Miami, Fla., Jan. 1, 1994--Nebraska entered its record-tying 25th consecutive bowl undefeated and ranked No. 2 by AP, but No. 1 in the USA Today/CNN Coaches poll and in the combined Bowl Coalition poll. Florida State held the AP No. 1 rank and were second by the coaches and Coalition. Although the Huskers were undefeated, they were tagged as a 17 1/2 point underdog.
After a punt return touchdown by Nebraska's Corey Dixon was called back for an illegal block, FSU scored first when freshman Scott Bentley hit on a 34-yard field goal. Nebraska took the lead when a tipped pass from quarterback Tommie Frazier found sophomore Reggie Baul for a 34-yard score. Bentley followed with a 25-yard field goal and the Huskers led 7-6 at the half. Nebraska's leading receiver on the season, Abdul Muhammad, and leading rusher, Calvin Jones, left the game with injuries and missed the second half. In the third period, Florida State scored on a 1-yard William Floyd run and followed with a 39-yard field goal by Bentley to take a 15-7 lead. True freshman Lawrence Phillips came in for the injured Jones, and on the first play of the fourth quarter scored on a 12-yard run.
Set up by Phillips' 17-yard scamper and Frazier's 32-yard sprint to the 4-yard line, Bennett appeared to have kicked the game-winning 27-yard field goal with 1:16 remaining. But with Nebraska up 16-15, FSU Heisman QB Charlie Ward orchestrated a successful drive from the FSU 35. On second down from the 5, Bentley kicked a 22-yard field goal with 21 seconds left to give FSU an 18-16 lead. With 15 seconds from the NU 43, Frazier hit TE Trumane Bell on the second try for a 29-yard gain and called time out with one second remaining. Bennett set up for a 45-yarder as officials cleared the field of those who thought the game was over, but his kick was wide left. Nebraska totaled 183 yards rushing to FSU's 47, out-yarded the Seminoles, 389-333, and held the nation's No. 1 offense to just one conversion on 12 third-down attempts. Frazier was Nebraska's MVP, matching Ward yard-for-yard with 283 total-offense yards.
1994 Orange Bowl
|
Teams |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
|
Nebraska |
0 |
7 |
0 |
9 |
16 |
|
Florida State |
0 |
6 |
9 |
3 |
18 |
|
Statistics |
NU |
FSU |
|
First Downs |
20 |
22 |
|
Rushing, Net |
183 |
47 |
|
Passes Att., Comp., Int. |
25-13-2 |
43-24-0 |
|
Passing, Net |
206 |
286 |
|
Total Offense |
389 |
333 |
Scoring Summary
Second Quarter
FSU--FG Scott Bentley, 34 7:54
NU--Reggie Baul 34 pass from Tommie Frazier (Byron Bennett kick),5:59
FSU--FG Bentley 25, :29
Third Quarter
FSU--William Floyd 1 run, (Charlie Ward pass incomplete), 12:50
FSU--FG Bentley 39, 3:06
Fourth Quarter
NU--Lawrence Phillips 12 run (Frazier run failed), 14:55
NU--FG Bennett 27, 1:16
FSU--FG Bentley 22, :21
