A Look Back: 1982 Orange Bowl
19 comments so far
December 12, 2008 by
Nebraska and Clemson will meet for only the second time when they battle on January 1st in the Gator Bowl. Hopefully for Husker fans, this game will turn out better than the first go around.
The Huskers found themselves in a familiar place. It was New Years Day and once again Nebraska was in Miami at the Orange Bowl. Earlier that day, Georgia (#2) and Alabama (#3) lost in their bowl games and that set up a de-facto National Championship game between #1 Clemson and #4 Nebraska in the pre-BCS era. Despite being ranked lower in the polls the Huskers came into the match up a three point favorite.
The Huskers jumped out to a 7-3 lead when I-Back Mike Rozier used a little razzle dazzle to hit wingback Anthony Steele with a 25-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.
Clemson then scored 19 unanswered points to take a 22-7 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Huskers were plagued with penalties racking up six in the first half alone (sound familiar?).
Roger Craig stepped up for the Huskers with a 26-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion to tighten the deficit to 22-15. Another penalty stalled the Huskers last big drive before Clemson, lead by quarterback Homer Jordan, ran all but six seconds off the clock to claim victory and their first National Championship.
Clemson out-gained Nebraska 289 yards to 256. It was two years later that the Nebraska offense would be dubbed the “Scoring Explosion.�
Admittedly, I was 3 months old when this game went down so my memory of it is slightly blurred. But after digging through some archives I found it interesting that the Huskers were seen as the team that wore out early in the contest. We’d go on to find out that the Huskers became the leader in physical fitness and were usually the culprit of early fatigue in the ‘90s. It is also interesting to me to see how easily things worked out in the rankings. Upsets happened and Nebraska had every chance possible to claim the number one ranking. As fate would have it, it took 13 more seasons to complete the task and return to the top of the mountain.
Right now, we are as close to that mountain as a Nebraska cornfield. But maybe this trip to Florida will be the start of the climb back to the top. Tune in January 1st to see…
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BIOPSD Dec 12 08
Greetings! from Clemson/ACC based BeautyisOnlyPigskinDeep (BIOPSD)!!
We have started a feature called kNow Nebraska:
http://www.beautyisonlypigskindeep.com/node/533
We'd love to hear yalls take from a Nebraskan perspective.
tom Dec 12 08
Roger Craig = best all purpose back in NFL History. My second favorite 49er of all time and my favorite Husker in the NFL of all time.
The game in 1982 was shadowed by the specter of cheating in the Clemson program. I doubt that will be concern in this years game (as cheaters usually have better records), but it's interesting to look back and see the pressures to win were no different than today.
WOW Dec 12 08
Being 19 at the time, not a fan of either team and having watched the game I have a different level of detail than you chose to print from your archives. You're forgiven such actions because this is after all, a Husker site and you are a Husker fan as opposed to a sports reporter.
"Wore out early" maybe 'Beat down early' better describes it.
In a nutshell, Nebraska got their heads handed to them. There was a reason that Clemson was number 1 (best defense in the country and undefeated regular season) and no real reason (except nostalgia, pity or hatred for Clemson) for Nebraska to have been favored. The game was not nearly as close as a Husker fan might like to believe it was.
The beloved Mr. Rimmington (outland winner that year I think?) could do nothing to restrain the defensive 'appliances' to his front, Williams Perry and Devane.
Nebraska went 3 & out like 3 out of 4 series the entire game and really only mounted a couple scoring drives.
The Clemson defense shut down an offense that had averaged over 300 yards rushing per game for I believe a 2nd in the country ranking. (oh maybe this was why they were favored. No defense but lots of rushing)
Nebraska crossed into Clemson territory fewer than 1/2 a dozen times the entire game.
They went HUGE blocks of time without as much as a first down in both halves.
There were some Husker HiLites though.
An interception in the end zone. An actual 'take away' it was a damned fine play. They also forced Celmson to attempt a LONG (>50 yd) field goal to close their first half.
Glad to serve as the 'Paul Harvey' to your story Renny.
JR
bnahusker Dec 12 08
Cute link BIOPSD.
I was a Husker fan but not much of a College football fan when we lost to Clemson. I spent all night asking myself who the &%(# is Clemson, and why are they beating our Huskers. I didn't remember until this post that they were already #1 at kickoff. It was just not clicking in my head that we could lose to a program outside of the traditional powers or the Big 8. To paraphrase Richard Dreyfuss from the movie "The Competition" It never occured to me that they could be better than Nebraska.
I hope we have a good game, and a Husker Win to start 2009.
GBR!
Bob
bnahusker Dec 12 08
WOW................
Please do not use facts and objectivity to sully this site! hehehehehe Just kidding.
I remember feeling like we didn't have a chance, even when we pulled to within 7. It wasn't a pretty game for the 'O'.
GBR!
Bob
WOW Dec 12 08
Another opportunity to 'Paul Harvey'.....
Tom's reference to the "specter of cheating in the Clemson program." and the "I doubt that will be concern in this years game (as cheaters usually have better records)" snipe serve to again show how low a fan can go when their beloved struggles for a while.
Anyway, back to 'Paul Harvey'...
The lions share of the NCAA's investigation was based on two players that were offered money and/or goods to sign letters of intent for the 81 season with Clemson. They did so but later reneged and never enrolled at Clemson.
The secondary aspects to the something like 100 violations dated to the Charley Pell era (hmmmm sound familiar? Widespread violations landed Florida on probation and got him fired)
As right as the sanctions were, is there a reason to make an attempt to discredit what the Tigers did to the Huskers on that January day?
Well I guess I do again have to remind myself that I am on a Husker board moderated by Husker fans so I suppose that indeed there is.
JR
PS Coach Danny Ford was forced to resign from Clemson after they were placed on probation a second time.
Renny Dec 12 08
I assumed that when their head coach said "They got a tired little quicker than we did. Early in the second quarter we saw them gasping." that we were worn down.
WOW Dec 12 08
"I assumed that when their head coach said "They got a tired little quicker than we did. Early in the second quarter we saw them gasping." that we were worn down."
Well could it be that their head coach was being tactful or maybe even humble?
I think so.
I have a friend who has the game on DVD and I'm sure being he's a Tigers fan would be willing to loan it to you to see for yourself.
The manner in which Dave Rimmington was manhandled that day overshadowed his Outland trophy winning season and maybe even left a blemish on his otherwise GREAT career. Wasn't he a Heisman finalist too? At times it looked almost comical the way those two big fellas (which both had what looked to be 50+ lbs on him) overpowered him.
The entire Clemson Defense was just way too much, in way too many ways, for way too long for the Nebraska offense.
At least as I saw it anyway.
JR
ryan Dec 12 08
Renny you forgot to tell us if they wore PuRpLE on top and bottom. Neglecting information like this is a failure to tell the whole story.
Bill in Iowa Dec 12 08
Hey if you guys wanna good laugh. I found this intro footage to the 1982 Orange Bowl complete with a guy who is trying to sound like Howard Cosell, trumpets, people decked out in leftover 70's hair styles, and some really spectacular NBC TV graphics. Sad to say I remember this game. I was ten and I cried myself to sleep that night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htXV2H6va7w
tom Dec 12 08
JR/WOW: I should have clarified that my statements were based on message board, editorial, and fan material that I found in articles and on the web. I too was disappointed in the Husker fans thoughts surrounding the cheating in 1982. From what I know, fans were bitter that the Huskers got outright beat, and being human, resorted to bringing the opponent down rather than building their guys up.
Being under the age of one, I have no feelings towards the Husker or Clemson programs during that time period. I only know of that game by what people tell me and what I found on the internet.
As far as my "snipe", I know that you've been around here long enough to know that I use humor as a mechanism to prove a point - both Clemson and Nebraska don't have noteworthy records. Sorry I'm too whippersnapper for you.
OU7times Dec 12 08
Bill in Iowa,
That was a grat clip! I actually looked forward to Big 8 teams in The Orange Bowl just so I could listen to the great commentator Don Criqui (sp?).
Anyway, thanks for sharing that great bit of CLASSIC Big 8 memoribilia.
Kelly
teamster Dec 12 08
WOW, I remember the game. But, not vividly. No sour grapes on my part. I sort of remember Danny Ford as Clemson's version of Barry Switzer. What has been Clemson's history post Danny Ford? One more thing. Wiki wasn't very specific. Ford was pressured out after violations again throughout the remainder of the 1980's. What's the story? Just curious.
Roslan Amir Dec 13 08
I remembered watching the game on TV. Since Nebraska didn't have much of a passing attack, they tried to run the ball on the last play of the game. There was a lateral involved and we were stopped just short of the goal line for a tying touch down.
The same heart break happened again two years later for the missed two-point conversion.
WOW Dec 13 08
"Ford was pressured out after violations again throughout the remainder of the 1980's. What's the story? Just curious."
There was a big investigation and charges levied on 5 January 1990 that alleged "illegal recruiting contacts" and "cash distribution to players $50 - $150" between the years 84-88.
Coach Ford resigned under pressure on 19 January 1990.
The NCAA ruled that Summer that there had been at least two times where $50-$70 cash given to a player by a Coach and then that player distributed it to other players in 1985 and in 1987 the same player was given $50 by a Booster.
The earlier alleged "illegal recruiting contacts" were never fully explained as to why they were dropped or found to be 'legal'.
Coach Ford always maintained his innocence and I believe that he still today says that he had no direct knowledge of or was party to any of those illegal activities.
He did receive a pretty sweet separation deal which included the University paying off the balance of his farm mortgage(>$100,000), a $190,000 annual payment for 3 to 5 years depending on his not taking another head coaching job and a handful of season tickets for the same 3 to 5 years.
JR
Greg Morrow Dec 13 08
Renny was busily focused on the mobile above his bassinet and I couldn't catch the game, either. I was busy enjoying "phase 3" at San Diego MCRD.
Turner playing in the game might have been good for a couple more points too, but Mark Mauer was a very good backup.
I like to look at Osborne's tenure in totality, simply because, to me, until he retired, Osborne was Nebraska and Nebraska was Osborne.
When you look back at history, you'll recall the problems of Nebraska playing southern teams in warm weather venues. Osborne later was able to start practices sooner after what was then the Okie game, allowing for better conditioning to adapt from the "frozen tundra" to "swamp skeeters." The long layoff between the last game and bowl prep at the time also affected his offense's timing. Osborne also, was always very concerned with his players studies leading up to finals.
This was all a lengthy process, for Dr. Tom. Nebraska had more success playing in the Sugar Bowl, possibly because of the artificial turf. The idea though, was playing for Oranges. There are reasons why, years after the Clemson game, Osborne would lose 7 bowls in a row. Part of the problem of course, was playing teams of equal overall talent with possibly more speed and essentially, against teams in their own back yard. You can reasonably only expect to win half of those games, in the best of times.
Osborne winning his last 4 bowls brought him to just under 50%. Which, when you consider most were major bowls, is a big accomplishment.
So, once Osborne overcame geography, climatology and logistics, is when the Crystal Footballs showed up.
bnahusker Dec 13 08
Thanks for Serving Greg. We got to see our son graduate MCRD SD in the fall of 2001. He'd been there less than a month on 9/11 and knew something was wrong when they woke up that Tuesday morning, and there were no planes taking off or landing. His tank division opened the door to Baghdad so the Army boys could get on TV.
Semper Fi.
GBR
Marine Dad.
teamster Dec 13 08
When was Nebraska's first indoor practice facility built? Even then, space for the entire team to effectively practice was probably an issue.
Greg Morrow Dec 13 08
bnahusker
Hey, cool story! Amazing perspective and pride you have.
In my case, I just missed the game. Missed the '83 Louisiana St. game, too. No big deal, though.