1992 Orange Bowl

1992 Federal Express Orange Bowl
1992 Federal Express Orange Bowl
58th Orange Bowl
Miami Hurricanes	Nebraska Cornhuskers
(11–0)	(9–1–1)
Big East	Big 8
22	0
Head coach: ; Dennis Erickson	Head coach: ; Tom Osborne
AP	Coaches
1	2
AP	Coaches
11	11
Date	January 1, 1992
Season	1991
Stadium	Orange Bowl
Location	Miami, Florida
MVP	Larry Jones (Miami FB)
Favorite	Miami by 10 points (44.5)
Referee	Ron Winter (Big Ten)
Attendance	77,747
United States TV coverage
Network	NBC
Announcers	Dick Enberg, Bill Walsh and John Dockery
Orange Bowl
< 1991	1993 >

The 1992 Orange Bowl was the 58th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on January 1. Part of the 1991–92 bowl game season, it matched the top-ranked Miami Hurricanes of the Big East Conference and the #11 Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Eight Conference. Favored Miami won 22–0.^[3]^[4]^[5]

It was a rematch of the 1984 and 1989 editions, both Miami wins. This shutout win gave the Hurricanes their fourth national championship (1983, 1987, 1989), capping their "decade of dominance."

Teams

Miami

Miami won all eleven games in the regular season; it was their first season in the Big East.

Nebraska

The Huskers lost at home to Washington in September and tied Colorado on the road in early November.

Game summary

Playing on their home field, the Hurricanes raced to a quick start as quarterback Gino Torretta threw an 8-yard touchdown to wide receiver Kevin Williams, which was followed by two 24-yard field goals by Carlos Huerta. After a scoreless second quarter, it was 13–0 at halftime. Miami dominated the second half with a touchdown run by fullback Larry Jones and a third field goal by Huerta, this one from 54 yards. The score was 22–0 after three quarters, and the Miami defense successfully held off Nebraska, as the fourth quarter was scoreless.^[3]

During the game, the studio for the American feed caught fire, and had to switch to a Japanese feed.

Scoring

First quarter

Miami – Kevin Williams 8 pass from Gino Torretta (Carlos Huerta kick), 11:04
Miami – Huerta 24-yard field goal, 5:04
Miami – Huerta 24-yard field goal, 4:02

Second quarter: No scoring
Third quarter

Miami – Larry Jones 1-yard run (Torretta pass failed), 11:19
Miami – Huerta 54-yard field goal, 2:33

Fourth quarter: No scoring

Source:^[3]

Statistics

Statistics	Miami	Nebraska
First Downs	25	9
Rushes–yards	44–182	38–82
Passing yards	257	89
Passes	19–41–2	7–19–2
Total Offense	81–439	57–171
Return yards	66	3
Punts–average	5–33	8–39
Fumbles–lost	3–0	3–2
Turnovers by	2	4
Penalties-yards	12–143	6–36
Time of possession	34:29	25:31

Source:^[3]

NBC Control Room Fire

During coverage of the final quarter, two power feeder cables that were originating coverage into NBC's main production truck accidentally caught itself on fire, forcing all 12 cameras and all NBC stations to knock off the air with an identification slide for 18 seconds. After the video portion returned, NBC was forced to switch to a scrambled Japanese feed of the game off of JOTX, with Japanese audio for 30 seconds before silencing their audio portions with a voiceover, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are experiencing technical difficulties. Please stand by". A teletext was then shown afterwards, "Sorry for the inconvenience, we have been experiencing transmission difficulties due to atmospheric conditions".

While the teletext remained on screen, NBC Sports announcers Gayle Gardner and Paul McGuire then returned back on air with an announcement before describing an action between both teams from NBC's studios in New York. 14 minutes later, Dick Enberg apologized to its viewers that a major power failure has knocked out their cameras. At that point, NBC was forced to borrow one camera from Japanese network JOTX for parts of the game.

Aftermath

The win completed a perfect season for the Hurricanes, maintaining their #1 ranking in the AP Poll, but they did not receive the top ranking in the Coaches' Poll, which went to Washington of the Pac-10 Conference. The Huskies, second in the AP, had achieved an identical 12–0 record, completed with a 34–14 win over #4 Michigan in the Rose Bowl. For a second consecutive year, major college football finished with two teams splitting the title,^[6]^[7]^[8] which led the major athletic conferences to form the Bowl Coalition in the following year to help better determine a national champion.

A fantasy article in Sports Illustrated titled "The Dream Game" had Washington narrowly defeat Miami in a playoff.^[9]

The shutout was the first for Nebraska in over eighteen years (and remains their only shutout in a bowl); they dropped to fifteenth in the final AP poll.^[6]^[7] It was the Huskers' fifth consecutive bowl loss, a streak that extended to seven.

Nebraska and Miami faced off in another Orange Bowl rematch three years later, and Nebraska finally won. It broke the Huskers' seven-game losing streak in bowls and vaulted them to the first of two consecutive national titles. A four-game winning streak in bowls began, with three national championships (1994, 1995, 1997) in four seasons at the end of head coach Tom Osborne's career in Lincoln.

References

^ "Orange Bowl Odds". Orange Bowl Odds.
^ "Betting line". Orange Bowl Odds. p. D7.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Walker, Ben (January 2, 1992). "Miami makes its pitch with Orange Bowl shutout". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 1B.
^ Moran, Malcolm (January 2, 1992). "'Canes win easily..." Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). (New York Times). p. 6B.
^ "Blackout Forces NBC to Call an Audible in Orange Bowl". Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1992. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
^ ^a ^b Wojciechowski, Gene (January 3, 1992). "Huskies, Miami share title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (Los Angeles Times). p. 1B.
^ ^a ^b Warner, Rick (January 3, 1992). "Washington, Miami share No. 1 rating". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). Associated Press. p. 1C.
^ "Coaches, scribes aren't unanimous". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). wire reports. January 3, 1992. p. C1.
^ Murphy, Austin (January 13, 1992). "The Dream Game". Sports Illustrated. p. 34.

External links

HuskerMax – 1992 Orange Bowl

[latln-1] "Orange Bowl Odds". Orange Bowl Odds.

[betln-2] "Betting line". Orange Bowl Odds. p. D7.

[makptch-3] Walker, Ben (January 2, 1992). "Miami makes its pitch with Orange Bowl shutout". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 1B.

[cweasl-4] Moran, Malcolm (January 2, 1992). "'Canes win easily..." Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). (New York Times). p. 6B.

[5] "Blackout Forces NBC to Call an Audible in Orange Bowl". Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1992. Retrieved May 21, 2018.

[hmshti-6] Wojciechowski, Gene (January 3, 1992). "Huskies, Miami share title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (Los Angeles Times). p. 1B.

[miashar-7] Warner, Rick (January 3, 1992). "Washington, Miami share No. 1 rating". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). Associated Press. p. 1C.

[sarunan-8] "Coaches, scribes aren't unanimous". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). wire reports. January 3, 1992. p. C1.

[sijn92-9] Murphy, Austin (January 13, 1992). "The Dream Game". Sports Illustrated. p. 34.

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v t e Orange Bowl
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Games	1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 (January) 1996 (December) 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 (January) 2014 (December) 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 (January) 2021 (December) 2022 2023
Notes	The game was also the national title game (Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, or Bowl Championship Series) in 1994, 1995, 1998, 2001, and 2005. There was an Orange Bowl in January and December in 1996, 2014, and 2021. The 2015, 2018, and 2021 (December) editions were College Football Playoff semifinals.