Exercise 23.3

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Exercise 23.3 (33.0K)

Dateline—Miami      The Nebraska Cornhuskers beat the Miami Hurricanes 24–17 in the FedEx Orange Bowl on Monday.      Nebraska finished the season 13–0 and likely will be named national champions when the final polls are released Tuesday.      The Cornhuskers were ranked No. 1 going into the game, but they had lost seven consecutive bowl games and were playing Miami, ranked No. 3, on its home field.      Nebraska's head coach, Tom Osborne, has been at the helm of the team for 22 years. This would be his first national championship.      Osborne, the nation's winningest active head coach, had been criticized for never winning a national championship, but he had always stressed that it is the journey each season that excites him, not merely the destination or outcome.      Known for showing little emotion on the sidelines, Osborne barely smiled as the clock wound down in the contest that was attended by an Orange-Bowl record crowd of 81,753. The crowd included an estimated 20,000 dressed in Cornhusker red.      The Cornhuskers entered the fourth quarter trailing 17–9. Nebraska marched 40 yards in two plays for a tying touchdown and 2-point conversion with 7:38 to play and then moved 59 yards in seven plays for the winning touchdown with 2:46 left.      Fullback Cory Schlesinger scored both touchdowns; the first was from 15 yards out, the second from 14 yards out.      Miami had won 62 of its past 63 home games over 10 years.      Nebraska roverback Kareem Moss intercepted Miami quarterback Frank Costa's desperation pass with 1:01 to play, thus sealing the NU victory.      Nebraska's defense was strong in the fourth quarter. The defense, nicknamed the Blackshirts, held the Hurricanes to minus 35 yards in the fourth quarter to build a final total yardage advantage of 305–277.      Cornhusker quarterback Tommie Frazier was named the most valuable player. He had come back from a 98-day layoff from injury and his execution of the Cornhuskers' option attack proved to be the difference.      Direct quotation from Osborne about Frazier: "He's the type of person who doesn't show his feelings. But I guarantee you that once it sinks in for him, you'll see a couple of tears and a smile."      Frazier started the game, gave way to backup quarterback Brook Berringer (who had led the Cornhuskers to seven straight victories during the time Frazier was sidelined with his injury) for the middle two quarters and then entered the game in the fourth quarter to lead two touchdown drives in the final eight minutes.

Direct quotation from fullback Schlesinger: "This feels so good. This is what we have been working for all year, and it happened." Schlesinger played eight-man football in tiny Duncan, Neb., before enrolling at NU. Direct quotation from NU offensive tackle Rob Zatechka: "The defense really squared up at the end. They proved they are one of the best defenses in the country by stopping Miami when it counted." Here is the scoring summary and final statistics, as published in the World-Herald: FIRST QUARTER NU-MIAMI 0–3 Miami field goal: 44 yards by Dane Prewitt. Drive: 31 yards in 10 plays. Time elapsed: 5:35. Key plays: Frank Costa passes of 10 yards to A.C. Tellison on third-and-five to NU 43 and 18 yards to Chris T. Jones on third-and-five to NU 20. Time left: 7:54. 0–10 Miami touchdown: Trent Jones 35-yard pass from Costa. Conversion: Prewitt kick. Drive: 97 yards in five plays. Time elapsed: 2:35. Key play: Tellison 43-yard pass from Costa. Time left: 0:04. SECOND QUARTER 7–10 NU touchdown: Mark Gilman 19-yard pass from Brook Berringer. Conversion: Tom Sieler kick. Drive: 40 yards in five plays. Time elapsed: 2:20. Key plays: Lawrence Phillips 7-yard run to Miami 29; Riley Washington 9 yards on reverse to Miami 20. Time left: 7:54. THIRD QUARTER 7–17 Miami touchdown: Jonathan Harris 44-yard pass from Costa. Conversion: Prewitt kick. Drive: 78 yards in five plays. Time elapsed: 1:41. Key play: James Stewart 14-yard run to NU 45. Time left: 13:19. 9–17 NU safety: Dwayne Harris sacks Costa in end zone. Time left: 11:35. FOURTH QUARTER 17–17 NU touchdown: Cory Schlesinger 15-yard run. Conversion: Eric Alford pass from Tommie Frazier. Drive: 40 yards in two plays. Time elapsed: :33. Key play: Phillips 25-yard run to Miami 15. Time left: 7:38. 24&17 NU touchdown: Schlesinger 14-yard run. Conversion: Sieler kick. Drive: 58 yards in seven plays. Time elapsed: 2:42. Key plays: Frazier 25-yard run on third-and-four to Miami 27; Frazier 6-yard run on third-and-3 to Miami 14. Time left: 2:46. <a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg::::/sites/dl/free/0072981091/345969/Chap23_3new.jpg','popWin', 'width=NaN,height=NaN,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (22.0K)</a>