WOODY REGION FINAL

1995 NEBRASKA

vs
1987 FLORIDA STATE

1995 Nebraska
#11 overall seed - winners of Bracket #11

1987 Florida State
#35 overall seed - winners of Bracket #35

WOODY REGION RECAP

Woody Region Preview
Round of 64 Results [Part I] [Part II]
Round of 32 Results
Sweet Sixteen Results

GAME RECAP

Considering the 1987 Florida State team was the only team still alive in this round not to win a national championship, it should come as no surprise that Tom Osborne's 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers took the field with a swagger and the confidence they could claim the final ticket to the Final Four.

The Huskers got off to a fast start. Lawrence Phillips took a hand off from Tommie Frazier 61 yards for a touchdown on just the fourth play of the ball game. It was all downhill from there for Bobby Bowden's Seminoles.

Nebraska's offensive line dominated from start to finish. Center Aaron Graham controlled nose tackle Odell Haggins for much of the game, allowing Phillips and fellow I-Backs Ahman Green and Damon Benning to repeatedly pound the middle of the defense. Fullbacks Jeff Makovicka and Brian Schuster won their battles with the linebacking corps, which allowed the tailbacks to turn 4 and 5 yard runs into 12 and 15 yard runs. As a result, safety Stanley Shiver ended up as the Seminoles leading tackler, and Nebraska finished with a whopping 417 rushing yards.


The lone bright spot for Florida State was Deion Sanders. The All American returned a punt for a touchdown early in the second quarter that briefly gave the Seminoles hope they could climb back into the game. He was also excellent in pass coverage, but unfortunately he was no help against the Nebraska running game.

Danny McManus put up big numbers in the passing game (27-for-47 for 334 yards), but it was mostly out of necessity. He also threw two interceptions, one to Michael Booker and the other to Eric Stokes.


Senior quarterback Brook Berringer even got in the game on the last couple drives as Tom Osborne rested his starters in preparation for the Final Four.

FINAL SCORE
1995 Nebraska - 37
1987 Florida State - 23

Bracket of Champions - Sweet 16 - Woody Region

BRACKET OF CHAMPIONS

WOODY REGIONAL
Sweet Sixteen

Results
(seed) year school - score

(27) 1988 Miami - 24
(11) 1995 Nebraska - 29
1995 Nebraska has been steamrolling everybody in this tournament so far, including the '89 Hurricanes in the Round of 64. So the Huskers were going to cruise past the '88 Hurricanes on into the Final 8, right? Not so fast, my friend.


This is already the fifth meeting between these two schools in the Bracket of Champions, and by now they know each other intimately. The '95 Huskers had their mettle tested for the first time all tournament and they responded by eking out a win over Jimmy Johnson's Canes.

Miami jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after forcing a turnover on Nebraska's first offensive possession and converting it into a Cleveland Gary touchdown run. They held Tommie Frazier and the offense once again on the ensuing possession and Carlos Huerta tacked on a field goal for a 10-0 first quarter advantage.

The Nebraska offense struggled mightily against the Miami defense, thanks in large part to a defensive line that featured Russell Maryland, Greg Mark, and Bill Hawkins. But the Huskers scratched and clawed for every yard they could get while the defense stepped up. Tyrone Williams and Michael Booker each registered interceptions off All America quarterback Steve Walsh, and Terrell Farley sacked Walsh in the end zone late in the second half for a safety and a much needed jolt of energy.

Trailing 17-12 to start the third quarter, I-Backs Lawrence Phillips and Ahman Green started to wear down on the Miami defense. Nebraska rushed for 141 yards in the second half, cutting the Miami lead to just 2 points (24-22) with two and a half minutes remaining.


Tommie Frazier proceeded to lead a remarkable 80-yard game clinching drive that culminated in a Lawrence Phillips game winning 15-yard touchdown run.

(14) 2000 Oklahoma - 23
(35) 1987 Florida State - 24
In the third meeting between these two schools in the Bracket of Champions, Florida State took a 2-1 "series" lead by pulling off a minor upset of the national champion 2000 Sooners.

Defensive backs Deion Sanders, Martin Mayhew, and LeRoy Butler blanked Oklahoma receivers Curtis Fagan, Antwone Savage, and Andre Woolfolk, which allowed the front seven to put pressure on quarterback Josh Heupel. After being hit several times over the last two rounds - something Heupel didn't get used to during the 2000 season - he finally started to show signs of panic in the pocket. He fumbled once after getting sacked by Odell Haggins, and threw an ill-advised interception to linebacker Paul McGowan trying to avoid another sack.


The Oklahoma defense performed admirably, but they were put in bad position one too many times. After taking over on the OU side of the field for a fifth time in the game, Danny McManus led the Seminoles on a short drive that ended with Derek Schmidt's game winning 32-yard field goal.

Woody Region Final
(11) 1995 Nebraska vs (35) 1987 Florida State
The winner clinches a berth in the Final Four

B.o.C. - WOODY REGION - Round 2

BRACKET OF CHAMPIONS

WOODY REGIONAL
Round of 32

RESULTS
(seed) year school - score

(6) 1982 Penn State - 21
(27) 1988 Miami - 24
Todd Blackledge actually out-performed Steve Walsh in the stat book, but on the scoreboard it was the '88 Hurricanes who took home the top prize. Blackledge threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns (two to Kenny Jackson). Cleveland Gary ran for 89 yards and two touchdowns to make up for an average day by the Hurricanes star quarterback.

(22) 2004 Auburn - 20
(11) 1995 Nebraska - 33
Tommie Frazier and the '95 Nebraska offense found another good defense to steamroll. Will Herring made a whopping 16 tackles for the Auburn defense - not good when you consider he's a safety and was often the only thing between a Nebraska ball carrier and the end zone.

Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell played his first bad game of the entire tournament. The pressure put on by Jared Tomich and the Blackshirts got to the big senior. Meanwhile, Nebraska put 376 rushing yards on the board, paced by freshman Ahman Green's 147 yards. The Auburn Tigers suffered their first defeat, but they can now claim to be one of the top 32 teams over the past 32 seasons - even though they weren't voted the #1 team at the end of the 2004 season.


(14) 2000 Oklahoma - 24
(46) 1996 Florida State - 23
Peter Boulware put his best foot forward in his campaign to be named Player of the Tournament, but Josh Heupel kept his composure and Oklahoma got enough from Quentin Griffin and the running game to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

Boulware picked up three sacks thanks to his tremendous quickness off the edge, but Bob Stoops countered with screens and draws to keep the chains moving. Quentin Griffin, the player of the game for the Sooners, finished with 7 receptions for 63 yards to go along with 86 yards rushing.

(35) 1987 Florida State - 22
(3) 1978 USC - 19
The Florida State defense held strong and Bobby Bowden's squad actually out-rushed the potent '78 Trojans. Sammy Smith carried 24 times for 102 yards and a touchdown. Dexter Carter added 73 yards and a funny incident with a flag.


For USC Charles White had 126 yards on 29 carries, but didn't get any help from fullbacks Lynn Cain and Marcus Allen. Deion Sanders had 135 yards in punt returns for the Seminoles, but didn't quite reach the end zone. Ronnie Lott had an interception to make sure he wasn't upstaged by Prime Time, even in a losing effort.

Sweet 16 Matchups:
(11) 1995 Nebraska vs (27) 1988 Miami
(14) 2000 Oklahoma vs (35) 1987 Florida State

B.o.C. - WOODY REGION - Round 1

A preview for this region can be found HERE

RESULTS - Part II
(seed) year school - score

(91) 1993 Nebraska - 18
(27) 1988 Miami - 27
The Miami offensive line did a good job of protecting quarterback Steve Walsh from Trev Alberts and the Nebraska pass rush, and the Hurricane skill players were too much for the Huskers, much the way they were in the Orange Bowl after the 1988 season.

Offensively for the Huskers, Tommie Frazier was the only one who provided any spark. I-Back Calvin Jones was held to just 41 rushing yards, and the production freshman Lawrence Phillips provided off the bench was too little too late. Russell Maryland, Greg Mark and Bill Hawkins fared well in the trenches. Even though Frazier was able to pile up yards, the Hurricanes eliminated the threat of the other 10 players on the field.

(75) 1989 Miami - 20
(11) 1995 Nebraska - 31


Another Miami/Nebraska matchup produced similar results - except this time it was Nebraska coming out on top. Nebraska won the battle in the trenches this time around because they were better conditioned than Miami. Against a young linebacking corps the Huskers were able to pound the running game more effectively, piling up 301 yards on the ground.

Christian Peter and Jared Tomich played big roles on the defensive side of the ball for Nebraska. Tomich had two sacks and Peter had countless pressures that kept Craig Erickson on the run. This is an excellent Miami team - a national championship team, actually - and for 1995 Nebraska to dismiss them by double digits should send a message to the rest of the field that the #11 seed is a team to watch out for.

(46) 1996 Florida State - 27
(147) 2002 Oklahoma - 20
Two more great defenses took the field, but the Sooners showed a weakness against the play action pass over the top of the secondary and Thad Busby exploited it.

Oklahoma led with the running game. Mighty mite tailback Quentin Griffin hid behind his mammoth offensive line and darted through holes when they opened up. Griffin's success, particularly on draw plays, helped slow the Florida State pass rush of All American bookends Reinard Wilson and Peter Boulware. Griffin went into the locker room at halftime with an impressive 92 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns, giving the sooners a tight 14-13 lead.

But the Seminole defense tightened the screws in the second half and suddenly Griffin wasn't a factor anymore. Quarterback Nate Hybl began to show a little panic and it culminated in a bad throw that was picked off by nickel back Mario Edwards and returned to the 2 yard line. Rock Preston plugged it into the end zone and suddenly the underdog Sooners found themselves trailing.

In the fourth quarter after OU had scratched and clawed their way back into the game with two field goals to tie it at 20, Busby finally struck. His play fake to Warrick Dunn made Sooner safety Brandon Everage bite hard, which left E.G. Green all alone over the top for what would end up being the game winning 55-yard touchdown pass.

(62) 1999 Nebraska - 19
(3) 1978 USC - 22 (OT)
Neither team had a lot of success moving the football, but neither team gave up on their running game. Southern Cal tailback Charles White ran for 99 yards, including the game winning touchdown in overtime to propel the Trojans past the '99 Huskers in a game that saw just 432 yards of total offense.


The USC defense made it their priority to take away the running game of quarterback Eric Crouch. The creative three-tiered approach, using defensive tackle Ty Sperling, linebacker Dennis Johnson, and safety Ronnie Lott worked as they hit Crouch at every opportunity and forced him to pitch on option plays. Crouch ended up with just 39 yards rushing, and Nebraska as a team only had 123 yards on the ground.

Bracket of Champions - Woody Region
Next Round Matchups:
(6) 1982 Penn State vs (27) 1988 Miami
(11) 1995 Nebraska vs (22) 2004 Auburn
(14) 2000 Oklahoma vs (46) 1996 Florida State
(3) 1978 USC vs (35) 1987 Florida State

B.o.C. - WOODY REGION - Round 1

A preview for this region can be found HERE

RESULTS - Part I
(seed) year school - score

(6) 1982 Penn State - 26
(59) 1988 Florida State - 24
In case you forgot, 1998 Florida State has already won the title for the best team rap in the tournament.


But the Seminoles drew a tough matchup here against Joe Paterno's national champion '82 Nittany Lions. Todd Blackledge out-shined Chip Ferguson in the quarterback duel, throwing for 246 yards and 2 touchdowns against Deion Sanders and LeRoy Butler in the FSU secondary. WR Kenny Jackson caught one of those TD passes and piled up 88 yards receiving. Tailback Curt Warner caught the other scoring pass.

Florida State tailbacks Sammie Smith and Dexter Carter couldn't pick up the slack on offense. With an inconsistent passing game throughout much of the day, these two needed to step up. But against linebacker Al Harris they didn't have much luck.

(22) 2004 Auburn - 23
(86) 1989 Colorado - 20
The Auburn defense contained Colorado's potent running attack en route to a relatively easy win. In the Bracket of Champions, there is no such thing as an easy matchup, so nursing a 23-13 lead throughout most of the fourth quarter can be considered relatively easy.

Defensive tackle Jay Ratliff was disruptive in the middle, while defensive end Stanley McClover and linebacker Travis Williams stayed disciplined against the option. Safety Junior Rosegreen was active as well coming up to help out in run support.


The running back matchup was intriguing as well. Colorado had J.J. Flannican and Eric Bieniemy, and Auburn countered with Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown. Auburn won that battle by a nose, 145 rushing yards to 133.

(14) 2000 Oklahoma - 17
(78) 1986 Miami - 16
When Jimmy Johnson and Miami takes on Bob Stoops and Oklahoma you know there is going to be some top notch defensive talent on the field.

All American quarterback Josh Heupel had to look over a defense featuring DT Jerome Brown, S Bennie Blades, DE Daniel Stubbs, and LB Winston Moss. Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testaverde had an equally daunting view from under center: LBs Rocky Calmus and Torrance Marshall, S J.T. Thatcher, DT Kory Klein, and S Roy Williams. No wonder neither team reached 20 points.

Neither running game produced any significant yardage, so it came down to which quarterback could navigate the land mines the best. Testaverde looked good early, throwing a touchdown pass to Michael Irvin on Miami's second drive after a turnover put the 'Canes in good field position. But Heupel had a few more receivers to choose from. Tight end Trent Smith caught 8 clutch passes for 66 yards, and Curtis Fagan caught the game winning touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter.

(30) 1994 Nebraska - 20
(35) 1987 Florida State - 27
With Tommie Frazier still sidelined nursing a blood clot, the '94 Cornhuskers couldn't be considered to be at full strength. But against this Seminole team I'm not sure it would have mattered.

Quarterback Danny McManus got hot early throwing touchdown passes on each of the first two Seminole drives. From there it was simply a matter of containing Lawrence Phillips and Brook Berringer. Berringer had filled in admirably for Frazier in this tournament, throwing for 756 yards and 7 touchdowns in four games. But he met his match in the '87 FSU secondary.


Deion Sanders intercepted a pass early in the third quarter and returned it for a touchdown, delivering the deciding blow that finally knocked the '94 champs out.

BRACKET OF CHAMPIONS - Preview

WOODY REGION

Matchups:
1982 Penn State vs 1988 Florida State
1988 Miami vs 1993 Nebraska
2004 Auburn vs 1989 Colorado
1995 Nebraska vs 1989 Miami
2000 Oklahoma vs 1986 Miami
1996 Florida State vs 2002 Oklahoma
1994 Nebraska vs 1987 Florida State
1978 USC vs 1999 Nebraska

National Champions:
1978 USC
1982 Penn State
1989 Miami
1994 Nebraska
1995 Nebraska
2000 Oklahoma

Heisman Trophy Winners:
Vinny Testaverde (QB-1986 Miami)

Outland Trophy Winners:
Zach Wiegert (OL-1994 Nebraska)

Team Info
click on the purple bracket links to trace each team's path to this point

1978 USC (12-1)
#3 Seed - Winner of Bracket #3
Coach: John Robinson
*UPI National Champions*

1982 Penn State (11-1)
#6 Seed - Winner of Bracket #6
Coach: Joe Paterno
*AP National Champions*

1995 Nebraska (12-0)
#11 Seed - Winner of Bracket #11
Coach: Tom Osborne
*AP National Champions*

2000 Oklahoma (13-0)
#14 Seed - Winner of Bracket #14
Coach: Bob Stoops
*BCS National Champions*

2004 Auburn (13-0)
#22 Seed - Winner of Bracket #22
Coach: Tommy Tuberville
Final AP Rank: #2

1988 Miami (11-1)
#27 Seed - Winner of Bracket #27
Coach: Jimmy Johnson
Final AP Rank: #2

1987 Florida State (11-1)
#35 Seed - Winner of Bracket #35
Coach: Bobby Bowden
Final AP Rank: #2

1996 Florida State (11-1)
#46 Seed - Winner of Bracket #46
Coach: Bobby Bowden
Final AP Rank: #3

1988 Florida State (11-1)
#59 Seed - Winner of Bracket #59
Coach: Bobby Bowden
Final AP Rank: #3

1999 Nebraska (12-1)
#62 Seed - Winner of Bracket #62
Coach: Frank Solich
Final AP Rank: #3

1989 Miami (11-1)
#75 Seed - Winner of Bracket #54
Coach: Dennis Erickson
*AP National Champions*

1986 Miami (11-1)
#78 Seed - Winner of Bracket #51
Coach: Jimmy Johnson
Final AP Rank: #2

1989 Colorado (11-1)
#86 Seed - Winner of Bracket #43
Coach: Bill McCartney
Final AP Rank: #4

1993 Nebraska (11-1)
#91 Seed - Winner of Bracket #38
Coach: Tom Osborne
Final AP Rank: #3

2002 Oklahoma (12-2)
#147 Seed - Winner of Bracket #19
Coach: Bob Stoops
Final AP Rank: #5