By Mark Woods; David Leon Moore; Peter Kerasotis; Mike McAllister
The Orange Bowl, the game that decided this season's national championship, came down to three kicks in a wild final 76 seconds Saturday night in Miami.
Nebraska's Byron Bennett made a 27-yarder. Florida State's Scott Bentley made a 22-yarder. And, as time expired, Bennett missed wide left from 45 yards.
The Seminoles (12-1) pulled out an 18-16 victory that prevented Nebraska (11-1) from pulling out the biggest upset this old stadium had seen since Joe Namath led the New York Jets to victory against the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.
Bennett hadn't made a field goal since Oct. 22. But he almost lived a moment that he used to dream about while growing up in Rowlett, Texas.
"I wanted all my life to kick the game-winning field goal in a national championship game," he said. "Unfortunately, it didn't happen." - Mark Woods
ROSE: One of the largest visiting fan contingents to attend a Rose Bowl at Pasadena created the toughest ticket in southern California in years.
There were maybe 70,000 Wisconsin fans Saturday at the Rose Bowl, and even those left outside without a ticket had to enjoy what happened inside.
Wisconsin's 21-16 win against UCLA gave the Badgers their first 10-win season and first Rose Bowl victory, plus a No. 5 national ranking.
Wisconsin junior running back Brent Moss rushed 36 times for 158 yards and two touchdowns in winning Player of the Game honors.
UCLA piled up 500 yards of offense, and All-America receiver J.J. Stokes set Rose Bowl records with 14 catches for 176 yards. But the Bruins had six turnovers. - David Leon Moore
SUGAR: Lawrence Wright's second-quarter interception and dazzling 52-yard return for a touchdown sparked the Florida Gators to a 41-7 win against West Virginia in New Orleans.
The game was tied 7-7 when West Virginia quarterback Darren Studstill dropped back to pass. But outside linebacker Monty Grow rushed him and hit Studstill's arm. Twenty yards downfield, at the Florida 48, Wright intercepted.
He ran right, all the way to the sideline, stopped in front of a handful of Mountaineers, ran backwards, reversed field, ran left toward the middle of the field, cut back right and then finally straight ahead for a touchdown. - Peter Kerasotis
COTTON: Texas A&M, the Southwest Conference champion, earned considerable respect for battling Notre Dame evenly Saturday. But for the third year in a row, the Aggies lost, this time 24-21, to the Irish.
In their previous two Cotton appearances, the Aggies lost to Florida State 10-2 in 1992 and to Notre Dame 28-3 a year ago.
They quickly put to rest any thoughts of a third consecutive touchdown-less game by driving 79 yards on its first possession. Running back Greg Hill scored from 8 yards out to tie the score at 7-7. - Mike McAllister
Bowl results Danny Sheridan's closing lines in parentheses: LAS VEGAS BOWL Utah State 42, Ball State 33 (Utah State by 2) JOHN HANCOCK BOWL Oklahoma 41, Texas Tech 10 (Oklahoma by 6 1/2) ALOHA BOWL Colorado 41, Fresno State 30 (Colorado by 6 1/2) LIBERTY BOWL Louisville 18, Michigan State 7 (Louisville by 3) COPPER BOWL Kansas State 52, Wyoming 17 (Kansas State by 3 1/2) HOLIDAY BOWL Ohio State 28, Brigham Young 21 (Ohio State by 14 1/2) FREEDOM BOWL Southern Cal 28, Utah 21 (Southern Cal by 16 1/2) INDEPENDENCE BOWL Virginia Tech 45, Indiana 20 (Virginia Tech by 2) PEACH BOWL Clemson 14, Kentucky 13 (Clemson by 2 1/2) GATOR BOWL Alabama 24, North Carolina 10 (North Carolina by 3 1/2) ALAMO BOWL California 37, Iowa 3 (California by 13) HALL OF FAME BOWL Michigan 42, North Carolina State 7 (Michigan by 17) CITRUS BOWL Penn State 31, Tennessee 13 (Tennessee by 11) FIESTA BOWL Arizona 29, Miami 0 (Miami by 5 1/2) CARQUEST BOWL Boston College 31, Virginia 13 (Boston College by 6 1/2) COTTON BOWL Notre Dame 24, Texas A&M 21 (Notre Dame by 7 1/2) ROSE BOWL Wisconsin 21, UCLA 16 (UCLA by 7) ORANGE BOWL Florida State 18, Nebraska 16 (Florida State by 16) SUGAR BOWL Florida 41, West Virginia 7 (Florida by 6 1/2)
