1992 Orange Bowl


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.
It was a rematch of the 1984 and 1989 editions, both Miami wins. This shutout win gave the Hurricanes their fourth national championship, 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.
During the game, the studio for the American feed caught fire, and had to switch to a Japanese feed.

Scoring

;First quarter:
;Second quarter:
;Third quarter:
;Fourth quarter:

Statistics

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, 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.
The shutout was the first for Nebraska in over eighteen years ; they dropped to fifteenth in the final AP poll. 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 in four seasons at the end of head coach Tom Osborne's career in Lincoln.