Poll Controversies Revisited: 1995 - And All Our Innocence Was Gone

1995 was not a very fun year in college football. If 1994 was the sparkling summer jewel then 1995 was the hour before sunset. The Southwest Conference was on life support merely awaiting the inevitable removal of the ventilator. The Bowl Coalition had already passed into history as a failed experiment. Several long admired programs - and one hated one - were about to go through their own versions of the valley of the shadow of death. The season began under the backdrop of the most famous murder trial of the 20th century starring a former Heisman Trophy winner and ended with a Heisman candidate accused of domestic violence drinking in cheers of the faithful after winning the most lopsided national championship game in football history.

There were some bright spots. Auburn, who had gone through 21 games before losing the 1994 finale, was off probation and eligible for the SEC and national titles. Nebraska had finally gotten over the hump to win Tom Osborne his long desired championship. Steve Spurrier was in the midst of becoming the most dominant SEC coach since Bear Bryant reeled off five SEC titles in a row in the early 1970s. Oklahoma State had become one of the few major colleges to take a chance on an African-American head coach when they hired former Colorado assistant Bob Simmons, who left Boulder after Bill McCartney's recommendation that Simmons succeed him was rejected by the CU administration, who quickly (and to their ultimate regret) settled on the slick looking Rick Neuheisel, who had all of zero head coaching experience when tapped to take over a solid Colorado program. There was also a fresh-faced NFL assistant moving to his first big-time college job and possessing the name of a well-respected former NFL coach, Nicholas Lou Saban, Jr. The retirement of George Perles at Michigan State brought the Cleveland Browns' defensive coordinator back to Lansing, where he had spent five years as an assistant and had helped the team win the 1988 Rose Bowl. And a young quarterback - also with a famous namesake - was behind center in Knoxville, hoping to carve out an identity for the Manning name as a winner.

But the negatives outweighed the positives in 1995. Two recent national champions - Alabama (1992) and Miami (1991) - were hit with NCAA penalties consequent to investigations that had dragged on for years. Alabama's appeal would swallow its season into a forgettable memory of frustration and underachievement. The long-term consequences would send the program spiraling into the darkest decade in its history. Miami, meanwhile, was looked upon by most of the fans as finally getting a dose of what they deserved. The Canes had a systemic athletic program problem that crossed into the tennis, baseball, and golf programs and revealed cash payments to players as far back as the Jimmy Johnson era along with doctored drug tests the enabled at least three players to play despite testing positive. The penalties - most notably the 24 lost scholarships - would implode the program for a number of years as new coach Butch Davis opted to take a number of penalties "sooner rather than later" in order to press onward.

AP PRE-SEASON RANKINGS

1) Florida State 2) Nebraska 3) Texas A/M 4) Penn St 5) Florida 6) Auburn 7) USC 8) Tennessee

COACHES POLL PRE-SEASON RANKINGS

1) Florida St 2) Nebraska 3) Texas A/M 4) Penn St 5) Florida 6) USC 7) Auburn 8) Notre Dame

The Pigskin Classic, played at Disneyland 1990-94, became an on-campus affair in 1995, and they chose a historic venue, the Big House in Ann Arbor. #16 Virginia bolted out to a 17-0 lead only to watch it vanish as the Wolverines edged the Cavs, 18-17, with a touchdown on the game's final play. Arch rival Ohio State began its quest in the annual Kickoff Classic in New Jersey, the Buckeyes blasting Boston College, 38-6, with Bobby Hoying finding a new long threat in WR Terry Glenn. On the Saturday before Labor Day, Nebraska stood up and began its quest for a repeat.

It was Bob Simmons's debut in Stillwater, and the heat was stifling as Nebraska came to town. After a light first quarter, the Huskers ripped into the Cowboys for a 30-point second quarter and pulled the starters with a 50-7 lead only five minutes into the third quarter. Lawrence Phillips rushed for 153 yards and 3 TDs on only 12 carries in the first 26 minutes of the game. The Huskers eventually ground out 671 yards of total offense and 64 points in the shellacking. But the story of the day was - once again - in South Bend, where perennial also-ran Northwestern, a team that had not won more than four games in a season since 1970 (and had zero wins in five different years), utterly stunned Notre Dame and the entire world with one of the biggest upsets in college history. Northwestern pretty much owned the entire game, leading throughout and holding off an Irish two-point conversion with 6:15 left that netted a 17-15 shocking upset win. Northwestern students did not even begin the school year for two more weeks, so the partying in Chicago was long and hard in the celebration of the upset. As it turned out, the Wildcats - about to generate a huge amount of support via their journalism graduates in many outposts - were just beginning.

Peyton Manning led his first comeback the following week, trailing Georgia by four in the fourth quarter. After a missed 53-yard field goal with the score tied at 27, Manning took Tennessee close enough to win on a 34-yarder at the buzzer. Nebraska smashed Michigan State, 50-10, in Nick Saban's debut, but it was what happened after the game that would mar Nebraska's season and Tom Osborne's pristine reputation. Nebraska's quarterback of the future was a Stanford transfer named Scott Frost. Star running back Lawrence Phillips, who had just romped for another four touchdowns against Michigan State, received a phone call from a girl who knew that Phillips was still infatuated with his ex-girlfriend, Kate McEwen, a Cornhusker basketball player. McEwen was spending the night at Frost's apartment, and the caller let Philllips know this enraging information. Phillips raced over to Frost's third-floor apartment, scaled the complex, broke through the sliding glass door and found McEwen in the bathroom. After first striking her, Phillips dragged McEwen by her hair down three flights of stairs until confronted and stopped by two bypassers and Frost himself. Phillips fled and by Monday morning, Osborne announced Phillips had been "dismissed" from the team, noting however, that "dismissed" did not mean he was actually gone but only that he wouldn't play for a time deemed by Osborne. The coach further defended his actions by noting that Phillips had an excellent chance of winning the Heisman but was now guaranteed not to do so. Phillips was not Osborne's only problem, however, as Phillips's backup, Damon Benning, was also arrested for domestic violence but not removed from the team. The situations were hardly the same (Benning stated the girl had keyed his car and tried to enter his apartment, and he restrained her from doing so - and most importantly had a witness), but they contributed to the rapid decline of Osborne's reputation for dignity. Another player, Riley Washington, was accused of second-degree attempted murder at a Lincoln convenience store and suspended, but because Osborne had no evidence that Washington even owned a gun chalked it up to a case of mistaken identity. The rap sheet on Nebraska was growing longer over the previous years, and it wasn't only black players in lily white Lincoln, either. Defensive tackle Christian Peter had been convicted of third-degree sexual assault in 1993, a conviction that would later result in Peter's NFL rights being relinquished at the request of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who said he could not justify drafting Peter and made him the first drafted player in NFL history to ever be waived before training camp began. Nebraska's season was already tarnished, particularly against the backdrop of the OJ Simpson case, and it would only get worse six weeks later when Osborne reinstated Phillips and permitted him to play.

Alabama, meanwhile, was doing a rather interesting encore of 1994's cardiac kids despite losing Jay Barker and Sherman Williams. The Tide scraped by Vanderbilt, 33-25, then went all the way to the game's final play against Southern Mississippi. A sack of QB Brian Burgdorf put the Tide in a fourth down and 16 at the USM 36 with only seconds remaining. Burgdorf went for it all and got it, a touchdown reception by Toderick Malone that gave the Tide a hard-earned and narrow 24-20 win. Alabama's play the first two weeks had been borderline inept, bailed out only greater ineptitude in overmatched opponents. The following Saturday, the Tide would finally pay dearly for all the close games of the previous season.

Former Gadsden, Alabama native - and Clemson national title winning coach - Danny Ford brought the Razorbacks of Arkansas into Bryant-Denny Stadium on the heels of an embarrassing loss to upstart SMU in Dallas, thanks in large part to the ineptitude of Hawgs QB Barry Lunney. A win against overmatched South Carolina hardly silenced the complaints, but Arkansas took a 10-3 lead into halftime only to watch Alabama take a 19-10 lead in the third quarter. The Tide led despite quarterback troubles of their own, as Burgdorf was 6 of 17 for 90 yards, and nearly half of that came on a touchdown pass to Curtis Brown. Arkansas narrowed the gap to 19-13 and then went on a drive up the field, aided by a missed 12 men on the field penalty. With seconds remaining and fourth and goal at the Tide three, Lunney tossed a pass to J.J. Meadors that he trapped......or caught.....or trapped. It was hard to tell for sure, but in those days of no instant replay, the referee's "touchdown" call tied the game, and the PAT afterward won it. The Tide could be 3-0 or even 0-3, but there was a deep level of frustration with the loss and perhaps the sense that the SEC office wanted to avoid a repeat of the Auburn debacle of the previous two years. In the end, it would not matter save for the bitter pill of defeat for the first time in conference against the Hawgs. Florida blasted Tennessee, 62-37, a score all the more amazing given that the Vols led, 30-14, just before halftime. Air Spurrier unleashed 48 points and total game yardage of nearly 600 in the win that would eventually become routine: Peyton Manning simply couldn't beat Florida. New coach Gerry DiNardo led LSU to a stunning upset of Auburn, 12-6, and it began to appear that the probation and narrow wins of 1993 and 1994 might prove to be difficult to maintain with Terry Bowden's own recruits. Nebraska massacred Arizona State, 77-28, but surely the stunner of the week was Northwestern's shocking loss to Miami of Ohio following the earlier win over Notre Dame. This loss, in fact, began the narrative that Northwestern had merely won a fluke victory over the Irish. Auburn disappeared from the top ten, Alabama's poor performances had them dropping from 12 in the pre-season to 23 after the Hawgs loss, and Ohio State was moving towards the top.

The big news of September 23 was the stunning loss by Miami, who had not lost to an unranked foe since 1984. The loss of recruits and the upcoming probation scholarship losses were already mounting for Butch Davis as the Canes lost to Va Tech, 13-7. Colorado, expected to regress after losing three skill position players and their long-time head coach, knocked Texas A/M from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 29-21 victory in Boulder. Attention shifted for the final Saturday in September to the American Midwest. Penn State, with a 19-game winning streak, bumbled its way to a 17-9 loss in Happy Valley against rising Wisconsin. Ohio State fell behind 10-0 and 17-7 before the Buckeyes ripped off three touchdowns in six minutes en route to a blowout of the Fighting Irish, 45-26. It was Lou Holtz's first game back on the sidelines after spinal surgery. Michigan State completed a three-game sweep of Boston College by the Big Ten, with Ohio State and Michigan also knocking off BC. Alabama flattened Georgia, 31-0, in what would be the Tide's best all-around performance of the year. It is likely no accident this result followed both the Arkansas loss and a week off to stew about it. And then came the most memorable day of the entire year of 1995.

On October 3, millions were watching when former Heisman winner O.J. Simpson was found "not guilty" of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her male friend, Ron Goldman. What had seemed an open and shut case - OJ's blood at the crime scene, the victims' blood in his house, the infamous Bronco chase, the suicide note, and the DNA evidence - was swept away when the jury deliberated only four hours before returning a "not guilty" verdict. It also served as a reminder of what an issue race was (and would continue to be) in the country. The verdict was the kind of thing that could only have hurt Lawrence Phillips's chances for reinstatement, given that the pendulum in public opinion towards Simpson flipped when the infamous 911 call of him beating his now dead ex-wife was released. Phillips remained suspended as the leaves fell and the annual Florida State-Miami game unfolded.

This was not the rivalry of bygone years. The sanctions and new coach Butch Davis had put a clamp down on the old days of on the field thuggery and off the field trash talking. FSU was a contender, Miami a has-been, and the Noles proved it by blasting the Canes, 47-17. Kansas stunned the nation by knocking off Colorado in Boulder, 40-24. Peyton Manning seemingly ended the Arkansas dream of a division title by scoring on six straight possessions in a 49-31 drubbing. Ohio State emerged in just one year from the 63-14 shellacking at Penn State's hands to a victory that moved the Buckeyes up to number four and garnered them some first place votes. But all of these failed by comparison to Northwestern adding to a glorious season by beating Michigan for the first time since 1965 and doing so in the Big House, 19-13. The star for the Wildcats was LB Pat Fitzgerald (yes, THAT Pat Fitzgerald), who recorded 14 tackles in the win. This second upset and national sentiment vaulted the Wildcats up to #17. And Texas Tech ended Texas A/M's 29-game SWC winning streak by holding them to only 7 points and winning the game, 14-7, on a pick six. But the following Saturday really marked the beginning of the legend of Peyton Manning.

Manning had been the starter for about a year, and he had played okay if not exactly spectacularly. He was a solid and capable quarterback and steady for a freshman, but he had not yet beaten any of his arch foes or left a national audience dazzled. Entering the game, Tennessee had not beaten Alabama in ten years, going all the way back to the Tony Robinson era. Three Alabama coaches had owned the Vols, recording a record of eight wins and a tie, and winning games in every way imaginable, from blowouts (1986, 1987, 1989) to shifting momentum on the final possessions (1990) to just merely surviving (1991, 1992, 1994). On October 14, 1995 - the first time since 1914 the game was not played on the Third Saturday in October - and with a national ESPN audience watching, Manning stepped into the spotlight by absolutely shredding a solid Alabama defense that led the nation with a +22 turnover margin. On the first play from scrimmage, Manning tossed one 17 yards over the defense to wide receiver Joey Kent in the seam, who outran the defense to the end zone for a lightning quick 80-yard touchdown that seized momentum that Vols never let go. Five Alabama turnovers contributed to a quick 21-0 deficit that saw backup QB Freddie Kitchens replace Brian Burgdorf and lead two Tide TD drives, but Alabama never threatened to take the game, and the Tide was as good as dead in the SEC race after losing, 41-14. Florida smoked Auburn, 49-38, to seize control of the East race. Ohio State - who had twice gone into Madison with top five rankings and left in defeat (1985, 1993), left with a 27-16 win on the back of Eddie George, who overcame a poor first half to help lead the Buckeyes to the win. The Big Eight was rising, four teams in the top ten. That, however, would come to an end just one week later.

October 21 saw the first World Series game in two full years, the Atlanta Braves and their Hall of Fame pitching staff taking on the Cleveland Indians, baseball's most potent offense in over fifty years with a plethora of .300 hitters. The Braves were built on pitching and defense, and it was defense that had carried Kansas State into the #8 ranking as they headed to Lincoln. It turned out that their national leading scoring defense was only #1 because the Wildcats hadn't actually played anyone decent. Sure, they had recorded three straight shutouts against the likes of Akron, N Illinois, and Missouri. They'd only given up 45 points in six games. Nebraska - without Lawrence Phillips - had 42 in the third quarter and ended the game with a 49-25 pasting of Bill Snyder's charges. Alabama's defense again carried the day in a lackluster 23-9 win over Ole Miss. Alabama led 16-0 with nine of the points coming courtesy of a Dwayne Rudd safety on the game's first series and a Ralph Staten pick six. The Tide offense totaled only 239 total yards against a team ransacked by crippling sanctions and talk was rampant of the need to change quarterbacks. USC fell from the top five thanks to some motivation of something that never happened. USC's mouthy WR Keyshawn Johnson was alleged to have made some harsh comments about Notre Dame, who used it as motivation in a 38-10 blistering of the Trojans in South Bend. The Trojans made five trips in the Irish red zone and came away with four turnovers and three points. This outcome suddenly created problems for Ohio State, who now appeared to be in the same shoes as Penn State in 1994. The hope was that both teams would reach the Rose Bowl undefeated and play for the national championship, but the USC loss suddenly made this all but impossible. And Oklahoma, now entering a down period, lost to (of all teams) Kansas and badly, 38-17, in Norman. The Big Eight was making lots of news and noise and not always for the best reason as the following Tuesday revealed.

On October 24, Lawrence Phillips practiced with Nebraska for the first time since his September 10 suspension. Osborne announced that Phillips would practice but not travel with the team to its upcoming game in Boulder but would play in the following game on November 4 against Iowa State. To say the news media (not just sports) came unglued would be an understatement. The heat intensified enough that Osborne walked out of a press conference when a CBS reporter asked him if Phillips had committed the same crime against his own family would he have reinstated him to the football team. Suggestions were made that Osborne was bringing back Phillips in order to ensure Nebraska beat Colorado, a ridiculous assertion given that Phillips was not even going to make the trip to Boulder. But the last weekend of October cleared out the SEC race in ways unimaginable before the season began. Florida routed Georgia - that was common place even though the game was moved to Athens because the Gator Bowl was being refurbished - but the SEC West had an unexpected leader after another major upset. Holding the ball for 23 minutes in the first half, Arkansas stormed out to a 27-0 lead over Auburn. These kind of games, of course, were precisely the kind that Auburn had won the previous two seasons. Auburn climbed off the mat and with less than a minute remaining closed the margin to 30-28. After recovering the onsides kick with 15 seconds left and completing a pass, it appeared yet another Auburn miracle was in the making. But this year it was Arkansas getting all of the Auburn luck, tipping the attempted 52-yard field goal attempt and holding on to win the game and take the inside track towards the division title. Northwestern - all the way up to number eight in the polls - fell behind Illinois, 14-0, and scored 17 points to have the lead with second left. The Illini desperation heave into the end zone was intercepted, and Northwestern's fairy tale season continued. And Nebraska staked their claim to a number one ranking by blowing out the Buffaloes in Boulder, 44-21.....without Lawrence Phillips. As October ended, the race was very much in doubt. The impressive win moved Nebraska ahead of Florida State. The Noles now had their chance to make a claim.

AP POLL AND COACHES POLLS BOTH

1) Nebraska 2) Florida State 3) Florida 4) Ohio State 5) Tennessee

The rise of Nebraska to the top of the polls would seem to provide motivation for Florida State, the pre-season number one, to dispatch Virginia and reclaim the top spot. Danny Kanell wound up throwing 67 passes for 454 yards - in a loss. The game (and second biggest upset) of the year came on Thursday night as Tiki Barber led Virginia with 311 all purpose yards in a shocking 33-28 upset win in Charlottesville. With nine seconds left, FSU drove all the way to the Cavs six-yard line and then tried to win with a trick play, a direct snap to Warrick Dunn, standing next to Kanell. Dunn bolted through the line but was tackled short of the end zone as time expired, and UVA had the biggest football win in school history. A defensive struggle on CBS - interrupted with news of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin - saw Alabama and LSU put on a 10-3 game that was entertaining if lacking in offensive firepower. Arkansas clinched the SEC West with a win over Mississippi State. And Northwestern continued their quest for the Rose Bowl as they upset Joe Paterno's Penn State Nittany Lions, 21-10. And then there were three.



A new media created story now took over the college football season. With many of the graduates of its fine journalism school covering sports - including J.A. Adande, Mike Greenberg, Michael Wilbon, Christine Brennan, Greg Easterbrook, Mike Adamle, Brent Musberger and Jon Heyman - a narrative developed that saw several of them pleading almost begging in desperate tones for the Big Ten to send Northwestern to the Rose Bowl. Because the Big Ten did not play round robin (eleven teams played eight conference games against each other, missing two foes annually), Ohio State and Northwestern would not meet on the gridiron. Although Northwestern could win out and gain a share of the Big Ten title, the Buckeyes would go to Pasadena by virtue of a better record barring an upset loss.



The following week was uneventful with minimal changes in the polls. Northwestern - as they'd done all year - ended yet another long losing streak, this time to Iowa, 31-20. Nebraska blanked Kansas, 41-3, showing the gap was still huge between the programs. And Oklahoma State gave the Sooners their first shutout since 1983 with a 12-0 defeat. There were few games of note the weekend of November 18, but one that would live on for a long time when Alabama made its third trip ever to Jordan-Hare Stadium.



Rumors abounded in the lead up to the Iron Bowl that Alabama Coach Gene Stallings was going to retire after the game. Alabama seemed to be heading for some early success when Dennis Riddle turned a reverse into a huge gain. Unfortunately, Riddle fumbled and Auburn recovered, bringing the feverish Auburn crowd into the game early. Patrick Nix correctly saw an oncoming blitz and hit his receiver Stephen Davis wide open for a touchdown. Freddie Kitchens - who had replaced Brian Burgdorf as the starter - responded with a play action bomb touchdown to Toderick Malone on the ensuing drive. During their response drive, Dameyune Craig came on for Patrick Nix, and Auburn went over from the one to take a 14-7 lead. Kitchens responded with an end around to Malone, who busted the first tackle and raced down the sidelines for a 59-yard response touchdown that tied the game at 14. The game still had three minutes left in the first quarter. Nix responded with a comeback pass to his tight end that made it 21-14, Auburn. It was looking like one of those futuristic Big 12 flag football games that end with a 65-61 final score. Matt Hawkins's field goal with two minutes left in the first half gave Auburn a 24-14 lead they took into the locker room. Patrick Nix was slicing the Tide secondary on almost every play.



The second half picked up with the Tide driving into the Tigers red zone but having to settle for a field goal. In past years (except 1991), this would have been a Tide strength. But for some reason kicker Michael Proctor had missed six consecutive field goal attempts, none from longer than 38 yards. He made the short kick and the Tide was only down by a touchdown midway through the third quarter. The highlight of Alabama's next offensive drive was a play action pass that Kitchens tucked and ran 24 yards downfield with before taking the tackle. The sight of the somewhat portly (for his age) Kitchens running was truly unforgettable. Alabama chewed up most of the third quarter on the long drive, Kitchens barreling over on third and goal from the one to tie the game. The fourth quarter was set up for (pardon the pun) a Barn burner.



The next drive saw the Tide take their first lead of the game via a 36-yard field goal by Proctor. Robert Baker's return meant Auburn would start at their own forty. On third and nine, Nix went downfield - again - right over Ralph Staten to Baker, who kept the drive going in what was the biggest play of the game thus far. An off tackle handoff to Fred Beasley resulted in a 20-yard never touched on the way to the end zone touchdown, giving Auburn the lead back at 31-27. After a defensive stand each, Alabama got the ball with a little over three minutes left and began driving. At the Auburn 44 with less than two minutes left and needing to covert a third and eight, Kitchens threw a perfect toss to Marcel West that kept it going with a new set of downs. On first and ten at the Auburn 22 with 35 seconds left, Kitchens tossed deep to Curtis Brown at the back of the end zone for what appeared for all the world to be the game-winning touchdown. But Brown was in the air when he caught the ball and his foot set down out of bounds, making it an incompletion. Alabama failed to score as Kitchens threw it through the end zone on the final play. Alabama's frustrating season was over with a loss in part due to officiating, a blowout to Tennessee, and a heartbreaker in Auburn. It was minimal solace two weeks later when the NCAA upheld Alabama's appeal of the NCAA sanctions, the first upheld appeal in the history of college sports.



A potential car crash lay just ahead. Once again, college football had managed to have three unbeaten teams for only two spots and on top of this problem, #4 was the nation's sentimental favorite, the former whipping boy Northwestern. The sport was starting the prospect of a sixth disputed champion in seven years directly in the face. And that's the moment the John Cooper era began.



John Cooper was a highly regarded football coach in his eighth year at Ohio State. He had been a successful coach at Tulsa, done three memorable years at Arizona State that gave the school its first-ever Rose Bowl win (and beat Michigan in the process), and he had lifted Ohio State from the doldrums of the end of the Earle Bruce era in 1987 to a national title contender in 1993. His litany of successes would eventually see his enshrinement in the College Football Hall of Fame. Cooper, however, is better remembered as a coach who blew more opportunities than most folks ever have. In 1985 - his first year at ASU - Cooper needed only to beat arch rival Arizona to make the Rose Bowl. Despite outplaying the Wildcats for virtually the entire game, the Sun Devils lost with three fourth quarter turnovers that led to five points, including a game-winning field goal with 1:43 left. In 1986,

ASU was #4 in the country with the potential to upset the apple cart when they again lost to Arizona, 34-17. This loss was glossed over nationally when the Sun Devils won the Rose Bowl after a comeback from a 15-3 deficit against Michigan. In his long career, however, Cooper's record against , his arch rivals (Arizona and later Michigan) was an awful 2-12-1, with four losses that prevented opportunities to win the national championship. After losing to Arizona with an unbeaten ASU team in 1986 and then to Michigan in 1993, Cooper hoped the third time was the charm in 1995. He would never have quite this type of team again, fully stocked with the Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George, Terry Glenn, and outstanding lineman Orlando Pace (among a talented bunch). But given his influence on the outcome of all three years of the Bowl Alliance, perhaps this brief experiment might best be called the John Cooper Method.



The Big Ten was facing a similar dilemma in 1995 as they had just one year earlier - they had the #2 team in the nation that was contractually ineligible to face #1. It had taken three years to blow up the Bowl Coalition, and the Buckeyes were on the verge of blowing up the Bowl Alliance in hits inaugural year. Michigan RB Tim Biakabatuka bailed out the system, running around, over, and through the Buckeyes defense for an incredible 313 rushing yards, nearly 200 in the first half alone. Charles Woodson's late interception plus a failed two-point conversion attempt by Eddie George led to a final score of 31-22, Michigan, and an entire nation of sportswriters rejoiced as Northwestern was headed to the Rose Bowl. Nebraska had already earned their spot in the Fiesta Bowl for the national title match with a 37-0 pasting of Oklahoma, the first shutout of the Sooners by the Cornhuskers since 1942 (and the Sooners worst loss since 1965). And Florida kept their title hopes alive in an elimination game against Florida State with a 35-24 win in a game they never trailed and held a 28-6 halftime lead. This trio of results meant that a win by Florida over Arkansas would provide a 1 vs 2 matchup between Nebraska and Florida with a resultant undisputed national champion. And given that Arkansas was a paper tiger that benefited from a disputed touchdown against Alabama and a missed field goal against Auburn, the Gators would be a heavy favorite.



It was no contest. Florida shredded Arkansas, 34-3, without even working up much of a sweat. The key play of the game occurred in the third quarter with the Hawgs trailing, 24-3, but threatening. Missing their best runner, Madre Hill, the Hawgs had little choice but to go for the touchdown on a fourth and one at the Gator three. Attempting an option play, Arkansas QB Barry Lunney pitched as he went down - right into the hands of Gators LB Ben Hanks, who raced 95 yards for a back breaking touchdown that gave Florida a 31-3 lead and meant the rest of the game was just wasting time until it was over. Florida, after seven years in the SEC doghouse that included two probations for paying players were 60 minutes from the first football national title in school history.



The Bowl Alliance had set up nicely. Similar to the 1987 Fiesta Bowl that had really put college football on the national map by moving the title game to January 2, the 1996 game would feature the consensus choice for national champion against the top-ranked unbeaten contender that would provide an undisputed title holder. It should be noted that nothing else between the 1987 game and 1996 tilt would be even remotely similar.



The bowl games demonstrated some decent conference strength. LSU sandblasted future LSU coach Nick Saban's Michigan State team, 45-26, in the Independence Bowl. Kansas State, Colorado, and Kansas all won their bowl games by colossal blowouts to make the conference 3-0 prior to the Fiesta Bowl. And although Tennessee gave Ohio State the 1994 treatment - a loss by a touchdown to an SEC team in the Citrus Bowl - the rest of the SEC outside the Vols and LSU went down to unimpressive defeats, including Arkansas in the Carquest Bowl, Georgia in the Peach Bowl, and Auburn in a blowout loss to Penn State in the Outback Bowl. Media darling Northwestern came up just short of winning the Rose Bowl against Keyshawn Johnson's USC team, but there was little doubt that the Wildcats were THE story of the year.



Nebraska entered the game as a four-point favorite, owing mostly to their status as defending national champions. Neither team had faced much opposition during the regular season, the Cornhuskers averaging 52 points per game to lead the country, the Gators third with 44. Nebraska entered the game with an all-time 0-4 record in the Fiesta Bowl. Another key addition to this game was the use of an overtime, which would arrive full-time in Division I-A college football the following season. To prevent the game ending in a tie, an overtime was built into the rules. Jason Odom, a Florida All-American offensive lineman, had played in two tiebreakers in high school, winning one state championship but losing the chance at the repeat. Prior to the game, Odom stated, "I hope we don't need one against Nebraska."



Well, he got his wish.



Florida took the opening kickoff and drove all the way to the Cornhusker five-yard line before settling for a 23-yard field goal and an early 3-0 lead. Nebraska began the ensuing possession at their own 47-yard line after a good return and Tommie Frazier combined with the pariah Lawrence Phillips to score a quick touchdown that gave Nebraska a 6-3 lead that remained such after Florida blocked the PAT. Another Florida drive ended in a touchdown on a Danny Wuerffel one-yard QB sneak. As the first quarter ended, Florida led Nebraska, 10-6, and the contest was anybody's game.



It was an illusion.



The teams flipped sides of the field for the second quarter, and Nebraska flipped the page on the game script. What followed was perhaps the most devastating quarter of any national championship game ever played. On the second play of the quarter, Phillips broke two tackles and cut through the middle and down the right side for a touchdown that put Nebraska ahead, 13-10. Florida's defenders were missing several tackles early in the game, and it was a harbinger of what was to come. Florida responded in a four wide receiver set, and when there was nobody open Wuerffel - not exactly a speed demon - raced through the middle of the field and slid to the ground for a 22-yard gain. A holding penalty negated the run and moved Florida back to the eight. A false start moved them back to the four with a first and 28. It appeared on second down that Wuerffel had been tackled in the end zone for a safety, but the officials ruled he had gotten the ball out of the end zone. It didn't matter as on the next play, Jamel Williams got Wuerffel for the safety that gave Nebraska a 15-10 lead plus possession of the ball. A quick Nebraska drive that ended with an Ahman Green touchdown plus a field goal put Nebraska ahead, 25-10, with all the momentum. Seemingly panicked, Wuerffel threw an interception that Michael Booker returned 42 yards for a touchdown. Another field goal gave the Huskers a 35-10 lead at halftime. The game was over, but the rout had only begun.



In the second half, Nebraska pumped in another 27 points. Frazier scored a touchdown just 2:21 into the new half with a 35-yard dash to the end zone. Florida, not giving up, took only 58 seconds to get a touchdown (Wuerffel to Hilliard) and a two-point conversion that made it 42-18. The only thing missing was a play that everyone would remember the game by. Tommie Frazier obliged with one of the most incredible runs in the history of college football. On second and five with 20 seconds left in the third quarter, Frazier faked the handoff and ran around the right side with a keeper. He broke three tackles and was quickly into the Gators secondary. Converged on by four Gators and seemingly stopped, Frazier kept moving, breaking out of the grip and avoiding a pursuing tackler with the last attempt at the fifty. With a high step kick, Frazier raced down the sideline untouched the final 50 yards for the knife through the heart that ended what little chance Florida's high octane attack might have had. Ahead 49-18, Tom Osborne began emptying his bench, including both his second (Brook Berringer) and third-string (Matt Turman) quarterbacks. Nebraska even blocked an attempted two-point conversion on Florida's last touchdown and raced it back for two points only to see the officials disallow it because the play had been blown dead. Nebraska 62 Florida 24, the most one-sided national title game in college football history. With the win, the Cornhuskers became the first team since the 1978-79 Alabama Crimson Tide to repeat as national champions.





EPILOGUE



The long-term fallout of 1995 would have more tragic consequences than most. Nebraska's backup QB Brook Berringer, who had come off the bench in September 1994 and led the team all the way to the Orange Bowl, was his generation's Tim Tebow, a devout Christian who had been a role model both on and off the field. Just days before the NFL draft less than four months after beating Florida, Berringer was killed in a plane crash along with his girlfriend's brother at just 22 years old. Lawrence Phillips, the troubled off-the-field domestic abuser but talented on-the-field running back, flopped in the NFL and eventually was sentenced to 31 years in prison for multiple counts of multiple assaults on multiple people. In 2015, Phillips allegedly murdered his prison cellmate and less than a year later, he committed suicide. The glow of Northwestern's football success would quickly be overshadowed by a point shaving scandal involving the basketball team for the 1994-95 seasons and four football players charged with perjury regarding betting on their own games in 1994. One player (not on the 1995 team), Dennis Lundy, would go to prison and admit to intentionally fumbling the ball in the 1994 Iowa game. Northwestern's coach, Gary Barnett, would move on to Colorado but eventually be suspended over the use of sex and alcohol in recruiting while flippantly dismissing the rape claims of a female kicker, and fired as a result of tampering with witness testimony. And Rae Carruth, who played well for Colorado in 1995, would eventually wind up in prison for killing his pregnant girlfriend and injuring her unborn child. Carruth is eligible for release on October 22, 2018. After the dazzling light of 1994, the somber 1995 was less than stellar.



The Bowl Alliance - barely - had worked. The flaw in the system was obvious: if there was ever a Big Ten or Pac Ten contender, the system was going to buckle under the pressure. And what if you had multiple contenders that included TWO teams from the Big Ten and Pac Ten? As it turned out, we had only one year to wait.

GboyBama said:

I didn't get it. Seems like an average year of ups and downs in sports. One could pick out things that seem pivotal after the fact for most seasons, IMO.

Click to expand...

You can name another season where a prominent member of a national title team died right after the season, a Heisman candidate was suspended for beating his girlfriend, and a former Heisman winner dominated the news with a murder trial?

What year?