Ranking the 30 Greatest National Championship Games
By Zach Bigalke
28. 2002 Rose Bowl
#1 Miami d. #2 Nebraska 37-14
BEFORE THE GAME
As they finished the regular season as the only unbeaten team in the country, Miami handily locked down the top spot in the BCS rankings. The Hurricanes had been shut out of the national championship game the previous year despite knocking off eventual finalist Florida State, and they came back in 2001 motivated to leave no question about their right to play for the title. In Larry Coker’s first season at the helm, Miami held eight of their 11 regular-season opponents under 10 points. They had run away with the Big East, surviving Virginia Tech by two points in Blacksburg to ensure their spot in Pasadena
There was heavy debate about whether or not Nebraska deserved to be in the 2002 Rose Bowl opposite top-ranked Miami. The Cornhuskers were obliterated 62-36 by Colorado in a game that decided the Big 12 North. The loss meant that Frank Solich’s team failed to win its division, much less the conference, in a situation that somewhat echoes Ohio State in 2016. But despite being ranked fourth in both human polls, the formula in place at the time boosted Nebraska up to second in the final BCS standings ahead of the Big 12-winning Buffaloes and Pac-12 champion Oregon.
In the end Nebraska got the nod, though the controversy remains to this day — especially after Oregon took down Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl 38-16 to finish second in the AP poll. At the time, though, the debate centered on Huskers versus Buffaloes, and the computers decision rang counter to the head-to-head result. By only 0.05 points in a convoluted formula that included eight computers, a separate schedule strength component, a nebulous “quality wins” tally and a penalty for losses, Solich’s squad booked their tickets to southern California.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
It was evident almost immediately that the BCS had made a bad choice in elevating Nebraska ahead of the other two candidates for the national championship. Ken Dorsey hit Andre Johnson with a 50-yard touchdown pass midway through the first quarter, opening the floodgates on a rout. By halftime the Hurricanes had built a 34-0 lead and pulled off the gas in the second half. Dorsey, who had finished third in the Heisman voting behind Nebraska’s Eric Crouch, ended the contest with 362 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
Meanwhile Crouch was locked down by the strong Miami defense. The option-style Heisman winner notched 114 rushing yards but managed just 5-of-15 passing for 62 yards and a pick. Despite having nearly 10 more minutes of possession, the Cornhuskers were held to nearly 200 fewer yards by the Canes. Nebraska managed to keep from being shut out with a 14-yard Judd Davies rushing touchdown and a 71-yard DeJuan Groce punt return score in the second half, but by then it was too little too late as all the interest had already drained away from this afterthought game.