Year-by-Year: 1997
November 24, 1997 10:00 AM
OB Game Moves to Pro Player
Nebraska 41
Virginia Tech 21
The 63rd annual FedEx Orange Bowl, played for the first time in its new home of Pro Player Stadium, saw the Nebraska Cornhuskers defeat the Hokies of Virginia Tech, 41-21, on New Year’s Eve.
The tenth-ranked Hokies jumped out to an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to a 19-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Jim Druckenmiller to Marcus Parker. However, it was short lived, as the No. 6 Huskers posted a 17-point second quarter and a 14-point third quarter on their way to their third consecutive bowl victory.
The Cornhuskers would score the final 17 points of the game. They answered with 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter to increase their lead back to 10 on Benning’s 6-yard touchdown run. Benning, Nebraska’s game MVP finished with 95 yards rushing on 15 carries.
GAME STATISTICS
  Nebraska Virginia Tech
First Downs 25 22
Rushing Attempts 49 39
Rushing Yards 288 193
Passes Attempted 22 33
Passes Completed 11 16
Had Intercepted 0 0
Passing Yards 136 214
Total Offense 415 407
Punting/Avg. 2/44.5 5/34.2
Fumbles/Lost 1/0 1/1
Penalties/Yards 3/16 5/89
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Nebraska 0 17 14 10 48
Virginia Tech 7 7 7 0 21
SCORING SUMMARY
VT: Parker 19 pass from Druckenmiller (Graham kick); NU: Brown 25 FG; NU: Frost 5 run (Brown kick); NU: Peter 31 fumble recovery (Brown kick); VT: Scales 6 pass from Druckenmiller (Graham kick); NU: Benning 33 run (Brown kick); VT: White 33 pass from Druckenmiller (Graham kick); NU: Benning 6 run (Brown kick); NU: Brown 37 FG; NU: Frost 22 run (Brown kick)...MVPs: Ken Oxendine (Virginia Tech RB) and Damon Benning (Nebraska RB)
Nebraska Head Tom Osborne
Virginia Tech Head Coach Frank Beamer