SAN ANTONIO -- It was an hour before Nebraska would take on Northwestern in Saturday night's Alamo Bowl, and Dominic Raiola, the Huskers' All-American center, was jogging past a group of jeering NU fans. Through all the days leading up to this night, Raiola and his teammates had said how disappointed they were to be here, how they thought they should be playing for the national title in Miami's Orange Bowl.

But now, the moment they had fallen to finally at hand, Raiola sent a different kind of message. He sent it by looking at those Wildcat fans and making a throat-slashing gesture. Two of them.

It was a crude but prophetic act, a rude but accurate indicator of what Raiola and his linemates would soon do to the Northwestern defense in the Cornhuskers' 66-17 romp, the most points ever scored in a bowl game. The beating Nebraska put on the Cats resembled the thrashing a true heavyweight would apply if he suddenly found himself in the ring with a pumped-up light-heavy.

Play after play, minute after minute, they battered away at the Northwestern underbelly, often creating holes that were big enough not only for that proverbial truck to drive through but also a Greyhound, a cement mixer and maybe half the cars in the Alamodome parking lot.

The Huskers were basic and they were brutal and they were ruthlessly efficient, and even as they ran away from the Cats they continued to pound away. Up 52-17 late in the third quarter, they called an option pass, and wingback Bobby Newcombe, a converted quarterback, threw it 69 yards for a touchdown to Matt Davison.

Up 59-17 early in the fourth quarter, they didn't pull their starters and drove to the Northwestern 8-yard line before stalling and missing a field goal.

They were operating with cold-blooded fury, like a team looking to finish ranked among the top five in the country. Coach Frank Solich had said that was one of their goals in this game, and they went after it by dominating the Cats as thoroughly as the Democrats dominate Chicago politics.

Their special teams set up one touchdown and continually gave the Huskers superb field position. Their defense disrupted the Cats' offense, never letting it find the rhythm it desperately needs to be efficient. All-American running back Damien Anderson managed 149 yards and a touchdown in 18 carries, which are impressive numbers. But 126 of those yards came on two carries, which means he gained only 23 yards in 16 tries.

And he was overshadowed by Nebraska I-back Dan Alexander, who ran for an Alamo Bowl-record 240 yards and scored three touchdowns.

Zak Kustok, the Wildcats quarterback who had been so magical this season, ran for 55 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Teddy Johnson while completing 15-of-35 for 138 yards, which are unimpressive numbers. But maniacal defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch and other Husker defenders were his constant companions, continually collapsing the Cats' offensive line and getting deep penetration.

All of that contributed to Northwestern's embarrassment, but the true culprit was the Huskers' offensive line, so overpowering "it shocked me," in the words of NU linebacker Kevin Bentley.

"Yeah, I would say it surprised me," NU coach Randy Walker acknowledged. "They came in like a team with something to prove and they proved it. They dominated us up front. We ended up 10th in the Big Ten [in defense] for a reason, so I'm not totally surprised. But I don't think we ever did anything to slow them down. They might have slowed themselves down, but we didn't."

The Huskers did slow themselves down when they strayed from their running game that led the nation in rushing and tried to get fancy with a pass or two. But when they pounded they were as punishing as a harsh winter.

Quarterback Eric Crouch rushed for 90 yards in 15 attempts, including a 50-yard TD run. Alexander amassed his 240 yards in just 20 carries. The Huskers had 384 rushing yards and 544 yards of total offense, posted 28 first downs to Northwestern's 14 and scored 31 points in the second quarter.

"Saying we're disappointed doesn't begin to express how we feel," Walker said. "We couldn't make any sustained effort to make this thing reasonable. We often say, `Let's make it a 15-round fight.' This wasn't a 15-round fight."