First quarter
FLA: Bart Edmiston 23 field goal, 11:07
NEB: Lawrence Phillips 16 pass from Tommie Frazier (kick blocked) 8:10
FLA: Danny Wuerffel 1 run (Edmiston kick) 1:17
Second quarter
NEB: Phillips 42 run (Brown kick) 14:28
NEB: Safety, Wuerffel sacked in end zone by Jamel Williams, 12:42
NEB: Ahman Green 1 run (Brown kick) 9:13
NEB: Brown 26 field goal, 3:46
NEB: Michael Booker 42 interception return (Brown kick) 2:40
NEB: Brown 24 field goal, 0:08
Third quarter
NEB: Frazier 35 run (Brown kick) 2:21
FLA: Ike Hilliard 35 pass from Wuerffel (Reidel Anthony pass from Wuerffel) 0:58
NEB: Frazier 75 run (Brown kick) 0:01
Fourth quarter
NEB: Phillips 15 run (kick failed) 8:25
NEB: Berringer 1 run (Ted Retzlaff kick) 4:44
FLA: Anthony 93 kickoff return (pass failed) 4:31
FLANEB
First downs .............. 15 27
By rushing .............. 2 21
By passing ............. 12 4
By penalty .............. 1 2
Rushed-yards ........ 21-(-28) 68-524
Passing yards ........... 297 105
Comp-Att-Int ...... 20-38-3 6-15-2
Total offense ........ 59-269 83-629
Sacked-Yards lost ...... 7-40 0-0
Punt returns-Yds ..... l-(-8) 4-14
Kickoff returns-Yds .. 10-268 5-88
Interceptions-Yds ....... 2-5 3-50
Punts-Average ........ 4-41.3 1-36.0
Fumbles-Lost ............ 1-1 1-0
Penalties-Yards ........ 9-78 4-30
Time of possession .... 24:43 35:17
Third-down conv. ....... 4-12 8-17
Fourth-down conv. ....... 1-2 2-3
RUSHING
FLA: Williams 6-6, T Jackson 4-4, Anthony 2-(-1), Wuerffel 9-(-37).
NEB: Frazier 16-199, Phillips 25-165, Green 9-68, Sims 2-35, Je Makovicka 6-32, Childs 3-14, Jo Makovicka 2-4, B Schuster 1-4, D Benning 1-3, Berringer 1-1, Legate 1-1, Turman 1-(-2).
PASSING
FLA: Wuerffel 17-31-3-255; Kresser 3-7-0-42.
NEB: Frazier 6-14-2-105; Phillips 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING
FLA: Doering 8-123, I Hilliard 6-100, Anthony 2-40, McGriff 2-19, T Jackson 1-10, Evans 1-5.
NEB: Johnson 2-43, Holbein 1-33, Phillips 1-16, Je Makovicka 1-8, Vedral 1-5.
ATTENDANCE: 79,864
CONDITIONS AT KICKOFF
Temperature: 58 degrees.
Wind: North, 7 mph. Skies: Clear.
OFFICIALS: Referee: Pat Flood. Umpire: Dennis Angel. Line judge: Charles Czubin. Side judge: Thomas Szymanski. Head linesman: Dale Newhouse. Back judge: David Cutaia. Field judge: Bernard Samuels
• EXPANDED STATS
• SCORING SUMMARY
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Coverage
Game recap
Second-quarter safety
Huskers Post Perfect Back-to-Back National Championships
The entire country was anxious to see if Nebraska’s “Bump and Run” defense could keep up with the “Fun and Gun” and whether Florida could stop the nation’s premier rushing force.
The result was a 62-24 dismantling of Florida, and it didn’t take long. For a quarter, it looked as if it would be a ball game. Two lead changes occurred and Florida led 10-6 after one period. But Nebraska scored 29 unanswered points in the second quarter, much to the delight of the more than 40,000 red-clad fans. The 29 points were the most ever scored in the second quarter of a bowl game.
Final Score: Nebraska 62, Florida 24. The 38-point margin of victory between a No. 1 and No. 2 team was the second-largest ever (Army 48, Notre Dame 0, 1945). The 62 points set a Nebraska bowl record and was the second most ever in a bowl game.
Afterward, coach Tom Osborne confirmed what everyone in attendance knew, when he said, “There is still a place in college football for a running quarterback.” Indeed, Tommie Frazier rushed for 199 yards and two TDs on 16 carries. His yards were Nebraska bowl and Fiesta Bowl records for most yards rushing and set an NCAA bowl record for most yards rushing by a QB.
“We saw in the film that when Nebraska ran a lot of non-option plays, teams were there but they just couldn’t make the tackle. Danged if that didn’t happen to us too.”
It was with startling ease that the Huskers outplayed, outworked, outblocked, outtackled, outran and generally outclassed the latest jugger-not from the state of Florida.