1973 Orange Bowl

Miami, Fla., Jan. 1, 1973--Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers went wild, scoring four touchdowns and passing for another, as the Cornhuskers became the first team to win three straight Orange Bowls, romping over Notre Dame, 40-6. In his last game as a Cornhusker, Rodgers was moved to I-back from his usual wingback position, and on the game's first play, he took a pitchout for a 13-yard gain. It was a sign of things to come.

"Johnny R" capped his career by scoring on runs of eight, four and five yards and caught the Irish defense by surprise with a 52-yard TD pass to Frosty Anderson in the second quarter. He scored the last of his 50 career TD's (including bowls) when he caught a sideline pass from Dave Humm in the third quarter and scampered 50 yards to paydirt.

The contest marked the final appearance of Head Coach Bob Devaney on the Husker sideline, as he retired with 101-20-2 record and two national titles in his 11 years at Nebraska after the season.

1973 Orange Bowl

Teams	1	2	3	4	Final
Nebraska	7	13	20	0	40
Notre Dame	0	0	0	6	6

 

Statistics	NU	ND
First Downs	30	13
Rushing, Net	300	104
Passes Att., Comp., Int.	26-17-1	23-9-3
Passing, Net	260	103
Total Offense	560	207

Scoring Summary
First Quarter
NU-Johnny Rodgers 8 run (Rich Sanger kick), 11:19

Second Quarter
NU-Gary Dixon 1 run (Sanger kick), 14:29
NU-Frosty Anderson, 52 pass from Rodgers (kick blocked), 12:20

Third Quarter
NU-Rodgers 4 run (pass failed), 11:17
NU-Rodgers 5 run (Sanger kick), 7:33
NU-Rodgers 50 pass from Dave Humm (Sanger kick), 6:00

Fourth Quarter
ND-Pete Demmerle 5 pass form Tom Clements (pass failed),13:51