DALLAS — Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville laments his team’s inconsistent play this season, and Nebraska coaches surely can relate.

Both teams’ brushes with inconsistency played a lead role in landing the Huskers and Tigers in today’s Cotton Bowl instead of a prestigious Bowl Championship Series contest.

“The biggest thing about college football is consistency — everybody’s shooting for it,” said Tuberville, whose team was ranked as high as No. 2 nationally in late September and early October. “When you’re that high, the target is on your back. You’ve got to be able to handle it mentally as well as physically.

“We just didn’t put it all together as consistently as we would’ve liked.”

However, neither Tuberville nor Nebraska coach Bill Callahan was complaining about playing in the 71-year-old Cotton Bowl, which is set to begin at 10:40 a.m. CST in Cotton Bowl Stadium (capacity 68,252).

Nebraska, ranked 22nd with a 9-4 record, is making its first Cotton Bowl appearance in 27 years. Meanwhile, No. 10 Auburn (10-2) has played only one other time in this bowl, in 1986.

“Our players have had a great week in Dallas,” Callahan said. “This is a reward for our players, and they’ve worked extremely hard to get into this position. You want to let your team have some fun down here, but there’s also some business, too.”

Nebraska, making its 44th all-time bowl appearance (fifth best nationally), played well enough this season to capture its first Big 12 North championship in seven years. The Huskers today will try to end a six-game skid against top-10 teams, dating to the 2001 season.

“To beat a top-10 team would really give us some credence in terms of our improvement as a program,” said Callahan, who is 0-4 against top-10 competition since taking over at Nebraska three years ago, including 0-3 this season.

The last of those three losses, a 21-7 setback against then-No. 8 Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game, cost Nebraska a BCS berth. In that contest, the Husker offense struggled while the defense played at a championship level.

However, Nebraska’s defense, ranked 67th nationally overall and 87th against the pass, has experienced an up-and-down season.

Auburn, on the other hand, has endured the brunt of its inconsistency on offense. The Tigers are ranked 68th in total offense and 49th in scoring thanks largely to a slew of injuries, most notably to junior quarterback Brandon Cox and senior tailback Kenny Irons.

With a 43-day break since its last game, the Tigers say they have healed up well, and their confidence in the past few days was palpable.

“We just want to go out and play as well as we can and see how good this team could actually have been all year long,” said Tuberville, whose team finished 6-2 in the Southeastern Conference, good for second place in the West Division, with home losses to Arkansas (27-10) and Georgia (37-15).

Nebraska has had some health issues of its own lately, most notably among its four-man I-back “committee.” Junior Brandon Jackson, the Huskers’ leading rusher, will play with a sore right hand after breaking a bone in the Dec. 2 league title game. He has been practicing with a splint.

Meanwhile, Marlon Lucky (back), Kenny Wilson (knee) and Cody Glenn (foot) might have to play through some pain. After all, it’s not as if they have to get ready for a game next week.

As it stands, Nebraska gets a chance to atone for the loss to Oklahoma and pick up a signature victory. While Tuberville lamented his team’s inconsistency this season, Callahan recalled his squad’s missed opportunities on offense against the Sooners.

However, “We’re still in a position to conclude a good season and put an exclamation point on it,” the Husker coach said. “I know our senior class is dedicated to capturing that 10th win.”