The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 30

i-t iir tiy rt rl" V-V JV 'yy mRY 2 1995 VLD ORANGE BOWL '95 hopes ushers ifc W-'V-t 1 i- vt i --v -'C JOE RIMKUS JR Herald Staff CLOSING THE GAP: Nebraska defensive end Dwayne Harris sacks Frank Costa in the UM end zone for a safety to slice lead to 17-9 with 1 1:35 left in the third quarter I'y'W' vvtv rnm ill4 -y ir 1 1 i 1 I jfW i M-e 'j i Xv4 i w' CW GRIFFIN Herald Staff "A8 fo -XS FRAZIER ON THE RUN: Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier resorts to the run en route to gaining a total of 31 yards for the night Frazier is MVP after shaky start A 4-i DAVID BERGMAN Herald Staff STRAIGHT ON: Nebraska fullback Cory Schlesinger scores the run with 7:38 left cut lead to 17-15 The ensuing two-point first of his two fourth-quarter touchdowns This one on a 15-yard conversion tied the score OB becomes turf because of blood clots behind his right knee is no doubt we are national champions No doubt We beat Miami at numbers Sunday: Three for five passing with one interception for 25 yards He ran seven times for 31 yards the most important the 25-yard sprint with about five minutes remaining Brook Berrmger who took i over for Frazier at the beginn-ning of the second quarter and went out with 1159 remaining had these numbers: eight completions lin 15 attempts with one interception for an 81 -yard passing total including a 19-yard touchdown pass Berrmger lost four yards rushing on seven carries both contributed to this Berrmger said of Frazier and himself wanted this so By SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN Herald Sports Writer Tommie Frazier was right What mattered most to the University of Nebraska in FedEx Orange Bowl was who finished not who started And it was him Tommie Frazier Orange Bowl MVP and fourth-quarter redeemer in 24-17 victory and first national championship since 1971 With one fourth-quarter two-point conversion toss to tight end Eric Alford who cut left to right into the end zone and a 25-yard weave down the middle to set up a 14-yard touchdown run by fullback Cory Schlesinger wnth 2:46 left Frazier deftly turned around a not-so-memora-ble start is life and there is athletics But this is the highest ever reached said Frazier a junior who sat out the final eight regular-season games Stai gasped something remarkable hard to explain My class is going to go down in Said Cory Schlesinger who scored the final two touchdowns: is great to come back here to win it here amazing Meanwhile Peter was 'jumping on Wilks players were flipping used equipment into the stands to the delirious faithful and every Nebraska player with dirty jerseys and pants was being assaulted by a frantic media corps got the monkey off our Peter shouted got Miami Miami case Nebraska players fans celebrate together years for the Comhuskers decided to share the moment They marched back out of their locker room and joined their fans who have seen them lose seven consecutive bowl games and get beaten the previous three times they had played the University of Miami the Orange Bowl all decided to come back on the field because traveled really far to watch us play and have always stuck with right guard Brenden Stai said By DAVID NEAL Herald Sports Writer Nebraska defensive tackle Christian Peter kicked at one spot of the Orange Bowl turf furiously Again and again he kicked at the growing divot as cameras clicked and fans howled Finally the tuft of turf was big enough for Peter to scoop up and slam on top of his head as teammate Joel Wilks shouted that in your It was appropriate because at that moment the northwest comer of the Orange Bowl was a little part of Nebraska Minutes after they had secured the national championship they had waited 23 Osborne earns his due: champion sailing over the head of Miami punter Dane Prewitt A two-point conversion that get caught by Nebraska tight end Eric Alford as much as it stuck to his chest A pass for Miami wide receiver Taj Johnson breaking free 20 yards behind the defense flying over his hands instead So when Sunday was done the scoreboard lights did not lie They said Osborne was a winner finally It was a touch redundant known that all along the field and life He has been running three miles a day for three decades around the same Nebraska track The critics before Sunday said it was a metaphor for his career Always running but going nowhere But he remains one of college last good guys standing above a sport that now has more to do with sneaker scandals than pep rallies He dnnk smoke says nothing spicier than dadgummit He is a Sunday school teacher who has campaigned against pornog raphy a vegetarian who weighs the same 1 93 pounds he weighed in college He is saddened because he has been home for only one Christmas the past 22 years which might explain why he sat alone a 1000-seat ballroom a few years ago humming Christmas carols to himself win a national championship got to have a little friend Joe Patemo Penn State coach said earlier this year Tom has had no luck at He had some Sunday: A snap LE BATARD FROM ID behind them past UM Coach Dennis Erickson who already was so wired that his shirt was disheveled and his baseball cap was crooked When fullback Cory Schlesinger scored the winning touchdown with 246 remaining Osborne did not celebrate He turned around and pushed his frolicking players back somehow keeping control amid chaos He is pretty constant that way on I i A.