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NU makes
second title
look easy
By Mitch Sherman
Senior Editor
TEMPE, Ariz. — The Nebraska
football team needed all of about one
hour to make those who predicted that
Florida would win
the national title
look like fools.
Playing before a
Fiesta Bowl- and
Sun Devil Sta
dium-record
crowd of 79,864
fans, No. 1 Ne
braska turned the
Osborne natral champi
onship game into
a farce, routing the second-ranked
Gators 62-24.
The 12-0 Cornhuskers rolled into
Tempe on a mission. Florida was un
lucky enough to get in the way.
In claiming its second straight na
tional titleand fourth championship in
school history, Nebraska grabbed 12
1 Florida by the neck early and never
let go, leaving only one question un
answered.
Would any team, from any year
have been able to beat the 1995 Husk'
ers?
Billed for nearly a month as the
game of the decade, the 25th Fiesta
Bowl turned into another routine
thrashing for Nebraska, which Firmly
claimed its spot in history as one of
college football’s all-time most domi
nant teams.
Nebraska became the First squad in
39 years to capture back-to-back con
sensus national titles and the First team
ever to win 3 6 games over a three-year
period.
More than 50,000 Nebraska fans
invaded Central Arizona, prompting
more than one member of the local
media to remark that never before had
as much red been worn in Sun Devil
Stadium, home of the NFL’s Arizona
Cardinals.
Other than two missed extra points
and a blown coverage on a meaning
less fourth quarter kickoff return, the
Huskers executed to near perfection.
Nebraska amassed 629 yards of
total offense, including 524 yards rush
ing, and broke school records for yards
rushing, total yards and points scored
in a bowl game.
Florida’s Fun ‘n’ Gun offense,
which trounced its First 12 opponents
this season, crumbled at the feet of
Nebraska’s Blackshirts. After leading
3-0 and 10-6 in the First quarter, the
Gators were held to a season-low 269
yards and could not withstand the heat
. of the H uskers ’ pass rush.
Nebraska sacked Florida quarter
back Danny Wuerffel seven timesand
held the Gators to minus-28 yards
rushing.
“I really didn’t think it would be
any kind of a blowout,” Nebraska
coach Tom Osborne said. “I thought it
would go down to the wire; maybe we
could win by a couple touchdowns.
It’s just one of those nights. We play
another night, maybe they win.”
I-back Lawrence Phillips, who ran
for 165 yards, and quarterback
Tommie Frazier, who rushed for a
career-best 199 yards on 16 carries,
both topped Mike Rozier’s school
bowl record for rushing yards.
Travis Heying/DN
Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier scores on a 35-yard run to give Nebraska a 42-10 lead over Florida in the third quarter of the
Fiesta Bowl. Frazier ran for a career-high 199 yards on 16 attempts.
Frazier, whose two touchdowns on
the ground included a career:long 75
yard run, also threw for 105 yards and
two scores, earning his third straight
bowl game most valuable player
award.
During the first two quarters, Ne
braska scored on live straight and six
of seven possessions and did not punt,
jumping to a 35-10 halftime lead. In
the first half alone, Nebraska held the
Gators to minus-13 yards rushing,
sacked Wuerffcl five times, averaged
7.2 yards a carry and outscored the
Gators 29-0 in the second quarter.
But in the clash pitting two of the
nation’s most explosive offenses, it
was the Husker de fense that swung the
momentum clearly in Nebraska’s fa
vor midway through the first half.
Leading 13-10 early in the second
quarter after a Phillips 42-yard touch
down scamper, the Huskers pinned
Florida deep in its own territory. A
holding call and a false start left the
Gators facing a first-down-and-28 at
their own 4-yard line.
Wuerffel was hammered by blitz
ing Husker linebacker Terrell Farley
in the end zone. But the junior Hcisman
Trophy finalist fell forward to the 1
yard line to escape a safety. On die
next play, Jamel Williams blitzed
“He couldn’t take the pressure that we were giving
him. You could see it in his eyes, the way he was
looking at us. ”
TERRELL FARLEY
Nebraska linebacker
WuerlTel, sacking him seven yards
deep in the end zone, giving Nebraska
a 15-10 lead with 12:42 to play before
halftime.
“We got into his head just like we
have got into everybody else’s head,”
All-American outside linebacker Jared
Tomich said. “They underestimated
our defensive line. We did the same
thing we have done all year. We just
took control.”
Farley, who led Nebraska wi th eight
tackles and two sacks, said Wuerfiel
turned into a different quarterback
after the pressure began to mount.
“He couldn’t take the pressure that
we were giving him,” Farley said.
“You could see it in his eyes, the way
he was looking at us.”
Nebraska marched 54 yards in
seven plays after the safety, scoring
on a 1-yard plunge by Ahman Green
to take a 22-10 lead. At that point, the
Huskers — whose first touchdown
came on a 16-yard crossfield pass
from Frazier to Phillips—had scored
22 points on 21 offensive plays.
A 26-yard Kris Brown field goal
put Nebraska on top 25-10, and on the
ensuing possession, cornerback
Michael Booker returned an intercep
tion 42 yards for a touchdown to give
Nebraska a commanding 32-10 lead
with 2:40 remaining until halftime.
Brown added a 24-yard field goal in
the closing seconds of the half to put
the Huskers up 35-10.
“We just stuck to our game plan,
and we didn’t change anything,”
Phillips said after his first start in
nearly four months. The 6-foot, 220
pound junior declined to say after the
game if he would turn professional
and forego his senior season.
“I knew that we were going to run
the ball a lot and wear them down, and
that’s what we did.”
Frazier was intercepted in the end
zone by Anthone Lott on the Huskers’
first possession oflhe second half, but
after an Eric Stokes’ interception of
Wucrffel, Frazier scored on a 35-yard
run to put Nebraska on top 42-10.
“If you go out there and defend
your title,” Frazier said, “that makes it
more special. There haven’t been too
many teams that have been able to win
back-to-back titles.”
WueriTcl hit Ike Hilliard for a 35
yard touchdown strike with 52 sec
onds to play in the third quarter. By
that time, however, the destruction
was nearly complete. Less than a
minute had passed before Frazier took
off again — this time for a 75-yard
gallop, during which he ran through
more than half of the Gator defense
and was nearly dragged to a stop at
one point.
“This points out that there is still a
place in college football for a running
quarterback,” Osborne said.
Phillips and Brook Berringer added
scoring runs in the fourth quarter, and
Florida wide receiver Reidel Anthony
returned a kickoff 93 yards, putting a
merciful end to the romp.
“They clobbered us on both sides
Of the ball,” Florida coach Steve
Spurrier said. “They were definitely
30 or 40 points better than us. They
had better coaches, better players, and
that’s all you can say about it.”