The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 34

1 OHD SUNDAY JANUARY 2 1994 AUD THE MIAMI HERALD ORANGE BOWL FLORIDA STATE 18 NEBRASKA 16 new lma stymies high-scoring Noles 4 A 1 AtV Nebraska is 0-5 against Florida schools in the Orange Bowl Classic Yr Score FSU 18 Nebraska 16 FSU 27 Nebraska 14 Miami 22 Nebraska 0 Miami 23 Nebraska 3 Miami 3 1 Nebraska 30 94 ft By UNDA ROBERTSON Herald Sports Writer defensive players long maligned as plodding pork bellies matched the fleetest and most prolific offensive players stride for stride Saturday in the Federal Express Orange Bowl and they almost shut Florida State down FSU which averaged 437 points per game this season rarely got out of first gear in its 18-16 victory over Nebraska Nebraska held FSU which averaged 548 yards of offense this season to 333 yards defense broke down on final desperate drive with 76 seconds left when two costly penalties a late hit by comeback Barron Miles and pass interference on Toby Wright set up winning field goal was I going to do let him Wright said of his trip of receiver Kez McCorvey knew we gave it everything we had but it seems everything went against 1 1 5 yards in penalties made the difference Coach Tom Osborne said tired them out a little then we let them off the hook with the field he said averaged 30 yards per game in penalties Some of them killed defensive backs kept FSU quarterback Charlie Ward guessing as they glued themselves to his favorite receivers And Ward was harried into an unusual number of long throws by Nebraska tackles overextended themselves and Nebraska got in Ward said stubbornness on defense held FSU to one touch- down in a game FSU was picked to win by 17 points mixed it up on defense and pressured them a lot Osborne said Three times in the first two quarters offense drove inside the 13-yard line but had only two field goals to show for it lot of people put Nebraska Wnght said we changed some feelings We missed it by that he said holding his thumb and forefinger an inch apart In the first quarter Nebraska stalled an FSU drive that had advanced to the Scminoles 11-yard line when Trev Alberts and Terry Conncaly sacked Ward for a loss of 12 pushing FSU out of easy field-goal range Scott 47-yard kick was wide left In the second quarter FSU advanced to the 12 with help from a Nebraska pass interference penalty But on third down Ward find anybody open and threw long Bentley kicked a 34-yard field goal FSU had a prime opportunity to score its first touchdown after a roughing the passer penalty moved the Seminoles to the eight-yard line But on third and goal Ward ran to his right scanning in vain for an open man I i A 7 rV fa H0WTHE ABJOR25 FARED IN BOWLS yj Team Rec 1 Florida State 12-1 2 Nebraska 11-1 3 West Virginia 11-1 4 Notre Dame 11-1 5 Auburn 6 Tennessee 7 Texas ASM 8 Florida 9 Wisconsin 10 Miami 11 Ohio State 12 Carolina 13 Penn State 14 UCLA 15 Boston Cot 16 Arizona 17 Colorado 18 Alabama 19 Oklahoma 20 Kansas State 9-2-1 21 Indiana 8-4 22 Virginia Tech 9-3 23 Michigan 7-4 24 Clemson 9-3 25 Fresno State 8-4 25 Louisville 9-3 9-3 10-3 10-2 8-4 9-3 10-2 8-3-1 9-3-1 9-3 Result Beat Nebraska 18-16 Lost to Fla St 18-16 Lost to Florida 41-7 Beat Tex ASM 24-21 Not eligible 1 Lost to Penn St 31-13 Lost to Dame 24-21 Beat Virginia 41-7 10-1-1 Beat UCLA 21-16 Lost to Arizona 29-0 10-1-1 Beat BYU 28-21 Lost to Alabama 24-10 Beat Tennessee 31-13 Lost to Wise 21-16 Beat Virginia 31-13 Beat Miami 29-0 Beat Fresno SL 41-30 Beat Carolina 24-10 Beat Tex Tech 41-10 John Hancock Bowl Beat Wyoming 52-17 Copper Bowl Lost to Va Tech 45-20 Independence Bowl Beat Indiana 45-20 Independence Bowl Beat Caro SL 42-7 Hall of Fame Bowl Beat Kentucky 14-13 Peach Bowl Lost to Colo 41-30 Aloha Bowl Beat Michigan St 18-7 Liberty Bowl JOE RIMKUS JR Miami Herald Staff FROM THE TCP TO THE BOTTOM: Tommie Frazier walks off the field after Byron field goal try with one second left fell wide left no shame for Cornlinskers Osborne: We won with great football yard field goal to put the Huskers ahead 16-15 But a minute and five seconds later it was Scott Bentley of the Seminoles who kicked a 22-arder for the go-ahead score heard people say that winning a national championship would be a defining moment for Osborne said late last week tend to look at it as another football Winning a national champion By SUSAN MILLER DCGMAN Herald Sports Varner If Saturday's Federal Express Orange Bowl put Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne the hospital with heart palpitations he must have already stopped breathing Painful is too kind a word for what Osborne must have gone through when Byron Bennett missed an attempted 45-yard field goal wide left with no time remaining to give Florida State the victory and expected national title 18-16 far as concerned we said a flushed Osborne after the game on the scoreboard but with great football so proud ship9 main thing is not the Define this Loss loss loss loss loss loss loss the way the past seven bowl games have gone for Osborne and his Huskers record over 2 1 years at Nebraska is 206-46-3 including an 11-0 mark this season His winning percentage of 814 is the best among active NCAA Division I-A coaches but the past seven bowl attempts have defined him as a loser the clutch Nebraska has defeated a top-10 team just once in its last nine tries Saturday against the top-ranked team the Huskers did it or do it again jy 1 a nng not the championship The main thing is playing the way we plaved a strong fourth quarter team have been all year But we let them off the hook With 1 16 remaning in the game everyone in the crowd had to be believing that Osborne had his first national championship won whei Bennett kicked a 27- 1 ci v-vxsi vs' JOE RIMKUS JR Miami Herald Staff A RUN ON THE WIDE SIDE: Nebraska running back Calvin Jones gets the option pitch from quarterback Tommie Frazier TT sm -i r-.