Seminoles outplayed, but win
Nebraska
MIAMI (A I’) —
deserved to win
'Hull's what Florida State coach
Bobby Bowden said. Comhuskers
coach Tom Oslxirne agreed.
But Bowden and his heavily
favored Seminoles escaped with
an 18-lfi victory in the Orange
Bowl, then won their first nation
al championship Sunday by a
lopsifled margin in the final rank
ings.
"We're very thankful we won
that game." Bowden said. "You
could say we could have lost
You could say we should have
lost."
Statistics suggest as much.
Nebraska had the bull more than
the Seminoles and outguined
them 3H9 yards to 333. On the
ground the margin was 183-47,
even though two-time l.lMiO-vard
rusher Calvin Jones of Nebraska
missed mom than half the game
with a shoulder injury.
Comhuskers quarlerbai k Tom
mie Frazier outplayed his Flori
da State counterpart. Heisman
Trophy winner Charlie Ward
Nebraska held the nation's high
est-scoring team to one touch
down - and it came on a con
troversial <all, one of several to
go against the Hunkers
"As far as I'm com erned. we
won." Osborne said
In fact, Nebraska lost because
of penalties and field goals
The Seminoles. only near
champions in 1991 and 1991!
because kii ks sailed wide right,
this time won by a foot Fresh
man Scott Bentley ku ked four
field goals, including a 22 v.irder
with 21 seconds left
After Frazier's 29-ynrd com
pletion to Trumnno Bell kept
ilusker hopes alive, senior Byron
Bennett hooked n 45-yard field
goal attempt wide left on the (ilia)
play.
"You wait all vour life for .1
chance to kick the winning field
goal, and it just didn't happen."
Bennett said. "I think mayixi God
lias something better for me 111
my life,"
Penalties kept 17-point favorite
Florida State in a position to pull
out the game at the end The
Cornhuskttrs were flagged 11
times for 115 yards, more than
twice their season average, and
the timing of several tails
couldn't have been worse for
Nebraska.
"1 was absolutely amazed bv
some of the officiating." Corn
buskers linebacker Truv Allierts
said. "I think it was the worst I've
ever neon."
Even Florida State's lone
touchdown was tainted Fullltack
William Floyd lost Ins grip on the
(till diving into the end zone and
Nebraska recovered, but officials
ruled the fumble occurred
beyond the goal line.
Among the pivotal penalties
was a clip negating a 71-vard
punt return by Co ray Dixon that
would have given Nebraska a 7
(I lead Replays failed to pinpoint
the infraction.
A third-down pass interference
penalty on John Reece sustained
Florida State's first st oring dri
ve Nebraska was penali/ini twit e
on the Seminoles' desperate final
possession, which began at the
Florida State 35-yard line with
7t> set onds left and the Hunkers
leading It)-15
After Warrick Dunn made a 21 -
yard reception, cornerbat k Bar
ron Miles hit him out of bounds
for a 15-yard penalty to Nehras
ka s IB Ward s next two passes
fell ini ompiote, but Toby Wright
prematurely tackled intended
receiver Re/ McGorvev on set -
ond down and was called for
mterferem e
That advanced the ball 15
yards to the 3. and Bentley s
game-winner tame two plays lat
er.
The scoreboard dock ran out
after Bell was tackled at the Hon
da State lift, and the Sominoies
dumped a Inn ket of ice water on
Bowden in celebration Players,
coat lies and fans swarmed the
field, hut officials ruled Nebras
ka called timeout with one sec
ond to go
That's oil the 1 iuskers needed
for a field goal attempt
"I said, 'Oh my God. they
robbed us. " Floyd said "I said.
'Dear laird, please don't let them
take the game from us like this '
1 guess the laird was n Serninoies
fan tonight '
When Bennett's kii k missed,
Bowden and his players again ran
onto the field in jubilation.
"I got to celebrate the win
twice,” said Bowden, who
extended to nine his NGAA
record for consecutive bowl vic
tories
Osborne, still looking for his
first national title, lost in a bowl
for the seventh consecutive year
Nebraska slip|ied to third behind
Notre Dame in the final rankings
"I'm glad Bobby Bowden got
his national championship,"
Osborne said. "I'm sorry we
didn't ”
Ward was pic ked as the game's
most valuable player and became
the first lleisman winner to play
for a national championship
sinc e Tony Dorset! in 1976.
FSU kicker finally on the mark
MIAMI (A!*) — Bobby Bow
dim brought Scott Bunt ley 2.000
miles for one reason: to kick
Florida State to a national cham
pionship.
When Bentley got his chance
Saturday night, the freshman
connected for o 22-yardor with
21 seconds remaining, giving
the Seminoles an 1B-1B victory
over Nebraska in the Orange
Bowl.
"I was just thinking about the
kick, not the history of any
thing." said Bentley, a freshman
from Aurora, ('olo. "It was in
the hack of my mind, that titles
had been lost by Florida State in
the past because of field goals,
but I had to worry about kicking
the ball straight "
Bentley, who had four field
goals against the Cornhuskers,
missed his first trv of the gome
from 47 yards
"It made me mod at myself,
because I'd been kicking so well
in the pregame,’' Bentley said "I
said to myself this game could
come down to anything."
The Seminoles' previous two
kickers — Gerry Thomas and
Dan Nlowrev had chances to
give Florida State national titles
the past two seasons, hut each
missed right with last-second
Held goal attempts against Mia
mi.
"Different personnel." Bent
ley said "You get a different
outcome."
Far ed with a tight angle from
right of the goalpost, holder
Danny Kanell assured his room
mate it was something they'd
rehearsed for all year
"We usually practice that kick,
every day alnml five or six times
from that exact same point,"
Kanell said "1 said. It's just like
always, the snap will he there
and the hold will lie there .' **
Haunted for years by a poor
kicking game. Bowden went to
Colorado where he lured Bent
ley to Florida Statu with the
promise of starting.
The 19-year-old was thought
to he headed for his father's
alma muter at Notre Dome until
Bowden sweetened the pot with
a guarantee he'd he Florida
State's kicker this season.
Bowden finally holds
national championship
MIAMI (API — Hobby
Bowden posed with a nation
al championship trophy Sun
day. joked with reporters and
said how grateful he was to
finally win it all. Lou Holtz
wasn't so happy.
"It's going to he nice that
people won't remind me
every day that we never won
a national championship."
Bowden said after Florida
State finished first in The
Assoi inted Press media and
USA Todny-CNN coaches'
college football polls.
"You know. He can't win
one. he can't win the big
one.'"
Bowden won the biggest
game of his career Saturday
night in the Orange Bowl, but
it was also one of the most
nerve-wracking. After taking
an 18-16 lend with 21 sec
onds left on a 22-vnrd field
goal by freshman Scott Bent
ley. Florida State had to
sweat out a 45-yard Held goal
attempt by Nebraska that
went wide left
We re very tnanklut vve
won that ballgame," Bowden
snid. “You could say vve
could have lost, you could
snv we should have lost. It's
amazing to win a national
championship with the way
that gome ended."
Holtz wasn't feeling very
thankful after Ins Notre Dame
team, which heat Texas A\M
2-4-21 in the Cotton Bovvl, fin
ished second in both polls.
Hi- thought the Fighting Irish
should have won the title
because they beat Florida
State 31-24 in South Bend on
Nov. 13, and both teams fin
ished the season with one
loss.
"The game obviously
didn't mean anything." Holtz,
said. "Everybody billed it as
the Game of the Century. I
guess it was the Game of the
Century only if the right team
won."
Holtz was upset that poll
voters didn't use the same
standard they did in 1989,
when Miami edged Notre
Dame for the championship
because the Hurricanes won
their head-to-head meeting in
the regular season.
"I did not think there was
any way we wouldn't win it.
not after what happened in
'89," he said. "1 hurt. 1 hurt as
bad us I've ever hurt for our
players.
Bowden, whoso teams fin
ished No 2 in 1987 and 1992,
said he sympathized with
Notre Dame, which lost its
regular-season finale to
Boston College 41-19.
"I’ve been there." he said.
"(Holtz) might have deserved
it more than when I was
there, but that's the way the
[Kill works."
Florida State is the first
team since Oklahoma in 1975
to win the national champi
onship after losing a game in
November. The Sooners lost
to Kansas 23-1 on Nov. 8. but
went on capture the champi
onship with a 14-6 Orange
Bowl win over Michigan.
Florida State easily won
the AP title, but the voting
was closer in the coaches'
poll.
I he heminotes 11 z-1wno
were No. 1 all season except
the week after the Notre
Dame loss, received 46 of 62
first-place votes and 1,532
points in the AP poll. Notre
Dame (11-1), which moved
up from No. 4. got 12 first
place votes and 1.478 points.
In the coaches' poll, Flori
da State topped Notre Dame
in first-place votes 36-25. No.
3 Nebraska got the other first.
Nebraska dropped one spot
to No. 3 in the AP poll. The
other four first-place votes
went to No. 4 Auburn (11-0),
the only undefeated team in
Division I-A. The Tigers,
coached by Bowden's son
Terry, were barred from post
season play.
West Virginia (11-1) fell
from No. 3 to No. 7 in the AP
poll following a 41-7 loss to
Florida in the Sugar Bowl.
The victory moved the Gators
(11-2) up three spots to No. 5.
Wisconsin (10-1-1) jumped
three notches to No. 6 with a
21-16 victory over UCLA in
the Rose Bowl. Rounding out
the Top 10 were Penn State
(10-2). Texas AtkM (10-2) and
Arizona (10-2).
Penn State climbed five
places after toppling Ten
nessee 31-13 in the Citrus
Bowl; Arizona rose six spots
after blanking Miami 20-0 in
the F'iesta Bowl.
Miami fell from No. 10 to
No. 15. ending a streak of 137
consecutive appearances in
the Top 10 that began in
1085
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