1995 Orange Bowl

The 1995 Orange Bowl was a college football bowl game was played on January 1, 1995. The game was the Bowl Coalition national championship game for the 1994 season. This 61st edition to the Orange Bowl featured the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and the Miami Hurricanes. Nebraska came into the game with a 12-0 and #1 AP ranking, whereas Miami came into the game with a 10-1 record and #3 AP ranking. The game was a rematch of the classic 1984 matchup.

Although designated as that year's National Championship game by the Bowl Coalition, it was a match up of the #1 and #3 teams in the polls, as the #2 ranked and undefeated Penn State was bound to play in the Rose Bowl, potentially complicating who would actually be crowned national champions following the bowls. It was not until the 1998 season and the formation of the BCS that the Big Ten and Pac-10 would allow their champions to compete in National Championship games outside of the Rose Bowl.

Game Summary

Miami placekicker Dane Prewitt scored the first points of the game with a 44-yard field goal to open up a 3-0 Miami lead. Miami quarterback Frank Costa fired a 35-yard touchdown pass to Trent Jones for a 10-0 Miami lead. Nebraska quarterback Brook Berringer fired a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mark Gilman before halftime, to close the deficit to 10-7. In the third quarter, Frank Costa threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Harris, to open a 17-7 third quarter lead.

Nebraska outside linebacker Dwayne Harris sacked Miami quarterback Frank Costa in the end zone for a safety before the end of the third quarter, and Miami only led 17-9. Fullback Cory Schlesinger scored on a 15-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to trim the lead to 17-15. Tommie Frazier then found tight end Eric Alford in the back of the end zone to tie the game at 17. A 14-yard touchdown run by Schlesinger gave Nebraska a 24-17 lead, and the defense held on to win the national championship.

Aftermath

Nebraska finished the season with a 13-0 record, and won the national championship (Coach Tom Osborne's first). Miami finished the season ranked 6th with a 10-2 record . It was Nebraska's first bowl win since the 1987 Sugar Bowl.

Less than two weeks after the game, Dennis Erickson departed the Hurricanes to take the head coaching position with the National Football League's Seattle Seahawks. Miami hired Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Butch Davis as Erickson's successor.

External links

1994–95 NCAA football bowl game season

Las Vegas (Dec. 15) Aloha (Dec. 25) Freedom (Dec. 27) Independence (Dec. 28) Copper (Dec. 29) Holiday (Dec. 30) Liberty (Dec. 31) Alamo (Dec. 31) Carquest (Jan. 2) Hall of Fame (Jan. 2) Peach (Jan. 1) Florida Citrus (Jan. 2) Rose (Jan. 2)

Bowl Coalition games: Sun (Dec. 30) Gator (Dec. 30) Orange (Jan. 1) Sugar (Jan. 2) Fiesta (Jan. 2) Cotton (Jan. 2)

Orange Bowl Game

History & tie-ins	History Miami Orange Bowl Sun Life Stadium College Football Playoff Broadcasters Atlantic Coast Conference Big Ten Conference Southeastern Conference Notre Dame

Games	1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2014 2015

Notes	The game was also the national title game for either the Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, or Bowl Championship Series in 1994, 1995, 1998, 2001, and 2005. There was an Orange Bowl in January and December in 1996 and 2014. The game was a semifinal for the College Football Playoff in its 2015 edition.

Miami Hurricanes bowl games

Pound sign (#) denotes national championship game.

Nebraska Cornhuskers bowl games

Pound sign (#) denotes national championship game.

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