Ranking the 30 Greatest National Championship Games
By Zach Bigalke
23. 1996 Fiesta Bowl
#1 Nebraska d. #2 Florida 62-24
BEFORE THE GAME
Nebraska was enjoying one of the most storied runs of its vaunted history in the early 1990s. The team had finished 11-0 in the regular season to play Florida State for the national championship in 1993, though they lost a tight 18-16 game to the Seminoles. They came back the following year and ran the table, though they played one-loss #3 Big East champ Miami in the Orange Bowl instead of undefeated #2 Big Ten winner Penn State. Since the Bowl Coalition had failed to incorporate the Big Ten and Pac-10 along with the Rose Bowl, they faltered in forming a definitive pairing in their last year of existence.
This time around, Nebraska benefitted from the fact that those two leagues produced 8-2-1 USC and 11-1 Ohio State as their two champions. The Bowl Alliance replaced the Coalition that season, and they were able to pair undefeated SEC champion Florida against the Cornhuskers in the Fiesta Bowl. The two teams were a no-brainer selection for the Alliance. It seemed as though things were looking up for the system, with or without the two intransigent Rose Bowl devotees.
Of course, this would be the only time that the Bowl Alliance actually managed to create a 1-vs.-2 pairing in its three years of existence. The following year they pitted #1 Florida in a rematch against #3 Florida State in the Sugar Bowl, while #2 Ohio State took on #4 Arizona State in the Rose Bowl. 1997 resulted in a split national championship as top-ranked Michigan won the Rose Bowl over #8 Washington State and the Bowl Alliance matched #2 Nebraska against #3 Tennessee. But this one time, everything converged for the Alliance.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Nebraska entered the game averaging 52.4 points per game as it ran the table for the second straight year. More importantly, their formidable defense was conceding just 13.6 points per outing. Florida’s scoring stats were nearly as impressive, as they won their average regular-season contest by a score of 45-17. The Gators actually scored first on a short Bart Edmiston field goal, and added a touchdown on Danny Wuerffel’s short QB run for a touchdown. Steve Spurrier’s team led 10-6 after one quarter, and looked to make a contest of it. Then Nebraska unleashed the full power of its classic Tommie Frazier-led option offense.
The Cornhuskers scored 36 unanswered in the second and third quarters to open up a 42-10 lead. Spurrier’s squad managed two more touchdowns, but they couldn’t even keep pace with the high-octane Huskers offense. Frazier was a force against Florida, keeping the ball 16 times on the option for 199 rushing yards and two scores and going 6-of-14 passing for another 105 yards and another TD. Lawrence Phillips racked up 165 yards and two rushing touchdowns, backup Ahman Green added another 68 rushing yards and a score on just nine carries, and the Huskers finished with a ridiculous 524 rushing yards to cap their 24th consecutive victory and second straight national championship.