Year-by-Year: 1995

Osborne Wins First Title

Nebraska  24
Miami       17

Two fourth-quarter touchdowns helped No. 1 Nebraska overcome a 17-9 deficit, giving Coach Tom Osborne a 24-17 win over the University of Miami and his first national championship as a head coach.

The game began for Nebraska like most Osborne-led experiences in the Orange Bowl. Miami took the opening kickoff 32 yards in 10 plays and a 44-yard Dane Prewitt field goal made it 3-0. The Huskers drove to the Miami 41, but quarterback Tommie Frazier, who had sat out most of the season, was intercepted.

The 'Canes pushed it to 10-0 after three Frank Costa passes moved the third-ranked Hurricanes down the field, culminating in a Costa-to-Trent Jones 35-yard touchdown play.

Brook Berringer, who led Nebraska to an 11-0 regular season record, replaced Frazier. The senior hooked up with tight end Mark Gilman on a 19-yard TD pass play that made it 10-7 at the intermission.

Osborne called upon the well-rested Frazier to spark the Huskers. On his second series back, Frazier pitched to sophomore I-Back Lawrence Phillips, who galloped 25 yards to the Miami 15. On the next play, fullback Cory Schlesinger bolted up the middle on a trap play for the 15-yard touchdown. Frazier hit tight end Eric Alford with the two-point conversion that tied the game at 17.

The Huskers out-rushed the Hurricanes, 199 to 29, and had a slight edge in total offense, 305 to 277. Phillips rushed for 96 yards, but it was Frazier who was named MVP. Despite completing just three of five passes for 25 yards and rushing for 31 yards, it was the seniors’ fourth-quarter spark that led to the Husker win.

GAME STATISTICS

                             Nebraska         Miami, Fla.

First Downs                  20                  14

Rushing Attempts          46                  28

Rushing Yards              199                 29

Passes Attempted          20                 35

Passes Completed          11                 18

Had Intercepted             2                   1

Passing Yards               106               248

Total Offense               305               277

Punting/Avg.              7/41.1            7/39.7

Fumbles/Lost                2/1               2/0

Penalties/Yards            3/20             11/32  

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Nebraska         0          7          2          15        20

Miami, Fla.       10        0          7          0          17

SCORING SUMMARY

UM: Prewitt  44 FG; UM: Jones 35-yard pass from Costa (Prewitt kick); NEB: Gilman 19-yard pass from Berringer (Sieler kick); UM: Harris 44-yard pass from Costa (Prewitt kick); NEB: Harris tackles Costa in endzone for safety; NEB: Schlesinger 15-yard run (Alford pass from Frazier); NEB: Schlesinger 14-yard run (Sieler kick)...MVPs: Tommie Frazier (Nebraska) and Chris T. Jones (Miami, Fla.)

Nebraska Head Coach Tom Osborne

Miami, Fla. Head Coach Dennis Erickson