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TEMPE, Ariz. - Nebraska faced the ultimate and most fitting test to its post-Tom Osborne reputation in the third quarter of its 31-21 win over No. 5 Tennessee in the 2000 Fiesta Bowl.
The Volunteers had just closed a 17-0 gap to 17-14 six minutes into the second half. Worse yet, UT pinned NU at its own 4-yard line.
With 96 yards to go in front of a national television audience and 71,456 fans at Sun Devil Stadium, quarterback Eric Crouch and Co. answered questions about an offense speculated to be falling from grace in nine plays and four minutes.
The sophomore's 13-yard touchdown to tight end Aaron Golliday gave NU an insurmountable lead.
And if the Huskers (12-1) didn't make their point clear enough on that drive, they beat it into the ground on the next possession, a 10-play, 99-yard scoring march proved the program wasn't going anywhere in the two-year-old Frank Solich regime.
"I think that was definitely a turning point in the game," Crouch said. "It was definitely a lot of motivation for our offense. The first drive we had was 96 yards. I think it showed a lot of stamina, a lot of heart.
"After we scored that touchdown, we just told ourselves, 'Hey we're going to have to do it again, and this time it's going to take 98, 99 yards.' We told ourselves we could do it. You don't see that a lot. I think it says a lot about the physical play that we brought to the table today."
The game had some very interesting set-ups and match-ups to make football fans' mouths water. It pitted the last two national champions in a rematch of NU's 42-17 victory two years ago in the 1998 Orange Bowl.
In that game, the Vols learned from Nebraska that it would take a potent rushing game and a lot more physical team to win a national championship. Throughout the week, this year's Volunteers were saying they had that game, and that the Huskers might have lost it.
"We wanted to come out and show them what physical football was all about," NU split end Matt Davison said. "By the second half, they didn't look like they wanted to play anymore.
Said Crouch: "There was a lot of talk about us not being a physical team. I thought that probably wasn't appropriate. It seemed like every five minutes someone was lying on the ground because they weren't in good shape."
Nothing that Nebraska ran at the Volunteers surprised UT. Solich, whose second year bettered his two predecessors Osborne and Bob Devaney, didn't dig as deep into his bag of tricks as he did in NU's 24-20 loss to Texas on Oct. 30 that cost them a shot at the national title.
He called more of the classic Husker plays - fullback traps and I-back counters, speed options and play action passes - all plays that helped put Nebraska on top of the polls three times in the past decade.
"This is what Nebraska was known for over the years," Solich said. "We want to be able to run the football and get something done when we do it. To control the ball like that, I thought that was vitally important."
But Crouch, who had 212 total yards, I-back Dan Alexander who had 108 rushing yards and Willie Miller, who had 89 rushing yards proved NU still had its mojo.
Of course, big plays like Bobby Newcombe's second quarter punt return for a touchdown, which helped put NU up 17-0, and Crouch's four passes of more than 17 yards didn't hurt. Neither did two important Nebraska interceptions.
"We knew they were going to make big plays, we knew we were going to make big plays," Tennessee Coach Philip Fulmer said. "We had people on our heels all year last year, and we found out what it feels like tonight."
In UT's defense, the Vols were able to give the Huskers a run for their money despite two 17-point deficits. Senior quarterback Tee Martin threw for 267 yards, was 19-34 for passing and quickly knifed NU's defense in a momentum-changing, 65-yard touchdown drive to cut the gap to 17-7 right before half time. UT scored a touchdown quickly in the third after Alexander fumbled.
On defense, Nebraska wasn't quite as solid, but did keep UT from a bunch of big plays. Nebraska Rover Mike Brown was still left with a not-so-perfect feeling.
"We made way too many mental mistakes," said Mike Brown. "It wasn't that we weren't giving great effort for four quarters, but we didn't play the type of football we were capable of playing for four quarters."
Not only was the win sweet for Brown because it came in front of many of his friends and family from hometown Scottsdale, but also because it sent Defensive Coordinator Charlie McBride out a winner.
McBride, who orchestrated a defense that, seven years ago, lacked speed turned it into one of the nation's most feared in his last seasons, announced his retirement publicly after the game. Brown said a select few knew before the game it was McBride's last, but he didn't want that to be a distraction from the game.
"Over the last few years, I've contemplated retirement," McBride said. "I love my family very much. I think it's time for them. So I'm going to pull the plug.
"So thanks to everybody. I don't want to take away the game from this football team because this is a very, very special team. As far as I'm concerned, they are No. 1. There's no question about it."
Pollsters thought otherwise, as Florida State capped its first perfect season and second national title with a 46-29 victory over No. 2 Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4. NU finished second in the coaches' poll, No. 3 in the Associated Press poll.
But Davison thinks the victory might get Nebraska some serious preseason consideration for next year.
"This was a huge win for us," he said. "We wanted to come out and show the nation that we should have been in New Orleans competing for the national title.
"I've been here for three years now, and it's been a good ride so far. We want to go out as champions. With this win, we should get to the top of the polls in the preseason next year. With the guys we have coming back, we're not going to be very happy if we don't come out on top."
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