ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 4, 1995 TAG: 9512060008
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
The much-maligned Bowl Alliance worked perfectly in its rookie season.
The system was supposed to produce a national championship game, and that's exactly what it did.
Top-ranked Nebraska (11-0) and No.2 Florida (12-0) will play for the title Jan.2 in the Fiesta Bowl. The winner of the game between the nation's only undefeated, untied NCAA Division I-A teams will be the undisputed champion of college football.
``It's as close to a playoff as we can get,'' Florida coach Steve Spurrier said Sunday night on CBS' bowl selection show. ``It worked out this year that the two undefeated teams are going to play in the Fiesta Bowl, and we're excited to be one of them.''
The Nebraska-Florida matchup would have been impossible under the old system of conference tie-ins. Nebraska would have gone to the Orange Bowl as the Big Eight champion, and Florida would have gone to the Sugar Bowl as the Southeastern Conference winner.
Now, except for the Rose Bowl's agreement with the Pacific-10 and Big Ten conferences, league champions are free to play each other in the Bowl Alliance, which rotates the top game among the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar.
``In the absence of a playoff, this is certainly the best thing we can do for college football,'' said Tom Osborne, Nebraska's coach.
The Fiesta Bowl's dream game became a reality Saturday night when Florida beat Arkansas 34-3 for the SEC championship. Florida is seeking its first national title, and Nebraska is trying to become the first team to win consecutive championships since Alabama in 1978-79.
``It's going to be one of the mega-games of all time,'' said John Junker, the Fiesta Bowl's executive director.
The Orange and Sugar bowls also made their selections on the CBS telecast. The Orange took No.6 Notre Dame (9-2) and No.8 Florida State (9-2), and the Sugar got No.9 Texas (10-1-1) and No.13 Virginia Tech (9-2).
The Fiesta will feature the 11th bowl showdown between Nos.1 and No. 2. The most recent was No.1 Florida State's 18-16 victory over No.2 Nebraska in the 1994 Orange Bowl.
That was Nebraska's last loss. The Cornhuskers have won 24 consecutive games and need one more victory to become the first team to win consecutive national titles with perfect records since Oklahoma in 1955-56.
The Fiesta Bowl will be a game of contrasts: Florida's high-tech ``Fun 'N Gun'' passing show vs. Nebraska's ground-and-pound option attack and outspoken Spurrier vs. low-key Osborne, and Danny Wuerffel's pinpoint passes vs. Tommie Frazier's elusive runs.
``I don't think Nebraska is more physical than us,'' said Florida safety Lawrence Wright. ``We're not scared of anybody.''
Nebraska tight end Mark Gilman said the Huskers are more versatile than most people think.
``We often get stereotyped as a running team only, but that doesn't mean we can't catch the ball, too,'' he said.
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