Early in the third quarter of the 1995 Orange Bowl, undefeated and top-ranked Nebraska football trailed once-beaten and third-ranked Miami 17-7. The Hurricanes scored on a 44-yard Frank Costa touchdown pass less than 2 minutes into the second half.
Now rewind to halftime, the Nebraska locker room.
Coach Tom Osborne told the Huskers, trailing 10-7, if they continued their physical play, they would wear down Miami by the fourth quarter. And he told them they needed to keep their cool, to not respond to the Hurricanes, who would draw a critical penalty.
Just over 2 minutes after the touchdown, Miami had the ball back. On first down, the Hurricanes were flagged for an illegal block after which a Hurricane lineman shoved Husker defensive tackle Christian Peter. The most likely Husker to respond in such a situation? Peter.
But he didn’t. His hands remained down. Personal foul Miami.
The Hurricanes faced second down at their 4-yard line. Costa dropped back to pass and was sacked by outside linebacker Dwayne Harris for a safety.
Osborne’s comment about wearing down Miami was reflected late in the third quarter on the Hurricane sideline. Consensus All-America defensive tackle Warren Sapp was on a knee, helmet off, catching his breath.
The fourth quarter belonged to Nebraska, more specifically, the second half of the fourth quarter.
With 8:11 remaining, the Huskers took over first-and-10 at the Miami 40-yard line. I-back Lawrence Phillips ran 25 yards and fullback Cory Schlesinger ran 15 yards for a touchdown. Tommie Frazier passed to tight end Eric Alford for a two-point conversion to tie at 17 with 7:38 remaining.
Yes, Frazier, who hadn’t played since Sept. 24 against Pacific because of a blood-clot issue, started the Orange Bowl — because he had graded better than Brook Berringer in a full scrimmage Dec. 24 in Miami. Berringer would play, too, Osborne said.
Berringer took over in the second quarter and on Nebraska’s second possession, threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mark Gilman with 7:54 remaining in the half.
On Miami’s first drive of the fourth quarter, the ball was snapped over the punter’s head and Nebraska took over at the Hurricane 4-yard line. On first down, with no one open, Berringer tried to throw the ball away. Instead, a Hurricane intercepted it. So Frazier returned.
With 6:28 remaining, Nebraska took over at its 42-yard line. Seven plays later, including a 25-yard, third-down scramble by Frazier, Schlesinger ran 14 yards for his second touchdown with 2:46 remaining. Tom Sieler kicked the extra point. Nebraska 24, Miami 17.
The Hurricanes’ final possession included sacks by Harris and Terry Connealy — Troy Dumas also had an earlier sack. Rover Kareem Moss sealed the victory with an interception.
“Our approach going in was to be as physical offensively as we could be,” Osborne said. “We felt we couldn’t run all the time, but we thought we could wear them down. We felt by the fourth quarter, we accomplished some of what we tried to establish.”
Frazier saw it. “Our line started to drive them off the ball,” he said.
That was no small task. Miami, led by Sapp, the Lombardi and Nagurski Awards winner, ranked first nationally in total defense (220.9 yards per game) and scoring defense (10.8).
The Husker offensive line included consensus All-Americans tackle Zach Wiegert, the Outland Trophy winner, and guard Brenden Stai, who was moved from the right side to the left to block Sapp.
Sapp finished sixth in Heisman Trophy voting, Phillips eighth and Wiegert 10th.
Nebraska, which ranked first nationally in rushing, averaging 340 yards, rushed for 199 yards on 46 carries, 19 by Phillips for 96 yards. Schlesinger had 48 yards and the touchdowns on six carries.
Phillips finished the regular season third nationally in rushing, with 1,722 yards, behind Colorado’s Heisman Trophy-winner Rashaan Salaam, 2,055 yards, and Central Michigan’s Brian Pruitt, 1,890 yards.
The Huskers ranked fourth nationally in total defense, allowing 258.8 yards on average. Miami had 277 yards of offense, including 248 passing by Costa, on 18-of-35, with the interception.
The victory secured Osborne’s first national championship, which he appreciated. But national championships weren’t the reason he coached, Osborne said beforehand.
It was about the players.
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- Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson was a back-up defensive tackle for Miami, jersey 94.
- Miami had won 62 of its previous 63 home games in the Orange Bowl stadium. The Hurricanes hadn’t lost there at night since 1985.
- Penn State remained second in the rankings after defeating 12th-ranked Oregon 38-20 in the Orange Bowl. The Nittany Lions were 12-0. Colorado finished third, its only loss to Nebraska.
