First Quarter
NU: Keith Jones 3 run (Chris Drennan kick) 9:31
NU: Dana Brinson 52 punt return (Drennan kick) 1:15
Second Quarter
FS: Herb Gainer 10 pass from Danny McManus
(Derek Schmidt kick) 10:30
FS: Dayne Williams 4 run (Schmidt kick) 4:48
FS: Gainer 25 pass from McManus (Schmidt kick) 0:44
Third Quarter
NU: Steve Taylor 2 run (Drennan kick) 11:41
FS: FG Schmidt 32, 7:49
NU: Tyreese Knox 4 run (Drennan kick) 0:40
Fourth Quarter
FS: Ronald Lewis 15 pass from McManus (Schmidt kick) 3:07
A-72,112
FSUNEB
First downs ............ 26 20
Rushes-yards ........ 29-82 54-242
Passing yards ......... 375 142
Comp-Att-Int .... 28-51-1 7-14-1
Total Offense ...... 80-457 68-384
Sacks by .............. 0-0 1-7
Punts-Average ...... 4-29.5 4-35.5
Punt Return Yards ...... 12 89
Interceptions-Yds ..... 1-3 1-35
Fumbles-lost .......... 2-1 4-2
Penalties-yards ...... 2-20 9-78
Possession time ..... 31:07 28:53
Third-down conv. ..... 9/17 4/11
Fourth-down conv. ..... 2/2 1/1
RUSHING
FSU: Sammie Smith 9-28, Danny McManus 5-26, Edgar Bennett 7-16, Dayne Williams 3-5, Dexter Carter 4-4, Marion Butts 1-3.
NEB: Keith Jones 15-80, Steve Taylor 20-75, Tyreese Knox 13-62, Dana Brinson 2-16, Micah Heibel 3-7, Bryan Carpenter 1-2.
PASSING
FSU: Danny McManus 28-51-1-375.
NEB: Steve Taylor 7-14-1-142.
RECEIVING
FSU: Herb Gainer 5-89, Pat Carter 5-54, Carter 4-89, Ronald Lewis 4-59, Edgar Bennett 4-47, Terry Anthony 2-29, Lawrence Dawsey 1-17, Sammie Smith 1-5, Dayne Williams 1-(-7), Marion Butts 1-(-7).
NEB: Morgan Gregory 3-49, Todd Milikan 2-32, Tom Banderas 1-48, Micah Heibel 1-13.
Missed field goals
FSU: Schmidt 43.
MORE STATISTICS
Florida State won a heart-stopping Fiesta Bowl, 31-28, when quarterback Danny McManus hit flanker Ronald Lewis with a fourth-down, 15-yard touchdown pass on fourth and goal with 3:07 left in the game.
McManus’ third TD pass of the day capped a 97-yard, 11-play drive that started just after the Huskers failed to deliver the knockout blow.
Leading by 28-24 midway in the fourth quarter, Nebraska had driven from its 26-yard line to the FSU 2, where alternate I-back Tyreese Knox appeared headed for the end zone and a clinching touchdown. But a Seminole defender reached up and stripped the ball loose.
After FSU’s go-ahead score, Nebraska and quarterback Steve Taylor still had life. Starting at his 20, Taylor completed passes to Morgan Gregory for a 10 yards and Todd Millikan for 12, then came up with what would have been the play of the game. However, his 56-yard pass to Gregory to the FSU 2 was called back because Nebraska had lined up with not enough men on the line of scrimmage.
The Husker loss came in spite of an early 14-0 lead set up by the kicking game. A 27-yard punt return by Richard Bell led to an 18-yard scoring drive in the first six minutes of the game. Later in the period, Dana Brinson ripped the Seminoles with a 52-yard punt-return touchdown.