1998 Orange Bowl

Miami, Fla., Jan. 2, 1998--One of the most successful eras in college football came to an end as the Huskers defeated Tennessee, 42-17, in the 1998 FedEx Orange Bowl to win a share of their third national title in four seasons. The win was the final one for NU Head Coach Tom Osborne, who announced his retirement preceding the contest after compiling a record of 255-49-3 record in 25 seasons.

In a showdown between two of the top offenses in the nation, the Nebraska defense would steal the spotlight early on, forcing a pair of Vol turnovers which led directly to a pair of touchdowns. Quarterback Scott Frost triggered the first NU touchdown, completing three passes for 63 yards on the drive, including a key third-down pass to Sheldon Jackson for 25 yards which led to Ahman Green's 1-yard touchdown run. NU jumped ahead 14-0 on Shevin Wiggins' 10-yard TD run, set up by Lance Brown's fumble recovery deep in Volunteer territory.

Leading 14-3 at halftime, the Husker offense began to show its dominance in the third quarter, scoring on all three of its third-quarter possessions. Frost, who rushed for 60 yards and threw for 125 more, capped a 12-play, 80-yard drive with the first of his two touchdowns. After a UT punt, Frost extended the Husker lead to 28-3 on an 11-yard TD run to cap a 74-yard drive. After a Tennessee touchdown cut the NU lead to 28-9, I-back Ahman Green single-handedly put the game out of reach, scoring on a 22-yard run late in the third quarter to make it 35-9. Overshadowed in the offense effort was a defense that held UT quarterback Peyton Manning to a season-low 134 yards in the air and forced three turnovers.

Green rushed for an Orange Bowl and NU bowl-record 206 yards and two touchdowns, including 159 yards in the third quarter alone. Frost added a final touchdown as Nebraska finished with a perfect 13-0 record and shared the national title with Michigan.

1998 Orange Bowl

Teams

1

2

3

4

Final

Nebraska

7

7

21

7

42

Tennessee

0

3

6

8

17


Statistics

NU

UT

First Downs

30

16

Rushing, Net

409

128

Passes Att., Comp., Int.

12-9-1

35-25-1

Passing, Net

125

187

Total Offense

534

315


Scoring Summary
First Quarter
NU--Ahman Green 1 run (Kris Brown kick), 1:10

Second Quarter
NU--Shevin Wiggins 10 run (Brown), 11:28
UT--Jeff Hall 44 field goal, 8:28

Third Quarter
NU--Scott Frost 1 run (Brown), 10:11
NU--Frost 11 run (Brown), 5:07
UT--Peerless Price 5 pass from Peyton Manning (pass failed), 1:58
NU--Green 22 run (Brown), 0:29

Fourth Quarter
NU--Frost 9 run (Brown), 4:24
UT--Andy McCullough 3 pass from Tee Martin (Travis Stephens pass from Martin), 0:58