UM 23 NEBRASKA 3 TUESDAY JANUARY 3 1989 rn THE MIAMI HERALD OU Walsh? Conley is the real VI j 42 yards of fancy moves The official line — Conley 42 pass from Walsh — doesn’t do justice to the electrifying run Leonard Conley made on the way to his second touchdown Conley catches pass from Walsh in front Conley eludes Hicks’ tackle but still has Rob Chudzinski blocks off Mike Croel - I T ?' " is m '“t H - ' i Conley leaves Tahaun Lewis (5) behind ifltlsii CANDACE BARBOT Miami Herald Staff of Lorenzo Hicks (8) CANDACE BARBOT Miami Herald Staff a long way to go CANDACE BARBOT Miami Herald Staff (88) as Conley zips past 1 - V v 7 " 'v' ' ' I' V I i tr v -1 -r ' P& v 'v- v-' CANOACE BaRBOT Miami Herald Staff and heads for the goal line ByGARYFERMAN Herald Sports Writer Quarterback Steve Walsh clutched the Orange Bowl’s Most Valuable Player Trophy Monday night a few feet from where running back Leonard Conley clutched a bottle of Andre pink champagne But the guy who quarterbacked the Hurricanes to a 23-3 victory over Nebraska and to within a two-point conversion of a second straight national championship knew that on this night he and Conley probably should exchange wares “I’m going to give this trophy to Leonard” said Walsh who said he will go home to Minnesota to ski for a week before deciding whether to return to UM for his senior season ‘‘He deserves it” The pint-sized sophomore running back from Tarpon Springs caught first-half Walsh touchdown passes of 22 and 42 yards which gave the Hurricanes all the points they would need on this night of defensive domination He finished with four catches for 94 yards and also ran 10 times for 40 yards “Thank God he is starting to look like a running back again” Hurricane backs coach Joe Brodsky said “I was starting to worry I thought I overcoached the kid “But he came in and had to take a lot of pressure this year He had some fumbling problems early that made him tentative But he did a damn good job of keeping his head up He is not an average football player” Conley’s first touchdown came with seven minutes left in the first quarter on a seam pass over the middle Conley caught the ball at the five and cradled it as he was slammed into the end zone Almost in a single motion he rose and Leonard Conley escapes a diving Brown to By DAN LEBATARD And GREG COTE Herald Sports Writers University of Miami wide receiver Andre Brown spent what should have been the final game of his collegiate career Monday night watching the Orange Bowl Classic in street clothes During warm-ups Brown was on the Miami sideline before leaving to watch elsewhere Suspended for unspecified reasons Dec 21 Brown offered no explanations Monday “I’m not saying anything” said Brown who was replaced in the starting lineup by Randal Hill “I have nothing to say I’m going to come out with it next week” Brown who said he was going to speak to the team before the game also met individually and briefly with each Hurricane receiver during warm-ups to exchange high fives and a few words Fewer media people Decreased presence of national media in Miami reflected the Orange Bowl’s secondary status to the Fiesta this year The Orange usually gets about 400 credential requests and received 475 a year ago when UM’s 20-14 victory over Oklahoma was for the undisputed title This year the figure was 360 and more than usual arrived just for the game Entering the game Nebraska was 5-5 in Orange Bowl Classics and UM 3-2 The Comhuskers played in their nation-leading 20th consec- Tm going to give this trophy to Leonard He deserves it Steve Walsh on Leonard Conley began to boogie "I knew 1 had to give it my all this game and start the year off right” Conley said “I was looking to do something special" That something special turned out to be his 42-yard touchdown reception with 5:49 left in the second period Conley caught the ball in the right flat and felt comerback Lorenzo Hicks closing in on him “So I gave him a move and went toward the sideline” Conley said “Then I started picking up blocks from Chud Rob Chudzinski Randal Hill and Dale Dawkins” “It was a play designed to get 10 or 12 yards” fullback Cleveland Gary said “But my man broke it He set the tone for next year” Walsh already was thinking toward next year too although he wasn’t ready definitively to say he will return to UM He wasn’t pleased with his MVP performance in the Orange Bowl He completed just 21 of 44 passes for 277 yards and was intercepted three times The sub-par performance was likely due to constant harassment from the Nebraska defense which threw a variety of blitzes at him “I have to take a lot of things into consideration and also take a look at what NFL teams are interested in me” Walsh Charles Fryar and Mike Croel to score the first touchdown reveal reason September 9 — At Wisconsin 16 — California : 23 — At Missouri 30 — At Michigan State October 7 — Cincinnati 14 — San Jose State 28 — At Florida State November 4 — East Carolina 11 — At Pittsburgh 18 — San Diego State 25 — Notre Dame utive bowl game and the Hurricanes in their sixth straight Nebraska led the all-time series 4-2 although the teams hadn’t met since the ’84 Orange Bowl While head coach at Oklahoma State Jimmy Johnson’s record against Osborne and Nebraska was 0-5 but nobody claimed any relevance “Jimmy’s got different players now” said Osborne Added UM Coach Johnson: “Thank goodness” said “The way I played tonight though I’m not sure any of them will be interested in me “I really would like to come back and win another national championship We came a bit short this year That is just something else I’ll have to consider" Tight end Chudzinski a favorite target for Walsh the entire season was busy again Monday Walsh found him five times for 81 yards including a clutch 20-yarder i over the middle at the Nebraska four in the ‘ second quarter to set up Carlos Huerta’s first of three field goals “They were giving us the underneath things and the middle” Chudzinski said of Nebraska “They were trying to confuse us by showing a lot of blitzes But I was? able to get open a few times “Our goal was to be No 1 this year and that is always going to be a disappoint- ment A lot of people out there think we’re the best team in the country We’ll try to dwell on the positive and come back next year and prove it” - Huerta’s three field goals from 18 37 and 37 yards capped a storybook season-that brought him from walk-on status to one of the most steady kickers in the coun- try He made 24 of 30 field-goal attempts this year - “I am honored to be on such a great football team” Huerta said "When you- can go out and play in the Orange Bowl and : know that if you play your game you will beat Nebraska it is just a great feeling “I want to rest My body hasn’t held up? as well as I would like My knees and an- kies hurt But I’m already anxious for next year Hopefully I’ll be along for that joj ride again” Associated Press Staying neutral How careful was the city of Miami to remain neutral in all aspects of the game?( John Routh the man inside the Ibis mas- cot costume wanted to borrow a small tractor from the stadium equipment room for use in one of his Cornhusker-lampoon-ing skits He was told no because that could be construed as an unfair edge OB stadium manager Max Cruz was among leaders of the impartiality police Cruz is a Nebraska alum true but that was mere ' coincidence The OB Classic wasn’t the season’s last game for five Hurricane seniors or Johnson all of whom are scheduled to participate in post-bowl all-star games Fullback Cleveland Gary and of- fensive tackle John O’Neill are scheduled to play in Saturday’s Hula Bowl Gary and Johnson are set for the Jan 15 East-West Shrine game And defensive end Bill Hawkins linebacker Rod Carter and comerback Bubba McDowell are scheduled for the Jan 1 5 Japan Bowl Funds for UM project Marc and Nick Buoniconti presented a $1 million check to the Miami Project to ' Cure Paralysis The donation represents proceeds from an October dinner in New York Billy Sims the 1978 Heisman Trophy winner and three-time Orange Bowl participant with Oklahoma predicted an easy UM victory (21-7) ‘
