1995 Orange Bowl

The 1995 Orange Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1995 between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Miami Hurricanes. It was the 61st edition of the Orange Bowl and the national championship game for the 1994 season. Nebraska came into the game with a 12-0 record and no. 1 AP ranking, whereas Miami was 10-1 and ranked no. 3. The game was a rematch of the historic 1984 Orange Bowl.

Although the Bowl Coalition's National Championship Game, it was a match-up of the no. 1 and no. 3 teams in the country, as no. 2 Penn State was obligated to play in the Rose Bowl as the Big Ten champion. The Nittany Lions, like the Cornhuskers, were undefeated, which led to much controversy after both teams emerged from their bowl games victorious but only Nebraska was crowned national champions. It was not until the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was formed in 1998 that the Big Ten and Pac-10 would allow their champions to compete in national championship games outside the Rose Bowl.

Game summary

Miami placekicker Dane Prewitt scored the first points of the game with a 44-yard field goal to open up a 3-0 Miami lead. Miami quarterback Frank Costa fired a 35-yard touchdown pass to Trent Jones for a 10-0 Miami lead. Nebraska quarterback Brook Berringer threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mark Gilman before halftime, to close the deficit to 10-7. In the third quarter, Costa threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Harris, to open a 17-7 third-quarter lead.

Nebraska outside linebacker Dwayne Harris sacked Costa in the end zone for a safety before the end of the third quarter, and Miami led 17–9. Fullback Cory Schlesinger scored on a 15-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to trim the lead to 17-15. Tommie Frazier then found tight end Eric Alford in the back of the end zone to tie the game at 17. A 14-yard touchdown run by Schlesinger gave Nebraska a 24–17 lead, and the defense held on to win the national championship.

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

Miami-Dane Prewitt 44 yd field goal 7:54 UM 3 Nebraska 0

Miami-Trent Jones 35 yd td pass from Frank Costa (Dane Prewitt kick) 0:04 UM 10 Nebraska 0

Second Quarter

Nebraska-Mark Gilman 19 yard td pass from Brook Berringer (Tom Sieler kick) 7:54 UM 10 Nebraska 7

Third Quarter

Miami-Jonathan Harris 44 yd td pass from Frank Costa (Dane Prewitt kick) 13:19 UM 17 Nebraska 7

Nebraska-Team Safety 11:35 UM 17 Nebraska 9

Fourth Quarter

Nebraska-Cory Schlesinger 15 yard td run (Eric Alford 2-pt reception) 7:38 Tied 17-17

Nebraska-Cory Schlesinger 14 yd td run (Tom Sieler kick) 2:46 Nebraska 24 UM 17

Aftermath

Nebraska finished the season with a 13–0 record, and won the national championship (Tom Osborne's first title as a head coach and third overall). Miami finished the season ranked 6th with a 10-2 record . It was Nebraska's first bowl win since the 1987 Sugar Bowl.

Less than two weeks after the game, Dennis Erickson departed the Hurricanes to take the head coaching position with the National Football League's Seattle Seahawks. Miami hired Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Butch Davis as Erickson's successor.

References

External links

• Game Summary