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SAN DIEGO -- Jake Locker bounced back from an injury and scored on a 25-yard run in the third quarter, and tailback Chris Polk ran for 177 yards and a score to help the Washington Huskies to a 19-7 win over the listless No. 17 Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Holiday Bowl on Thursday night.

The Huskies (7-6) avenged a 56-21 loss to the Huskers (10-4) in Seattle on Sept. 18. The Cornhuskers piled up 533 yards of total offense in that game, including 383 rushing.

While Washington was a winner in its first bowl game since 2002, the Huskers came out flat in their second straight Holiday Bowl appearance. They were manhandled on both sides of the line and imploded under 12 penalties for 102 yards.

Washington outgained Nebraska 340 yards to 189, including 268 to 91 rushing.

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HOUSTON -- Mikel Leshoure ran for 184 yards and three touchdowns as Illinois earned its first bowl victory since 1999, beating Baylor 38-14 Wednesday night in the Texas Bowl.

The Illini spoiled the Bears' first bowl appearance in 16 seasons. Both teams finished at 7-6.

Leshoure had a 5-yard TD run in the second quarter, a 13-yard score in the third quarter and another 5-yard touchdown run in the fourth period. The performance gave him the school single-season rushing record with 1,697 yards.

The Illini built a 24-0 lead and Leshoure's last touchdown put the game out of reach.

Baylor's Robert Griffin III threw for 306 yards and a touchdown, but his two fumbles in the first half put the Bears behind.

Leshoure was chosen the most valuable player and wore a cowboy hat as he hoisted the trophy above his head after the game while the small but vocal group of Illinois fans cheered.

The Bears cut the lead to 24-14 when Griffin found a diving Kendall Wright on a 39-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-14 early in the fourth quarter. But Illinois continued its dominance in the rushing game after that and extended its lead to 31-14 on Leshoure's last touchdown.

Illinois finished with 291 yards rushing and 533 yards of total offense to give coach Ron Zook his first bowl win as a head coach in his fourth try.

Freshman quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase got off to a sensational start, completing all of his 13 passes in the first half, and finished 18 of 23 for 242 yards. He scored on a 55-yard touchdown run with 41 seconds to play to make it 38-14.

Illinois opened the second half with an 87-yard drive capped by a 13-yard touchdown run by Leshoure. Leshoure also scored the 2-point conversion to extend the lead to 24-0 and set the Illinois single-season scoring record.

Baylor finally found its offensive touch on its first possession of the second half. Griffin completed five of seven passes on that drive, which ended with a 4-yard touchdown run by Jay Finley to get the Bears within 24-7 with about eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The Illini held Finley in check for most of the night and Baylor's 1,000-yard rusher finished with 12 carries for 63 yards.

Illinois led 9-0 before a 5-yard touchdown run by Leshoure about 10 minutes before halftime stretched the lead to 16-0. That score was set up by a 52-yard reception by Ryan Lankford a play earlier.

Baylor was driving with about 3 1/2 minutes left in the first half when a pass by Griffin was intercepted by Terry Hawthorne. But the Bears got a second chance when Corey Liuget was penalized for roughing the passer, giving Baylor the ball back.

The Bears still came away empty though when Griffin fumbled a few plays later to give Illinois the ball back on its own 32.

Baylor's problems started early with Griffin fumbling on the first possession. Travon Bellamy recovered that fumble and returned it 46 yards. The Illini couldn't get anything going on that drive and settled for a 38-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead.

Illinois added a second field goal on their next drive to push the lead to 6-0 and a third field goal early in the second quarter made it 9-0.

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After missing out the past two seasons, Illinois is back in a bowl game.

The drought between bowl appearances has been much longer for Baylor.

With both schools in the midst of a resurgence, the Illini and Bears meet in the Texas Bowl in Houston on Dec. 29.

Baylor (7-5) clinched its first winning season since 1995 and earned a bowl bid for the first time since losing 10-3 to Washington State in the 1994 Alamo Bowl.

"It is exactly what we had to do or felt like we needed to do as a football team," coach Art Briles told Baylor's official website. "We needed to take a step in the progression of our program and we did that.

"It's been 16 years since we've been in a bowl game and our people are pumped, and rightfully so, because when you've looked on the outside for a long time and you finally get a chance to step in the door, it's a good feeling,"

It's been all or nothing in terms of bowl appearances of late for Illinois (6-6), making its first since losing 49-17 to sixth-ranked Southern California in the 2008 Rose Bowl.

The Illini have recorded eight losing seasons and played in two bowls -- both BCS games -- since beating Virginia 63-21 in the 1999 MicronPC.com Bowl in its last non-BCS bowl appearance.

"It's an opportunity for us to get back in the bowl business," coach Ron Zook said. "(Our players and staff) are looking forward to this opportunity."

With each led by a versatile young quarterback and dynamic running back, Baylor and Illinois have been able to lean on their respective potent offenses to overcome inconsistencies on defense.

"If you look at the teams statistically, and kind of what we've done throughout the last couple years, there are a lot of similarities," Zook said. "Probably going to be a lot of points thrown up on the board."

Opponents have averaged 24.3 points against an Illinois defense that allowed 67 points in a loss to Michigan and 38 while being upset by lowly Minnesota at home.

Averaging 32.6 points and ranked 12th nationally in total yards per game (478.5), Baylor has the potential to present another challenge for the Illini.

Bears quarterback Robert Griffin III ranks seventh in the country averaging 315.5 yards of total offense, but he threw one touchdown and three interceptions in three straight losses to No. 16 Oklahoma State, No. 18 Texas A&M and ninth-ranked Oklahoma to conclude the regular season.

Despite Griffin's recent lack of production, Zook is still concerned about the sophomore.

"We've played a couple pretty good quarterbacks; (Denard Robinson) at Michigan, (Terrelle Pryor) at Ohio State. I think (Griffin is) a little bit of a cross between the two," Zook said. "But he's a great player. There is no question, as he goes, I think they go."

Senior Jay Finley's 1,155 yards rank second on Baylor's single-season rushing list. He ran for 250 yards on 26 caries in a 47-42 home win over Kansas State on Oct. 23.

Kendall Wright's 66 receptions for a career-high 825 yards lead a group of four Bears receivers with at least 40 catches.

"It's going to be a great challenge," Zook said.

The same could be said for a Baylor defense that allowed more than 40 points six times in 2010.

Under the direction of first-year offensive coordinator Paul Petrino and led by All-American Mikel Leshoure, Illinois averages 32.1 points.

Leshoure may opt to leave early for the NFL after leading all Big Ten running backs with 1,513 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.

Leshoure, who ran for a school-record 330 yards on 33 carries in a 48-27 win over Northwestern at Wrigley Field on Nov. 20, ranks eighth in the country with 126.1 rushing yards per game.

Though Nathan Scheelhaase was 11 of 29 for 101 yards passing the last two games against Northwestern and Fresno State, the freshman rushed 43 times for 228 yards in those contests.

"They're a dangerous football team, very dangerous," Briles said. "It's a big concern from us."

Baylor won 34-19 at Illinois in the teams' only previous meeting during the 1976 season.