Like the Game, Nebraska Is Out of Place

MIAMI —  In the first Orange Bowl that’s not being played in the Orange Bowl, nothing is what it seems.

The game has been moved from the Orange Bowl stadium, its home since 1938, to luxurious Pro Player Stadium. That will seem odd, but think how strange it is for the two-time defending national champion Nebraska Cornhuskers to have little at stake tonight, while the 10th-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies can make a splash playing with the big boys in an alliance bowl game.

A season-ending loss to Texas ended any chance the Cornhuskers (10-2) had of winning a third title and left them sixth in the rankings. Without that incentive, Coach Tom Osborne isn’t sure how his players will respond. “Who knows what their inner workings are and how they’re going to react?” he said. “But so far, it’s been pretty good.”

Frank Beamer, coach of the 10-1 Hokies, seemed to send conflicting messages Monday. Beamer repeatedly expressed reverence for Nebraska and insisted he’s just glad to be here, but he also asserted that if not for a 52-21 loss to Syracuse in the fourth game of the season, his team would be playing for the national title.

“I feel honored to be in the Orange Bowl and be on the same field as Nebraska,” said Beamer, whose team was 2-8-1 in 1992 but will be in its fourth straight bowl game and won 20 of its last 21 games. “If I look a little bit nervous, it’s because I was reminded the last bowl game Nebraska played in [last year’s Fiesta Bowl], they beat a pretty good Florida team, 62-24. This is a great football team we’re playing, a team that’s been one of the best in college football for a number of years.”

For the 10th-ranked Hokies, the game might as well be called the Nebraska bowl. “Winning this game will make us known nationally and says we can go out and play with the best of them,” said tailback Ken Oxendine, who gained 914 yards and scored 13 touchdowns in nine games, averaging 98.9 yards a game. “The most pressure is on them.”

Said quarterback Jim Druckenmiller: “Beating somebody as big as Nebraska could take us to the next step. We have a lot of doubters out there and this is a chance to give a yes or no answer.”

There aren’t many secrets in either team’s strategy.

“Being the style of team we are, if all of a sudden we come out and threw 45 times, I’d be as shocked as you, and I’m calling the plays,” Osborne said. The running game will hinge on the success of Damon Benning (465 yards, seven touchdowns) and Jay Sims (288 yards in 11 games), because regular I-backs Ahman Green and DeAngelo Evans are questionable because of injuries. The Cornhuskers ranked fourth in rushing nationally with an average of 291.9 yards per game and their 42.7 point-per-game scoring average was fourth.

The Hokies’ defense ranked ninth in scoring defense, giving up an average of 15.27 points. Their rushing defense allowed opponents 112 yards per game, ranking 19th. “Their defense is very aggressive,” said Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost, who passed for 1,440 yards and 13 touchdowns and was intercepted only three times. “They’re going to stuff you three or four times in a row, and hopefully you can come back and make a big play.”

Virginia Tech will rely heavily on Druckenmiller (2,071 yards, seven touchdowns, five interceptions and a 56.8% completion rate in 250 attempts). His favorite receivers are flanker Shawn Scales (30 catches for 510 yards and four touchdowns) and split end Cornelius White (30 catches for 449 yards and four touchdowns).

“We’ve got to put pressure on him. He’s a great quarterback and he can see over the entire defensive line so he can see everything that’s happening in the secondary,” said junior defensive tackle Jason Peter.

Nebraska’s overall defense is formidable. The Cornhuskers ranked seventh in passing efficiency defense, with a rating of 91.9 and ends Jared Tomich and Grant Wistrom were All-Americans. The defense intercepted 23 passes--the most in the nation--and had 47 sacks to push teams back 304 yards.

“The closer the two teams are in ability, the more difficult it is [to identify one pivotal factor],” Osborne said. “You have to play a complete game. You can’t say, ‘We’ve got to throw the ball well today or run the ball,’ you’ve got to do it all. The one thing that jumps out is turnovers. If you’re minus-two it would be pretty hard to win. Minus-three, almost impossible.”