1994 Orange Bowl

The 1994 Orange Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1994. The game was the Bowl Coalition national championship game for the 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season. This 60th edition to the Orange Bowl featured the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and the Florida State Seminoles. Florida State came into the game 11–1 and ranked first in the nation. Nebraska came into the game undefeated at 11–0 and with a number 2 ranking. Despite their unbeaten record, the Huskers were underdogs by as much as 17½ points before the game.

Game summary

The first quarter of play featured great defense, as no points were scored, though Nebraska had an apparent touchdown on a punt return called back due to a clip. Subsequent video replays showed that no clip had occurred. Florida State's Scott Bentley provided the first points of the contest, after he kicked a 33-yard field goal to open up a 3–0 lead. Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier got the Huskers back on track, after he fired an errant pass that was tipped into the hands of wide receiver Reggie Baul. The touchdown gave Nebraska a 7–3 lead. With only 29 seconds left in the first half, Bentley drilled a 25-yard field goal to bring the Seminoles to 7–6, which was the halftime score.

With 12:30 left in the third quarter, Florida State's running back William Floyd gave the Seminoles a 12–7 lead when he scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, though replays showed that he fumble before crossing the goal line. Florida State went for two on the ensuing PAT, but failed, and the score remained 12–7. Later in the third, FSU added another Bentley field goal to increase the lead to eight.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips scored on a 12-yard touchdown run. The Huskers attempted a two-point conversion which would have tied the game, but failed, and trailed 15–13. The Huskers held the Seminoles and too over the ball late, driving to the FSU 10-yard line before stalling. Byron Bennett kicked a 27-yard field goal with just 1:18 remaining on the clock to give the Huskers a slim 16–15 lead.

Aided by a kickoff out of bounds, FSU took over with excellent field position at their own 35-yard line. FSU's Heisman trophy winning quarterback Charlie Ward drove the Seminoles all the way to the Nebraska 3-yard line. The Huskers held and forced Bentley to kick his fourth field goal of the night, which was good, and FSU led 18–16 with just 21 seconds remaining.

Florida State players and coaches went wild on the sidelines, and were penalized for excessive celebration, costing them 15 yards on the ensuing kickoff. As a result, the Huskers were able to get a decent return and began their final possession at their own 43-yard line.

As time ran down, Frazier hit tight end Trumane Bell for a 29-yard gain to the FSU 28-yard line. The clock ticked down to 0:00, setting off more chaos on the FSU sideline, complete with the compulsory Gatorade bath given to FSU coach Bobby Bowden.

However, referee John Soffey ruled that Bell was down with one second left on the clock, and ordered the field cleared, allowing Nebraska placekicker Byron Bennett an opportunity to kick the game winning field goal. But the 45-yard kick sailed wide left, preserving the 18–16 win for the Seminoles.

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

No Scoring

Second Quarter

FSU-Scott Bentley 34 yd field goal 7:54 FSU 3 Nebraska 0

Nebraska-Reggie Baul 34 yd td pass from Tommie Frazier (Byron Bennett kick) 5:59 Nebraska 7 FSU 3

FSU- Scott Bentley 25 yd field goal 0:29 Nebraska 7 FSU 6

Third Quarter

FSU-William Floyd 1 yd td run (2-pt pass failed) 12:50 FSU 12 Nebraska 7

FSU- Scott Bentley 39 yd field goal 3:06 FSU 15 Nebraska 7

Fourth Quarter

Nebraska-Lawrence Phillips 12 yd td run (2-pt run failed) 14:55 FSU 15 Nebraska 13

Nebraska-Byron Bennett 27 yd field goal 1:16 Nebraska 16 FSU 15

FSU-Scott Bentley 22 yd field goal 0:21 FSU 18 Nebraska 16

Aftermath

Florida State had finished the season number 1 in the nation to claim their first national championship, just ahead of the only team to beat them in 1993: Notre Dame. Notre Dame had lost on a last second field goal to #15 Boston College in their last home game of the season, just a week after they defeated the Seminoles. Boston College's triumph opened the door for Florida State to challenge undefeated Nebraska for the national crown. The win was Bowden's first championship, and left Nebraska coach Tom Osborne still searching for his first.

The Huskers had exceeded everyone's expectations by playing the highly favored Seminoles right to the wire, and used the loss as motivation for their 1994 campaign, which was entitled "Unfinished Business". During spring and fall practice prior to the 1994 season, the scoreboard at Nebraska's Memorial Stadium was set to show Nebraska leading Florida State 16–15 with 1:16 remaining on the clock, which was the last point at which Nebraska had taken the lead. Nebraska defeated Miami in the Orange Bowl to win the national championship.

Bowden continued to coach Florida State until the end of the 2009 season when he announced his retirement. He won a second national title in 1999, defeating Virginia Tech in the 2000 Sugar Bowl.

References

1993–94 NCAA football bowl game season

Las Vegas (Dec. 17) Aloha (Dec. 25) Liberty (Dec. 28) Copper (Dec. 29) Freedom (Dec. 30) Holiday (Dec. 30) Independence (Dec. 31) Alamo (Dec. 31) Peach (Dec. 31) Carquest (Jan. 1) Florida Citrus (Jan. 1) Rose (Jan. 1) Hall of Fame (Jan. 1)

Bowl Coalition games: John Hancock (Dec. 24) Gator (Dec. 31) Orange (Jan. 1) Sugar (Jan. 1) Fiesta (Jan. 1) Cotton (Jan. 1)

Orange Bowl Game

History & conference tie-ins	History Miami Orange Bowl Hard Rock 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 2016

Notes	The game was also the national title game for either the Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, or Bowl Championship Series in 1993, 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.

Florida State Seminoles bowl games

Pound sign (#) denotes national championship game.

Nebraska Cornhuskers bowl games

Pound sign (#) denotes national championship game.

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