Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 21

Huskers gear up for novly rated Longhorns ec -j Lincoln Journal Star Wednesday, January 3, 1996 Gordon take a We Winters Gators (out wedft 1. NU offense rolls up big numbers BY KEN HAMBLETON Lmcom Journal Star The offense of the 50s, the defense of the 90s and the team of the last half century? How else can anyone explain how No. 1 Nebraska steamrolled Florida 62-24 Tuesday night in the Fiesta Bowl and ran away with its second NU 62, Florida 24 hi? consecutive national college football championship. Florida was supposed to have the innovations on offense and the speed on defense. Nebraska seemed to make up plays on the spot.

The Huskers were the team with the fleet and brutal defense that once was the mark of Florida teams that had beaten Nebraska in bowl game after bowl game. "We'll take it," Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne said as he dripped and shivered after he was drenched in the celebration. "We thought that maybe they hadn't seen a defense mwmm F4 Florida 10 0 8 6 24 Nebraska 6 29 14 13 62 Fla FG Bart Edmiston 23 Neb Lawrence Phillips 16 pass from Tommie Frazier (kick failed) Fla Danny Wuerffel 1 un (Edmiston kick) Neb Phillips 42 run (Kris Brown kick) Neb Safety. Jamel Williams tackled Wuerffel in end zone Neb Ahman Green 1 run (Brown kick) Neb FG Brown 26 Neb Michael Booker 42 interception return (Brown kick) Neb FG Brown 24 Neb Frazier 35 run (Brown kick) Fla Ike Hilliard 35 pass from Wuerffel (Brown kick) Neb Frazier 75 run (Brown kick) Neb Phillips 1 5 run (kick failed) Neb Brook Berrmger 1 run (Ted Retz-laff kick) Fla Reidel Anthony 93 kickoff return (pass failed) A 79.864 Neb Fla First downs 27 15 Rushes-yards 68-524 21--28) Passing yards 105 297 Total yards 629 269 Passing 6-15-2 20-38-3 Return yards 102 -3 Punts 1-36 4-41 Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-1 Penalties-yards 4-30 9-78 Time of possession 24 43 Third-down conversions 8-17 4-12 Fourth-down conversions 2-3 1-2 More Fiesta Bowl coverage. 4, 5, 7C like ours and maybe they hadn't seen a running game like ours." Florida saw more than enough by the end of the first half.

"We were embarrassed because so many people were watching early and we could not make it a contest," Florida Coach Steve Spur-Tier said. "We've been on the good end of these scores and now we're on the bad end. "We just were not good enough." There might not be a better way to describe what Nebraska did to Florida and the long awaited, much anticpated, historically hyped game for the national college football championship. Nebraska, on offense, blasted the Gators for 524 yards of rushing and 105 yards of passing. Husker senior quarterback Tommie Frazier had the passing yards and gained a school record 199 rush- This team is Huskers' best of all The 1995 Huskers were the best team in the school's history.

With its 62-24 blowout victory over Florida in the Fiesta Bowl the team not only laid claim to the label, it sewed the "Best Ever" label right on its own back-to-back. Nebraska's 50s-style offense put the fun in the run call it the Run and Fun. Nebraska's "Star defense took the fun out of the "Fun and Gun" call it the Stunned Gun. If you wanted excitment. how about Lawrence Phillips' 42-yard run that gave Nebraska the lead for good at 13-10.

With five or six defenders ahead of him, Phillips juked outside and went inside, he juked inside and went outside and outran linebacker James Bates to the end zone. You want some fun, how about that weird play in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl logo when Frazier lined up in a three-point stance like a fullback. When I-back Ahman Green split off Frazier moved up to take the snap. You want more fun? How about Phillips attempting a pass to Reggie Baul. With Nebraska up 35-10 at the time it was amusing at how far off the mark the pass was.

Total domination If you want total domination, you have Tommie Frazier. He started setting Fiesta Bowl records at the start of the fourth quarter. Frazier now is the standard by which future Nebraska quarterbacks will be judged. Frazier had at least three runs which would make a mere mortal's highlight film for an entire.seasoa The third quarter run in which" Frazier ran out of the grasp of four different Gators and by three others who touched him was an incredible demonstration of will. He simply would not go down, and had the power to accelerate to the end zone.

Meanwhile the Husker defense left the Gators dazed. As it has all year the defense even got in on the scoring. First, Jamel Williams sacked Danny Wuerffel in the end zone for a safety. Later Michael Booker picked off a Danny Wuerffel pass intended for Ike Hilliard and ran it 42 yards for a touchdown that made it 32-10. This was a defense that was built to defend against teams from Florida.

The personnell was recruited for it. The scheme were designed for it. And it showed. No comparison When making comparisons, only two teams really deserve a look. That would be the 1971 Cornhusker team and the 1983 "Scoring The 1971 team has the most impressive credential, a repeat national championship.

But it pales in statistical comparison. Its offensive productivity was far less with a scoring average of 39.1 points per game and an average of 437.7 in total yardage. The 1983 Scoring Explosion is the only team that comes close to the 1995 Huskers. The knock against the 1983 team is that they never won the national title, despite setting several NCAA records, including most touchdowns at 89. The '95 Huskers also hold a significant defensive edge over the '83 team, allowing 74 fewer yards and two points per game less.

During the entire year the Huskers literally dominated almost all the time. They trailed only twice, once for eight minutes and 51 seconds against Washington State, and twice in the Fiesta Bowl for a total elapsed time of less than seven minutes, i During the regular season the average margin between NU and it's opponents was 38.8 points. Fans became so accustomed to blowouts that they would fret at, the slightest sign of incomplete mastery. When the poll votes are In Nebraska will do something that had not been done since Oklahoma did it in 1955-56 win consensus back-to-back national titles. Revel in the season, Celebrate ing yards.

"I think there's a place in college football for a running quarterback," Osborne said. "It doesn't mean there aren't other ways to do it, but we think option still has a place." Spurrier didn't argue the point. "A running quarterback, heck everybody who touched the ball made yards running on us tonight." Spurrier said. 3 -v ASSOCIATED PRESS Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne gets a celebratory dousing with water from seniors Phil Ellis (left), Aaron Graham and Tommie Frazier (1 5) as he walks off the field at the end of the game. More on NU, Page 5C Florida players, coaches impressed with NU BY KEN HAMBLETON Lincoln Journal Star 6 They prepared better than we did.

They played better, coached better and just clobbered us. Steve Spurrier, Florida coach 9 eight touchdowns and a whopping 629 yards of total offense. Not much came as a surprise, Florida standout defensive tackle David Barnard said. "Everything they did, we watched on films and we had seen it all," he said. "They just came out and played and we went out and played also, they just ended up being the best team.

Congratulations to them." Florida Coach Steve Spurrier was just as disconsolate. "They prepared better than we did. They played better, coached better and just clobbered us," he said. "If we're strong and come to the ballpark as ready to play as Nebraska, we'll have a better chance." Florida took the lead, lost it. regained it, and then saw Nebraska score 36 unanswered TEMPE, Ariz.

What you see is what you get was the only way Florida linebacker James Bates could explain the No. 2 Gators pounding at the hands of Nebraska. "Watching the team they played all year, that's all you saw, is exactly what you saw tonight," he said. "Give them credit. I guess they wanted it harder, wanted it more than we did and kept driving when we thought we had them down.

"We came in a great game and stunk it up," he said. Florida had allowed only 130 yards rushing and 315 yards total offense through a 12-game. Southeastern Conference championship season. But Nebraska ran all over the Gators for coverage, doing the bump like they said they would," he said. "We had some success throwing the ball.

They did a great job of putting pressure on us and that pressure disrupted us. They came at the right time and the right places. "We didn't have the right people there are the right times." points with a balance of offense and defense. "I hope this isn't the only memory we take out of this year," said Florida receiver Chris Doering. "It didn't finish out like we would have liked to." Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel agreed.

"They did a good job of playing their i TTi rnrri Phillips gives Florida the business fVJMhJMMi i BY STEVE SIPPLE Lincoln Journal Star Phillips also sparked Nebraska's second touchdown drive, a five-play, 71-yard march. He had runs of 7 and 9 yards before capping the drive with a 42-yard run in which at least five Florida defenders missed opportunities to tackle him. His touchdown which came on the second play of, the second quarter helped give Nebraska a 13-10 lead. Phillips tacked on a 15-yard touchdown run to help make it 55-18, "He's the best running back in college football, by far," Petct said. "He can run through you.

junip over you or go around you. He showed what he can i "Everyone knows the way things went he wont be around next year. NFL teams would be stupid not to take him in the first five picks." After the game, Phillips was asked whether he would return for his senior season. "I don't know yet," he said Phillips became the first Nebraska running back to top the 100-yard rushing mark in a bowl since Doug DuBose accomplished the feat in the Huskers' 28-10 win against Louisiana State in the 1985 Sugar Bowl. DuBose ran 20 times for 102 yards.

Phillips, who ran for 359 yards and seven touchdowns as a starter in Nebraska's first two games, was suspended for the next six games for an assault on an ex-girlfriend. Upon returning, he came off the bench and ran for 68 yards against Iowa State, 47 against Kansas and 73 against Oklahoma. Phillips, who sparkled in two postseason scrimmages, praised Florida's defense. "Their defense played well, but I think we wore them down," Phillips said. "They were doing well until the third quarter.

But I think they were tired of getting blocked and cut, and a lot of holes started opening up." Em) TEMPE, Ariz. Nebraska defensive lineman Jason Peter had an inkling about what was to come as he watched Lawrence Phillips getting taped up in the training room before the game. "I could tell right away Lawrence meant business tonight," Peter said. Peter was right, Phillips, a junior I-back from West Covina, got off to a fast start and finished with 165 yards on 25 carries in Nebraska's 62-24 victo-. ry against Florida Tuesday night in the Fiesta Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium.

Phillips rushed three times for 26 yards on Nebraska's opening possession and then caught a swing pass jfrom quarterback Tommie Frazier -'and rumbled 16 yards for the touchdpwa He leaped "Over Florida defender to get into Intend zone. the victory. You've seen the best 4 team mat Nebraska ever put on the field. IAN DOflEMU8Ajrwi Journ Star A Nil's Lawrence Phillips (1) struts into the end zone ahead of Florida linebacker James Bates (44) to complete a 42-yard touchdown run. a a- a 1 1..