NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nebraska football team officially arrived in Nashville to kickoff bowl preparations on Monday afternoon.

To get you geared up for the week ahead, here are three things we know, two questions and one prediction going into bowl week for the Huskers.

1 - Nebraska was dealt one bad hand after another

Over the month of December, Nebraska has seemingly been dealt one bad hand after another. It started with quarterback Tommy Armstrong making his hamstring injury worse in the Huskers 40-10 loss to Iowa, this coming after he was named Big Ten player of the week against Minnesota two weeks earlier.

Then wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp suffered a non-contact knee injury in practice, which knocked him out for the bowl game.

The cherry on top for the Huskers this month was last Thursday's announcement that senior All-American safety Nate Gerry was academically ineligible for the bowl.

When you add Armstrong, Westerkamp and Gerry with not having punter Sam Foltz this entire season, NU will play the Music City Bowl without it's four most pre-season decorated players. That's not an ideal situation for any team.

2 - Major questions surround the running back position's health

The offensive line will be at it's healthiest state all season against Tennessee, but the question remains will their be healthy running backs to run behind them?

Both Terrell Newby and Tre Bryant are battling December bowl practice injuries, while the disappearance of Devine Ozigbo still remains one of the bigger mysteries of this season. Was Ozigbo truly hurt in November, or was their more to the story we don't know? None the less, the Huskers need a healthy Newby if they want to have a chance of beating Tennessee.

3 - Big changes appear to be in store for the future

The exciting thing about bowl practice is it's allowed us to get a better gauge of what this offense will be in the future.

Several different players and coaches have praised what they've seen from quarterback Tanner Lee not only this month, but really all season.

One outgoing player told me "I don't think you understand how good Lee is going to be in this offense." The same player also told me Lee "watched as much or more film" than any quarterback on the roster this year. He's got the physical tools and the mental discipline it takes to prepare from all accounts. The future of this offense no doubt looks exciting with the quarterback talent that will be available starting next season and beyond.

1 - Can this offense operate effectively without Armstrong and Westerkamp?

The biggest question for Nebraska this week in Nashville is can this offense operate effectively without Armstrong and Westerkamp?

We are going to learn a lot about both Danny Langsdorf and Mike Riley on how they can get a quarterback like Ryker Fyfe ready for a bowl game with 16 practices of work.

Senior wide receivers like Brandon Reilly are also going to have to step up and carry the load for this offense without Westerkamp.

2 - How motivated is Tennessee to play in this game?

All Tennessee had to do on Week 13 of the regular season is beat Vanderbilt and they would've been in the Sugar Bowl. Instead, they dropped a disappointing game to the Commodores in Nashville, and they were rewarded with another trip to Nashville instead of playing in the Sugar Bowl against Oklahoma.

You just have to wonder how much this game means to the Vols and how excited they will be playing a bowl game in their home state?

If history tells us anything, Riley knows how to get a team ready for a bowl game in December. Riley's 7-2 all-time in bowl games and won last year's game against UCLA in Santa Clara as a decisive double-digit underdog.

The Huskers once again find themselves the underdog this year, but Riley's practice approach this month will have the Huskers ready. 16 practices in 21 days total - 12 over 15 days in Lincoln.

NU will be focused and ready for this game, and I also think they will play pretty carefree and relaxed. The pressure is going to be more on Tennessee, being in their home state expected to win in front of a sellout crowd of 68,000.

Sean Callahan can be reached at sean@huskeronline.com and he can be heard each day at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall and each week he appears on NET's Big Red Wrap-Up Tuesday's at 7 pm.