super Bowl, as he spent part of the 2002 season with Tampa Bay before signing with New England in October of 2002.
Minter and Rucker keyed a Panther defense that held NFC East champion Philadephia to just three points in a 14-3 road victory. Rucker, who was among the NFL leaders in sacks during the regular season, had six solo tackles, including a seven-yard sack of Donovan McNabb, while Minter added six tackles, two pass breakups and shared a sack for 7.5 yards. Carolina recorded five sacks and forced four interceptions. Carolina enters Super Bowl XXXVIII with a 14-5 record. One of the few offensive highlights for Philadelphia was the play of running back Correll Buckhalter. The former Husker I-back carried nine times for 48 yards, while catching a pair of passes for 26 yards in the loss.
Offense
Rushing ReceivingPlayer, Team Opp. ATT YDS AVG LNG TD Rec Yards AVG LNG TDBuckhalter, Correll Philadelphia Carolina 11 48 4.4 9 0 2 26 13.0 23 0Linemen Hochstein, Russ, New England Indianapolis- start
Defense
Defensive Stats Special TeamsPlayer, Team Opp. TKL AST CMB SK YDS IN YDS PD FF FR TKL AST CMB FF Bl FRMinter, Mike, Carolina Phil. 2 4 6 1 7.5 - - 2 - - - - - - - -Carolina Phil. 6 0 6 1 7 - - - - - - - - - - -
() missed field goal DNP - Did Not Play; INJ - Injured, did not play; IR - Injured Reserve