University of Miami - Ibis Yearbook (Coral Gables, FL)

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Over 70,000 flashlights are given to fans as they enter the stadium so they can participate in the halftime show. In front of a na- tional audience, the show begins with fireworlfs as thousands of dancing lights dot the crowd. In what some speculated may be quarterback Steve Walsh ' s final game in a Hurricane uniform, the junior Ail-American passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns in route to being voted Orange Bowl Most Valuable Player. 120 Orange Bowl Orangi

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M I A M I 2 3 NEBRASKA3 Canm im After a Notre Dame bowl victory, the Hurricanes crush Nebraslta 23-3 in the Orange Bowl to claim second in the polls On a sparkling January 2 eve- ning in 1984, the University of Miami battled the University of Nebraska in the golden anniver- sary edition of the Orange Bowl Classic in a game which mark- ed the turning point for Hurri- cane football. In what many have called the most exciting college football game ever played, Miami, led by a wild-throwing freshman quarterback named Bernie Ko- sar, beat an undefeated and top- ranked Cornhusker team that was favored by two tou- chdowns, 31-30, to win its first- ever national title. Exactly five years later, the Hurricanes and Huskers met again on the same date, same time, same channel, and the same field, but the situation was not nearly the same. Miami was now an estab- lished winner and a heavy favor- ite while Nebraska had played bridesmaid to Big Eight rival Oklahoma for the last four years. The biggest difference, how- ever, was in what the game actu- ally meant. In 1984, the game decided the national champion. In 1989, the game decided the runner-up. Only minutes after Notre Dame beat up on an over- matched and overhyped West Virginia team to win the year ' s title, the Hurricanes blitzed Nebraska with an incredible first-half performance which put them up 20-0 and allowed them to coast the rest of the evening to a dominating 23-3 victory. Did someone hear the word blitzed ? Miami sent linebacker after linebacker on play after play after Cornhusker quarterback Steve Taylor, resulting in six Appearing in the final collegiate football of h;s career, middle line- backer Rod Carter reflects his feelings of Miami ' s rankings dur- ing a bittersweet win over Ne- braska in the Orange Bowl. Michael DIBah The 54th Orange Bowl Classic pits number two Miami against the number six Nebraska Corn- huskers. Before taking the field, the crowd of 79,480 cheers the Canes as they are introduced. sacks, a third-down efficiency of barely seven percent and a complete nightmare for the se- nior quarterback. Taylor, who came into the game with 13 rushing tou- chdowns and averaging 5.3 yards per carry, was limited to a mere 12 yards rushing on 17 attempts, completed only 8 of 21 passes for 55 yards. The Huskers managed only two first downs in the first half (both assisted by Hurricane penalties) and had only 29 yards of total offense against a relentless Miami defense. Did someone hear the word relentless ? On the final play of the first quarter with Nebraska having a first and 10 on its own 30 after a Miami punt, Nebraska ' s lead- ing rusher. Ken Clark, took a pitch from Taylor, who was probably glad to get rid of it, and attempted to sweep around the left side. At the 29-yard line, Clark was hit by Maurice Crum, Hawkins, Jimmie Jones, Rod Carter, Russell Maryland, Bub- ba McDowell, Charles Pharms, Donnie Ellis, Shannon, Greg Mark, and Bobby Harden, Orange Bowl 119

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M I A M I 2 3 NEBRASKA3 ICanes blitz . . . ' ' for what might have been the most painful loss of one yard since the Battle of the Bulge of World War II. Defensively, we pretty well ihad them zeroed in on every- ; thing that they did, said Mia- mi Coach Jimmy Johnson. I j think that we dominated the line of scrimmage more than anything else and made some nice adjustments to their differ- ent alignments. Nebraska ' s only points came early in the second half after cornerback Tahaun Lewis inter- cepted a Steve Walsh pass and returned it 3 1 yards to the Mia- mi 37. After Clark broke away for a 16-yard dash, Nebraska only went backward and sophomore kicker Gregg Barrios snuck a 50-yard field goal attempt over the crossbar for the longest field goal of his career and the pre- vention of a shutout. Nebraska had not been shut out since 1973 and was held without a touchdown for the first time in 10 years. Cornhusker Coach Tom Os- borne, who had come to the Orange Bowl only a month ear- lier to scout Miami when the Hurricanes downed Brigham Young, seemed frustrated about his lack of offense throughout the game. ; We would find anything that would work a little bit but we couldn ' t find anything that would work for us consistently, he said. You ' ve got to give jMiami a lot of credit. We just igot beat by a better football team. Our big problem was that we couldn ' t generate enough of- fense to keep the pressure off of 3ur defense. Walsh, voted the game ' s Most Valuable Player, did his part in keeping the pressure on Nebraska ' s defense by taking Miami into the endzone on its second offensive series. After a 21 -yard punt return by Darryl Spencer put the Canes in great field position, Miami drove to the Husker 22 when, on third and 10, Walsh sailed a scoring strike down the middle of the zone defense to tailback Leonard Conley, giv- ing the Miami defense all the margin it needed. However, the Walsh-Conley connection was not ready to be totally upstaged by guys named Crum, Carter, and Maryland and put together an impressive encores midway through the second quarter. Did someone hear the word impressive Walsh, who was under con- stant pressure all night from the Husker defensive front, evaded a rush, stepped up and fired a six-yard flat pass to Conley who then broke two tackles, got a couple of great downfield blocks and sprinted down the sideline past Lewis for a 42- yard touchdown with more flash than even the crowd of 79,480 could produce with their halftime flashlights. The touchdown was a simple pass play designed to get 1 or 1 2 yards, said Conley, but I felt the defense on my back, so I cut inside and got good blocks from Rob Chudzinski and Randal Hill and I took it in. Even though it was 17-0, Mia- mi wasn ' t through with its text- book first half quite yet, and with Nebraska lining up to punt deep in its own territory late in the half, Miami was going for the block it had missed by inches ESPN CNN COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP 20 1. Notre Dame 2. MIAMI 3. Florida State 4. UCLA 5. Michigan 6. West Virginia 7. use 8. Nebraslta 9. Auburn 10. Clemson 11. Oklahoma State 12. Syracuse 13. Oklahoma 14. Arkansas 15. Washington State 16. Georgia 17. Alabama 18. North Carolina State 19. Houston 20. Indiana Michael DtBart In the final seconds of the last unsponsored Orange Bowl Clas- sic, Miami fans cheer an impres- sive victory and an 11-1 season. Beginning in 1990, Federal Ex- press becomes sponsor of the New Year ' s Day game. Orange Bowl 121