1973
January 1, 1973 – Orange Bowl Stadium
Devaney Goes Out on Top
Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers closed out his collegiate career in style, scoring four touchdowns and passing for another as Nebraska became the first team to win three straight Orange Bowl titles by romping over Notre Dame, 40-6.
The game also was the last for Nebraska Head Coach Bob Devaney, as he closed out his illustrious 16-year coaching career with the best record in college football (136-30-7).
Devaney moved Rodgers to I-back from his usual wingback position, and on the game's first play, the senior took a pitchout for a big gainer and a sign of things to come. "Johnny R" capped his career by scoring on runs of 8, 4 and 5 yards. He also caught the Irish defense off guard by tossing a 52-yard halfback touchdown pass to Frosty Anderson in the second quarter. Rodgers scored the last of his record 50 Nebraska touchdowns on a 50-yard pass reception from quarterback David Humm in the third quarter and then sat out the rest of the game.
|
|
NEB |
ND |
|
First Downs |
30 |
13 |
|
Rushing Attempts |
64 |
44 |
|
Rushing Yards |
300 |
104 |
|
Passes Attempted |
26 |
23 |
|
Passes Completed |
17 |
9 |
|
Had Intercepted |
1 |
3 |
|
Passing Yards |
260 |
103 |
|
Total Offense |
560 |
207 |
|
Punts/Avg. |
4/38.3 |
6/37.2 |
|
Fumbles/Lost |
1/1 |
3/0 |
|
Penalties/Yards |
5/68 |
1/15 |
|
SCORE BY QUARTERS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nebraska |
7 |
13 |
20 |
0 |
- |
40 |
|
Notre Dame |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
- |
6 |
SCORING SUMMARY
NEB: Rodgers 8-yard run (Sanger kick); NEB: Dixon 1-yard run (Sanger kick); NEB: Anderson 52-yard pass from Rodgers (kick blocked); NEB: Rodgers 4-yard run (pass failed); NEB: Rodgers 5-yard run (Sanger kick); NEB: Rodgers 50-yard pass from Humm (Sanger kick); ND: Demmerle 5-yard pass from Clements (pass failed) MOP: Johnny Rodgers (Nebraska), Rich Glover (Nebraska)
Nebraska Head Coach: Bob Devaney
Notre Dame Head Coach: Ara Parseghian