Georgia Tech 45
Nebraska 21

Jan. 1, 1991 • 12:30 p.m. Central
Florida Citrus Bowl • Orlando, FL • ABC
1st2nd3rd4th F 
Nebraska0147021
Georgia Tech71771445
First Quarter
GT: Stefen Scotten 2 run (Scott Sisson kick) 11:45
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.

Coverage

Recap

Emmett Merchant makes a leaping catch for Tech’s second touchdown.

Tech stings Huskers to win share of crown

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.


Tom Haase took over at quarterback early in the second quarter.
1990 schedule
04/28Reds 44, Whites 34
09/01BaylorW 13-0
09/08N. IllinoisW 60-14
09/22MinnesotaW 56-0
09/29Oregon St.W 31-7
10/06@ Kansas St.W 45-8
10/13MissouriW 69-21
10/20Oklahoma St.W 31-3
10/27@ Iowa St.W 45-13
11/03ColoradoL 12-27
11/10@ KansasW 41-9
11/23@ OklahomaL 10-45
01/01Georgia TechL 21-45
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