Official recap
Despite a second-quarter rally, Nebraska was unable to overcome a 21-0 deficit as the Huskers fell to undefeated Georgia Tech, 45-21, in the Florida Citrus Bowl. The Yellow Jackets finished 11-0-1 with the victory and edged Colorado for the UPI national title, while the Buffaloes, who had beaten NU, 27-12, in November, claimed the AP crown.
Two freshmen gave Husker fans a ray of hope after Tech took its three-TD lead. All-Big Eight tight end Johnny Mitchell hauled in a 30-yard TD pass from Tom Haase, then I-back Derek Brown sprinted 50 yards to cut the margin to 21-14 with 5:07 left in the half. But that was as close as Nebraska would get, and runningback William Bell's two fourth-quarter TDs sealed the Huskers' fate.
Mitchell finished the game with five receptions for an NU bowl-record 138 yards, while Brown rushed for 99 yards, and Haase came off the bench to complete 14 of 21 passes for 209 yards and two TDs.
OWH STORY & PHOTOS
SERIES HISTORY | NU BOWLS
SEASON STATS | NU ROSTER
FINAL POLLS | HONORS
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Georgia Tech 45
Nebraska 21
Jan. 1, 1991
Orlando, FLNebraska 0 14 7 0 — 21
Georgia Tech 7 17 7 14 — 45
First Quarter
GT — Stefen Scotten 2 run (Scott Sisson
kick), 11:45 remaining.
Second Quarter
GT — Emmett Merchant 22 pass from Shawn Jones
(Sisson kick), 12:23.
GT — William Bell 2 pass from Jones (Sisson kick), 7:50.
NU — Johnny Mitchell 30 pass from Tom Haase
(Gregg Barrios kick), 6:21.
NU — Derek Brown 50 run (Barrios kick), 5:07.
GT — FG Sisson 37, 1:50.
Third Quarter
GT — Jones 1 run (Sisson kick), 5:33.
NU — William Washington 21 pass from Haase
(Barrios kick), 0:30.
Fourth Quarter
GT — Bell 6 run (Sisson kick), 9:43.
GT — Bell 57 run (Sisson kick), 7:43.
NU GT
First Downs .................... 14 19
Rushing........................ 6 9
Passing ....................... 6 10
Penalty ....................... 2 0
Net Yards Rushing.............. 126 190
Rushing Attempts ............. 40 44
Yards Gained Rushing......... 171 235
Yards Lost Rushing............ 45 45
Net Yards Passing ............. 209 277
Passes Attempted ............. 25 23
Passes Completed ............. 14 16
Had Intercepted................ 0 1
Total Net Yards ............... 335 467
Total Offensive Plays ........ 65 67
Avg. Gain Per Play .......... 5.2 7.0
Returns-Yards ................ 7-24 5-46
Fumbles-Fumbles Lost........... 3-2 2-1
Penalties-Yards Penalized .... 6-69 5-50
Interceptions-Yards ........... 1-5 0-0
Punts-Yards.................. 8-314 6-241
Avg. Per Punt .............. 39.2 40.2
Punt Returns-Yards ........... 6-19 5-46
Kickoff Returns-Yards........ 8-189 4-102
Possession Time.............. 28:30 31:30
Third-Down Conversions........ 1-13 4-12
Fourth-Down Conversions ....... 0-2 0-0
Sacked-Yards Lost............. 4-33 4-22
Rushing
NU No Net LP TD
D. Brown 11 99 50 1
Turner 2 21 12 0
Baldwin 8 21 7 0
Soto 3 6 5 0
Flowers 1 4 4 0
Grant 3 -2 7 0
Haase 12 -23 6 0
GT
Bell 16 127 57 2
Jones 11 41 46 1
Wright 8 19 10 0
Scotton 6 6 7 1
Edwards 2 5 5 0
Lester 1 -8 -8 0
Passing
NU Att Cp Int Yds LP TD Sks
Haase 21 14 0 209 35 2 3/22
Grant 4 0 0 0 0 0 1/11
GT
Jones 23 16 1 277 45 2 4/22
Receiving
NU No Yds LP TD
Mitchell 5 138 35 1
Turner 3 24 16 0
Soto 3 14 14 0
D. Brown 2 12 8 0
Washington 1 21 21 1
GT
Bell 4 53 30 1
Rodriguez 3 66 45 0
Merchant 3 43 22 1
Lester 1 39 39 0
Goolsby 1 27 27 0
Gilchrist 1 23 23 0
Rice 1 17 17 0
Covington 1 6 6 0
Wright 1 3 3 0
Punting
NU No Yds Avg LP
Stigge 8 314 39.2 51
GT
Gariety 5 212 42.4 47
Aldredge 1 29 29.0 29
Field Goals
NU — Barrios: 34-blkd
GT — Sisson: 37-miss, 37-made
Returns
NU PR KOR IR
Bostick 3/11
D. Brown 4/95
Hughes 1/11
Pickens 1/5
Turner 1/-3 4/94
Walker 1/0
GT
McGill 5/46
Tisdel 4/102
Nebraska Defensive Statistics
Tackles (UT-AT-TT): Croel 6-4-10, Cooper 5-3-8, Engelbert 6-1-7, Walker 5-1-6, Tyrance 3-1-4, Hill 2-2-4, Legette 2-2-4, Petko 2-2-4, Pickens 2-1-3, L. Anderson 1-2-3, Byrd 1-2-3, Mitchell 2-0-2, Alberts 1-1-2, M. Anderson 1-1-2, Brungardt 1-1-2, Achola 1-0-1, Leise 1-0-1, Penland 1-0-1, Sims 1-0-1, Thomas 1-0-1, Zacharias 1-0-1, Crippen 0-1-1, Edeal 0-1-1, Wendland 0-1-1, Wightman 0-1-1.
Tackles for loss (No.-Yds.): (includes sacks) Engelbert 4-21, Croel 2-7, Hill 2-6, Walker 2-6, Petko 1-5, L. Anderson 1-1.
Sacks (No.-Yds): Engelbert 1-8, Croel 1-5, Petko 1-5, Walker 1-4.
Fumbles caused: Cotton 1.
Fumbles recovered: Pickens 1, Walker 1.
Pass breakups: Legette 1, Pickens 1.
QB hurries-Int. caused: Walker 1-1.
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