The 1983 Orange Bowl was the 49th
edition
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* Edition Recor ...
of the
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...
bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...
, played at the
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in ...
in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
, on Saturday, January 1. Part of the
1982–83 bowl game season, it matched the
thirteenth-ranked LSU Tigers
The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...
of the
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
(SEC) and the #3
Nebraska Cornhuskers
The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...
of the
Big Eight Conference
The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associati ...
. Favored Nebraska won by a point, 21–20.
The game suffered its lowest attendance (54,407)
in 36 years,
[ due to civil disturbances in the nearby Overtown neighborhood,][ as well as the game having no impact on the national championship, since second-ranked Penn State was playing #1 ]Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
at the same time in the Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...
in . In addition, Nebraska had played at Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
in December (and in the previous Orange Bowl), while LSU had lost two of its last three games of the regular season.[
]
Teams
LSU
LSU began the season notching two huge road victories in Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
play, ousting in October and in November. triumph at Birmingham's Legion Field
Legion Field is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States in Birmingham, Alabama, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but occasionally used for other large outdoor events. Opened in 1927, it is named in ho ...
was the Tigers' first over the Crimson Tide since 1970 and lifted LSU to No. 6 in the national polls.
One week after toppling Alabama, any faint national championship hopes LSU harbored were blown away with a stunning 27–24 loss to Mississippi State
Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...
in Starkville. The Tigers recovered the next week to rout Florida State
Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the sta ...
in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counti ...
to earn an Orange Bowl berth, but they inexplicably dropped a decision to Tulane
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...
, a 28-point underdog, at home in the regular season finale. It was the Green Wave's first victory at Tiger Stadium since 1948, and is Tulane's last triumph in the series
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
, which has not been played on a yearly basis since 1994. Despite the November swoon, LSU came into the bowl game ranked thirteenth in the AP and UPI polls. LSU was making a fifth Orange Bowl appearance
Appearance may refer to:
* Visual appearance, the way in which objects reflect and transmit light
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* ''Appearances'' (film), a 1921 film directed by Donald Crisp
* Appearance (philosophy), or p ...
, the first in nine years.
Nebraska
Nebraska was and ranked third in both polls, but they had been denied a chance to play for the national championship due to a controversial at Penn State in September. The Huskers were in their ninth Orange Bowl, the second of three consecutive appearances.
Game summary
Nebraska forced a three and out, and then scored easily on their first possession, capped by a five-yard touchdown run by fullback Mark Schellen to take a just four minutes into the game, and the heavily favored Huskers looked as if they would put the Tigers away early. But then a series of miscues turned the game on its head.
Toby Williams intercepted a Tiger pass at the Husker seven to thwart a promising LSU drive. But the Huskers fumbled the ball right back to LSU on the very next play from scrimmage, and Dalton Hilliard scored from the one to tie the game at seven.
Nebraska drove to the LSU 15 before fumbling again, then inexplicably fumbled a third time after forcing LSU to punt. Turner Gill
Turner Hillery Gill (born August 13, 1962) is an American college athletic administrator and former gridiron football player and coach. He is the Executive Director of Student-Athlete and Staff Development at the University of Arkansas, a positio ...
then threw an interception. The Tigers took advantage with a second Hilliard 1-yard touchdown run, and Nebraska found itself trailing at halftime after committing four turnovers on four consecutive series.
Halftime provided no relief for the mistake-prone Husker offense, with a missed field goal on the opening drive of the second half, followed by yet another fumble. LSU converted the latest Husker error into a 28-yard Juan Bentanzos field goal, which gave them a
On the very next series, Nebraska held on to the football and went on a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive, capped by an 11-yard swing pass from Turner Gill to Mike Rozier which pulled the Huskers within three
Gill then finished off a seven-play, 47-yard drive with a quarterback sneak early in the fourth to put the Huskers ahead Another miscue, this time a dropped pass on a fake field goal, prevented the Huskers from extending their lead. LSU got a 49-yard field goal from Bentanzos late following an interception (Nebraska's sixth turnover of the night), but they could not get the ball back again, and the Cornhuskers held on
Scoring
;First quarter:
*Nebraska – Mark Schellen 5-yard run (Kevin Seibel kick), 10:57
*LSU – Dalton Hilliard 1-yard run (Juan Betanzos kick), 4:24
;Second quarter:
*LSU – Hilliard 1-yard run (Betanzos kick), 9:32
;Third quarter:
*LSU – Betanzos 28-yard field goal, 6:40
*Nebraska – Mike Rozier 11-yard pass from Turner Gill
Turner Hillery Gill (born August 13, 1962) is an American college athletic administrator and former gridiron football player and coach. He is the Executive Director of Student-Athlete and Staff Development at the University of Arkansas, a positio ...
(Seibel kick), 1:25
;Fourth quarter:
*Nebraska – Gill 1-yard run (Seibel kick), 11:14
*LSU – Betanzos 49-yard field goal, 5:05
:
Statistics
:
:[
]
Aftermath
Nebraska remained in third in the final AP poll and LSU climbed to eleventh.
Nebraska played in its third consecutive Orange Bowl the following year; through 2021, LSU has yet to return.
These two teams met again in the Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...
in January 1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
and 1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
, both won by Nebraska.
References
External links
*http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=185&SPID=41&DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=151
{{Nebraska Cornhuskers bowl game navbox
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in ...
Orange Bowl
LSU Tigers football bowl games
Nebraska Cornhuskers football bowl games
January 1983 sports events in the United States
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in ...