1984 Orange Bowl
Encyclopedia
The 1984 Orange Bowl was the 50th annual Orange Bowl Classic, played on January 2, 1984, between the unbeaten Nebraska Cornhuskers
and the once-beaten Miami Hurricanes
, for the national championship. After leading 31-17 in the fourth quarter, Miami held on for a 31-30 victory. Nebraska pulled to within one with :48 left to play, but a two-point conversion
attempt by Nebraska failed when quarterback Turner Gill
's pass was tipped away by Miami safety Ken Calhoun. The win gave Miami its first national championship, it was also the last game for Howard Schnellenberger
as he left the team in pursuit of a USFL team in Miami.
(28-21). Led by Heisman Trophy
winning I-back Mike Rozier
, future NFL #1 draft pick Irving Fryar
at wingback and with All-American quarterback and Heisman finalist Turner Gill
calling the signals, the Huskers of 1983 were a formidable outfit, averaging 52 points a game and having rolled up tallies of 84-13, 72-29, 69-19, and 67-13 against Minnesota, Iowa State, Colorado, and Kansas, respectively. In the third quarter against Colorado, Nebraska managed to score seven touchdowns in 12 minutes. They did have notable weaknesses, however. They had a fairly mediocre defense that was vulnerable to the pass, especially across the middle of the field, and they also had a fairly average kicking game. Both of these weaknesses would haunt the Cornhuskers on the night.
Miami, coached by Howard Schnellenberger
, came in the quiet achiever, having been blown out 28-3 by Florida in their opening game and thought by many to be not much of a challenge to the much higher-fancied Cornhuskers. Nevertheless, they had won 10 straight games following their opening defeat, to emerge as a solid #5 in the Associated Press
poll, while ranked one spot higher in the UPI poll. They were led by freshman quarterback Bernie Kosar
, who had completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 2,328 yards and 15 touchdowns and had started all 11 games.
Also, earlier in the day second-ranked Texas had been upset in the Cotton Bowl Classic by Georgia
and third-ranked Auburn Tigers
squeaked out a win over Michigan
, giving Miami the chance to leapfrog to No. 1 should they defeat the Cornhuskers.
along with a 45-yard Jeff Davis field goal would give Miami a stunning 17-0 lead at the end of one quarter.
Nebraska didn't panic. Early in the second quarter, Osborne reached into his bag of tricks, running a trick play
known as the fumblerooski
. Nebraska quarterback Gill intentionally “fumbled” the snap from center by effectively setting it on the turf. The ball was picked up by All-American offensive guard Dean Steinkuhler
, who ran the ball 19 yards for a touchdown. While it is neither the first nor the last time this play has been run, it is arguably the most famous incidence of this play, which is now illegal. A touchdown run by Gill later in the period made the score 17-14 at halftime, and Nebraska would kick a field-goal early in the third quarter to tie the game at 17.
It was at this point that the familiar script everyone expected had again appeared. And it was at this point that Miami again decided not to cooperate with it. Two long touchdown drives of 75 and 73 yards took the score back out to 31-17, behind the passing of Kosar (who would pass for exactly 300 yards on the night) and the running of backs Alonzo Highsmith
and Albert Bentley
, who each contributed rushing touchdowns to cap each drive. Things would get even bleaker for Nebraska when Rozier left the game with an injured ankle, after having rushed for 147 yards on 25 carries.
Backup I-back Jeff Smith came off the bench and scored on a 1 yard run early in the 4th quarter which brought the margin back to 31-24. Then Nebraska caught a break, when Davis missed a 42-yard field goal attempt that would have made the margin 10 points in favor of the Hurricanes. Then the Huskers went to work. Gill completed a long pass to Fryar which took the ball inside the Miami 35 with under 2 minutes to go. On 1st and 10 from the Miami 26, Gill found a wide open Fryar all alone in the end zone and threw a perfect pass, which Fryar dropped. This play would later be forgotten in the midst of what would come soon after, but it may have taken on a much greater significance in Husker lore had they not eventually scored. A running play and an incomplete pass followed, setting up a 4th down and 8 from the Miami 24-yard line with the clock running down inside a minute. Osborne called an option play, which Gill ran to his right, initially keeping the ball and running into the grasp of a Miami defender before pitching the ball at the last second to a streaking Smith, who sprinted in the rest of the way, making the score 31-30 Miami, with the extra point pending.
"We were trying to win the game," Osborne said. "I don't think you go for a tie in that case. You try to win the game. We wanted an undefeated season and a clear-cut national championship." A tie would most likely have been enough to give the Huskers the national championship with a 12-0-1 record, since second-ranked Texas also lost earlier in the day to Georgia in the Cotton Bowl Classic and third-ranked Auburn had won unimpressively.
Coincidentally, Osborne had been asked earlier in the week by a reporter if he would ever consider going for two in just such a situation. "I hope it doesn't come up," Osborne said. "I'll be crucified one way or another on that one." When it did occur, Osborne had his mind made up. "I don't think any of our players would be satisfied backing into it with a PAT," Osborne said. "I don't think that's the way to do it."
games by various sources, including ABC
Sports Online's five "classic Orange Bowl moments". An ESPN
survey once voted this as the greatest college football game ever played.
The game almost overnight established the University of Miami
as a football power, and it would go on to win two more national championships before the end of the decade, under coaches Jimmy Johnson
and Dennis Erickson
. The school would win a fourth with Erickson in 1991, and would again beat Nebraska for a fifth in 2001 under Larry Coker
.
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne eventually would win three national championships of his own (he defeated Miami in the 1995 Orange Bowl
for his first), and retire in 1997 as one of the winningest coaches in college football history. But it would be his decision to go for the win, rather than to tie, and his willingness to risk the national championship on one play which has come to define his legacy more than any single achievement.
It has become a textbook case in game theory
. A simple extra point
conversion would have tied the game and arguably given Nebraska the national championship. Economist Avinash Dixit
and Business Strategy Expert Barry Nalebuff
argue that Osborne would have had more options had he gone for two earlier in the fourth quarter: "Tom Osborne would have done better to first try the two-point attempt (at the score of 31-23), and then if it succeeded go for the one-point, while if it failed attempt a second two-pointer."
The game was placed in NCAA Football video games as a "College Classic", challenging players to recreate the ending. The scenario begins with Nebraska with the ball, with the decision to either go for the tie or the win entirely up to the player. Due to the game using modern rules when it was developed, it is entirely possible to take the game into overtime.
Nebraska Cornhuskers football
The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A...
and the once-beaten Miami Hurricanes
Miami Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes, of Coral Gables, Florida, are the varsity sports teams of the University of Miami. They compete in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference . The university fields 15 athletic teams for 17 varsity sports...
, for the national championship. After leading 31-17 in the fourth quarter, Miami held on for a 31-30 victory. Nebraska pulled to within one with :48 left to play, but a two-point conversion
Two-point conversion
In American and Canadian football, a two-point conversion is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point convert immediately after it scores a touchdown...
attempt by Nebraska failed when quarterback Turner Gill
Turner Gill
Turner Hillery Gill is an American football coach who most recently served as the head coach at Kansas from 2010-2011, and was one of 11 African-American head coaches in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision at the time of his hiring.-College:Gill graduated from Arlington Heights High...
's pass was tipped away by Miami safety Ken Calhoun. The win gave Miami its first national championship, it was also the last game for Howard Schnellenberger
Howard Schnellenberger
Howard Schnellenberger is an American football coach at both the professional and college level. He is currently in his final season as head coach of Florida Atlantic University, having announced his retirement on August 11, 2011, effective at the end of the 2011 season...
as he left the team in pursuit of a USFL team in Miami.
Setup
Nebraska came into the game ranked #1 in both major polls, with a 12-0 record, having steamrolled just about every opponent on the 1983 schedule, except for close road wins at Oklahoma State (14-10) and at OklahomaOklahoma Sooners
The University of Oklahoma features 19 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's teams are called the Sooners, a nickname given to the early participants in the land rushes which initially opened the Oklahoma Indian Territory to non-native settlement. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A,...
(28-21). Led by Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winning I-back Mike Rozier
Mike Rozier
Michael Rozier is a former American collegiate and professional football running back who won the Heisman Trophy in 1983. He was born in Camden, New Jersey. Mike and his wife, Rochelle, an attorney, reside in South Jersey and together they have one son. Mike has two other children who reside in...
, future NFL #1 draft pick Irving Fryar
Irving Fryar
Irving Dale Fryar is a former American football wide receiver of the National Football League.Fryar grew up in Mount Holly Township, New Jersey and played high school football at Rancocas Valley Regional High School...
at wingback and with All-American quarterback and Heisman finalist Turner Gill
Turner Gill
Turner Hillery Gill is an American football coach who most recently served as the head coach at Kansas from 2010-2011, and was one of 11 African-American head coaches in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision at the time of his hiring.-College:Gill graduated from Arlington Heights High...
calling the signals, the Huskers of 1983 were a formidable outfit, averaging 52 points a game and having rolled up tallies of 84-13, 72-29, 69-19, and 67-13 against Minnesota, Iowa State, Colorado, and Kansas, respectively. In the third quarter against Colorado, Nebraska managed to score seven touchdowns in 12 minutes. They did have notable weaknesses, however. They had a fairly mediocre defense that was vulnerable to the pass, especially across the middle of the field, and they also had a fairly average kicking game. Both of these weaknesses would haunt the Cornhuskers on the night.
Miami, coached by Howard Schnellenberger
Howard Schnellenberger
Howard Schnellenberger is an American football coach at both the professional and college level. He is currently in his final season as head coach of Florida Atlantic University, having announced his retirement on August 11, 2011, effective at the end of the 2011 season...
, came in the quiet achiever, having been blown out 28-3 by Florida in their opening game and thought by many to be not much of a challenge to the much higher-fancied Cornhuskers. Nevertheless, they had won 10 straight games following their opening defeat, to emerge as a solid #5 in the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
poll, while ranked one spot higher in the UPI poll. They were led by freshman quarterback Bernie Kosar
Bernie Kosar
Bernard Joseph "Bernie" Kosar, Jr. is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. Kosar played for the Cleveland Browns from 1985 to 1993 and then finished his career with the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins.-Early life and high school career:A Hungarian-American...
, who had completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 2,328 yards and 15 touchdowns and had started all 11 games.
Also, earlier in the day second-ranked Texas had been upset in the Cotton Bowl Classic by Georgia
Georgia Bulldogs
The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams of the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference...
and third-ranked Auburn Tigers
Auburn Tigers
Auburn Tigers is the name given to Auburn University athletic teams. The University is a member of the Southeastern Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 19 varsity teams in 13 sports:* Men's sports** Baseball** Basketball...
squeaked out a win over Michigan
Michigan Wolverines
The Michigan Wolverines comprise 27 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except men's ice hockey which competes in the NCAA D1 Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and women's water polo, which...
, giving Miami the chance to leapfrog to No. 1 should they defeat the Cornhuskers.
The game
Nebraska came into the game as a 10½ point favorite, and early on it looked very much like the blowout many people anticipated. On their opening drive, the Huskers moved downfield rather easily. However, the Hurricanes got an early lift when they forced Nebraska to attempt a field-goal, which they then blocked. It was a huge early momentum swing and they would capitalize very quickly. Kosar's two touchdown passes to Glenn DennisonGlenn Dennison
Glenn A. Dennison is a former American football tight end in the National Football League for the New York Jets and the Washington Redskins. He played college football at the University of Miami and was drafted in the second round of the 1984 NFL Draft.He now works for FCC Environmental in Plant...
along with a 45-yard Jeff Davis field goal would give Miami a stunning 17-0 lead at the end of one quarter.
Nebraska didn't panic. Early in the second quarter, Osborne reached into his bag of tricks, running a trick play
Trick play
A trick play, also known as a gadget play or a gimmick play, is a play in American football that uses deception and unorthodox strategies to fool the opposing team. A trick play is often risky, offering the potential for a large gain or a touchdown if it is successful, but with the chance of a...
known as the fumblerooski
Fumblerooski
In American football, the fumblerooski is a trick play, most famously used by the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers against the University of Miami Hurricanes in the 1984 Orange Bowl. It was invented by John Heisman....
. Nebraska quarterback Gill intentionally “fumbled” the snap from center by effectively setting it on the turf. The ball was picked up by All-American offensive guard Dean Steinkuhler
Dean Steinkuhler
-College career:Steinkuhler attended the University of Nebraska, where he won the Outland Trophy, given to the nation's top offensive lineman, in 1983. This marked the third consecutive time a Cornhusker had won the award as Dave Rimington had won back to back Outland Trophies in 1981 and 1982...
, who ran the ball 19 yards for a touchdown. While it is neither the first nor the last time this play has been run, it is arguably the most famous incidence of this play, which is now illegal. A touchdown run by Gill later in the period made the score 17-14 at halftime, and Nebraska would kick a field-goal early in the third quarter to tie the game at 17.
It was at this point that the familiar script everyone expected had again appeared. And it was at this point that Miami again decided not to cooperate with it. Two long touchdown drives of 75 and 73 yards took the score back out to 31-17, behind the passing of Kosar (who would pass for exactly 300 yards on the night) and the running of backs Alonzo Highsmith
Alonzo Highsmith
Alonzo Walter Highsmith is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League for the Houston Oilers, Dallas Cowboys, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers...
and Albert Bentley
Albert Bentley
Albert Timothy Bentley is a former professional American football player who played running back for eight seasons for the Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers. He also played in the USFL for the Michigan Panthers and the Oakland Invaders. He played high school football at Immokalee High...
, who each contributed rushing touchdowns to cap each drive. Things would get even bleaker for Nebraska when Rozier left the game with an injured ankle, after having rushed for 147 yards on 25 carries.
Backup I-back Jeff Smith came off the bench and scored on a 1 yard run early in the 4th quarter which brought the margin back to 31-24. Then Nebraska caught a break, when Davis missed a 42-yard field goal attempt that would have made the margin 10 points in favor of the Hurricanes. Then the Huskers went to work. Gill completed a long pass to Fryar which took the ball inside the Miami 35 with under 2 minutes to go. On 1st and 10 from the Miami 26, Gill found a wide open Fryar all alone in the end zone and threw a perfect pass, which Fryar dropped. This play would later be forgotten in the midst of what would come soon after, but it may have taken on a much greater significance in Husker lore had they not eventually scored. A running play and an incomplete pass followed, setting up a 4th down and 8 from the Miami 24-yard line with the clock running down inside a minute. Osborne called an option play, which Gill ran to his right, initially keeping the ball and running into the grasp of a Miami defender before pitching the ball at the last second to a streaking Smith, who sprinted in the rest of the way, making the score 31-30 Miami, with the extra point pending.
The decision
A successful kick would have tied the score. Instead, Osborne went for the win, and with it, risked everything (the NCAA had not introduced overtime in 1984; thus, the game could have ended in a tie). Miami's Kenny Calhoun broke up the conversion pass from quarterback Turner Gill to I-back Jeff Smith, leaving the inspired Hurricanes with a 31-30 upset victory over the top-ranked Cornhuskers."We were trying to win the game," Osborne said. "I don't think you go for a tie in that case. You try to win the game. We wanted an undefeated season and a clear-cut national championship." A tie would most likely have been enough to give the Huskers the national championship with a 12-0-1 record, since second-ranked Texas also lost earlier in the day to Georgia in the Cotton Bowl Classic and third-ranked Auburn had won unimpressively.
Coincidentally, Osborne had been asked earlier in the week by a reporter if he would ever consider going for two in just such a situation. "I hope it doesn't come up," Osborne said. "I'll be crucified one way or another on that one." When it did occur, Osborne had his mind made up. "I don't think any of our players would be satisfied backing into it with a PAT," Osborne said. "I don't think that's the way to do it."
Legacy
The game has widely been listed among the most memorable college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
games by various sources, including ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
Sports Online's five "classic Orange Bowl moments". An ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
survey once voted this as the greatest college football game ever played.
The game almost overnight established the University of Miami
Miami Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes, of Coral Gables, Florida, are the varsity sports teams of the University of Miami. They compete in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference . The university fields 15 athletic teams for 17 varsity sports...
as a football power, and it would go on to win two more national championships before the end of the decade, under coaches Jimmy Johnson
Jimmy Johnson (American football coach)
James William "Jimmy" Johnson is an American former NCAA and National Football League head coach. As of 2010, he is currently an analyst for Fox NFL Sunday, the Fox network's NFL pregame show. He was the first football coach whose teams won both an NCAA Division 1A National Championship and a...
and Dennis Erickson
Dennis Erickson
Dennis Erickson is an American football coach and former player. He was the head football coach at Arizona State University until November 28, 2011, a position he had held since the 2007 season. In 2008 the Arizona Board of Regents had approved a contract extension to keep Erickson at Arizona...
. The school would win a fourth with Erickson in 1991, and would again beat Nebraska for a fifth in 2001 under Larry Coker
Larry Coker
Larry Edward Coker is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at the University of Texas at San Antonio, whose Roadrunners football team begins play in 2011. From 2001 to 2006, Coker served as the head coach at the University of Miami...
.
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne eventually would win three national championships of his own (he defeated Miami in the 1995 Orange Bowl
1995 Orange Bowl
The 1995 Orange Bowl a 1994-1995 college football bowl game was played on January 1, 1995, for the national championship. This 61st edition to the Orange Bowl featured the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and the Miami Hurricanes. Nebraska came into the game with a 12-0 and #1 AP ranking, whereas Miami came...
for his first), and retire in 1997 as one of the winningest coaches in college football history. But it would be his decision to go for the win, rather than to tie, and his willingness to risk the national championship on one play which has come to define his legacy more than any single achievement.
It has become a textbook case in game theory
Game theory
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
. A simple extra point
Extra Point
Extra Point is a twice-daily, two-minute segment on ESPN Radio that covers generic sports-related topical news and opinion. The AM edition airs Monday through Saturday at various times between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET, and the PM edition airs Monday through Friday between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET...
conversion would have tied the game and arguably given Nebraska the national championship. Economist Avinash Dixit
Avinash Dixit
Avinash Kamalakar Dixit is an Indian-American economist originally of Indian nationality.-Education:Dixit received a B.Sc. from Bombay University in 1963 in Mathematics and Physics, a B.A...
and Business Strategy Expert Barry Nalebuff
Barry Nalebuff
Barry Nalebuff is Milton Steinbach Professor of Management at Yale School of Management. He is an expert in business strategy and game theory, as well as many other topics.-Education:Graduated Highschool at Belmont Hill School...
argue that Osborne would have had more options had he gone for two earlier in the fourth quarter: "Tom Osborne would have done better to first try the two-point attempt (at the score of 31-23), and then if it succeeded go for the one-point, while if it failed attempt a second two-pointer."
The game was placed in NCAA Football video games as a "College Classic", challenging players to recreate the ending. The scenario begins with Nebraska with the ball, with the decision to either go for the tie or the win entirely up to the player. Due to the game using modern rules when it was developed, it is entirely possible to take the game into overtime.