Tomorrow will be the last time the Orange Bowl Stadium hosts any event as Miami takes on Virginia(7:15 on ESPN2). For this I present to you the Greatest Moment in Orange Bowl history...the 1984 Orange Bowl between 1 Nebraska and 5 Miami.
In the early-1900's, the state of Florida began a population burst that led to the establishment of many universities. One of the first schools established in the South Florida area was the University of Miami. Miami began as a university in 1925. It was on October 29, 1927 that Miami football was born. That day the Canes defeated Rollins College 39-3. It was a great start for the Canes, however, they finished the rest of the year at 3-6-1. In the next several years, things didn't quite improve for the young football team.
It was in 1934 that Miami qualified for their first bowl game facing Bucknell in the 1935 Orange Bowl(a 26-0 loss). For the next several years, Miami would enjoy several successful seasons but could never "break through". They would score their first Bowl victory in 1945 defeating Holy Cross 13-6 in the Orange Bowl. As time went on most alumni and fans wondered when would Miami reach that next step. On October 22, 1954, Miami was given a chance as they faced defending National Champion, Maryland. In a defensive struggle, Miami defeated Maryland 9-7.
It seemed like a spark that would bring the program to life but the Canes struggled to reach National supremacy. In 1966, Miami had hit the top going 8-2-1 concluding with a 14-7 win over Virginia Tech in the Liberty Bowl. However, it was the beginning of a downward spiral. The rest of the decade and the 1970's was a disaster for Miami as they only had 1 winning season. Talks about ending the program occurred following a 2-8 1975 season. However, the administration did not give up and they fired Coach Carl Belmer after a 3-8 campaign in 1976.
Miami then hired Lou Saban(Nick's Cousin) to coach the hapless Canes team. At Miami, Saban would recruit and set the groundwork for future events mainly recruiting, Jim Kelly. In his first season, Miami went 3-8 but they bounced back the next year to finish 6-5. However, Saban's tenure wouldn't last long as controversy over three Miami players attacking a Jewish man and throwing him into the river followed by a comment Saban made(he did not realize the man was Jewish)would end the Saban era.
With Saban gone, many wondered where could Miami go from here. The administration decided to head to the pros to find a coach. In the pros they found Howard Schnellenberger, the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins and what happened that day was the beginning of something...big. Schnellenberger's first training camp was described as "the most brutal" during any of his coaching years(hot summer Miami sun + full pad tackling = hell). In Schnellenberger's first game, Miami defeated Louisville 24-12, but the rest of the season would be a mix bag as Miami lost to rival Florida State along with Florida A&M and San Diego State(none of these will never happen again) but they also beat rival Florida and 8 Penn State in Happy Valley. Despite some criticism, 1980 looked bright for the Canes.
1980 began with the Canes starting at 4-0 and reaching 13 in the polls before getting blown out by Notre Dame in South Bend, 32-14. Miami would conclude the 1980 season with a 20-10 win over Virginia Tech in the Peach Bowl. Going into 1981, some expected the Canes to take the National Championship. However, the dream was dead following a 14-7 loss to Texas in Austin and a 14-10 loss to Mississippi State. However, Miami would lose not the rest of the year and finished 9-2 concluding with a 37-15 win over Notre Dame at home.
1982, however, would be different as Miami floundered and finished 7-4 in a very difficult schedule. Going into the 1983 season, the Canes were a dark horse candidate for the National Championship. However, again, dreams seemed to be over with a 28-3 loss to Florida in Gainesville. Unlike other seasons, however, Miami wasn't done yet. The Canes would bounce back to upset Houston the following week(yes at one time a day Houston was greater than Miami), shut out Purdue and Notre Dame at home, blew out Duke and Louisville, breezed across Cincinatti and Ole Miss, shut down West Virginia, and escaped East Carolina and Florida State finishing at 5 and qualifying for the Orange Bowl for the first time in over 30 years to face 1 Nebraska.
Nebraska was a story of it's own. For it's first 70 years of it's existence, Nebraska was just some midwest program. In 1962, Nebraska under Coach Bob Devaney went 9-2, earning a bid to the Gotham Bowl where they would defeat the Canes 36-34 at Yankee Stadium. From there, Nebraska never turned back. In 1970, Nebraska won it's first National Championship defeating LSU in the Orange Bowl 17-12. They did it again a year later, knocking off Alabama in the Orange Bowl 38-6 and Nebraska was set.
Following the 1973 Orange Bowl, Devaney would leave Nebraska and Tom Osborne took over. For 10 years, Osborne struggled to win the National Championship coming close on 4 occasions. However, in 1983, people felt Nebraska had it as they scored well over 550 points combined(peaking at 84 and slumping at 14)while only allowing between 150-200. Going into the 1984 Orange Bowl, many felt Miami had no chance in hell of beating Nebraska. However, Miami proved the doubters wrong early as they jumped out to a 17-0 lead after 1.
Nebraska fans were shocked as their team had not been shut out after 1 all season long. In the 2nd half, however, it was all Huskers as they scored off of two run plays to make it 17-14 at halftime. In the 3rd, Nebraska finally caught Miami tying it at 17. However, Miami would pull the lead back to 14 making it 31-17 going into the 4th. The final 15 minutes would be considered by some to be the greatest in Football history.
Miami was desperately trying to hold Nebraska down but the Huskers kept fighting and they managed to pull to 31-24 with 6 minutes remaining. With 3 minutes to go, Nebraska began to drive downfield even converting on 4th down. However, the Huskers faced the dread 4th down again and had to gain 8 yards or else Miami would be champions. On the previous play, a wide-opened Irving Fryer dropped the pass in the end zone and the balloon of confidence busted for the Huskers.
This is where I will stop, rather than giving away the exciting conclusion I will instead give you the bonus video of the 1984 Orange Bowl. It is the exciting conclusion
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