1982 Orange Bowl


The 1982 Orange Bowl was the 48th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Friday, January 1. Part of the 1981 [NCAA Division I-A football season#Bowl games|1981–82 bowl game] season, it matched the top-ranked and undefeated 1981 [Clemson Tigers football team|Clemson Tigers] of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the #4 1981 [Nebraska Cornhuskers football team|Nebraska Cornhuskers] of the Big Eight Conference. Underdog Clemson won, 22–15, and gained their first College football national championships in [NCAA Division I FBS|national championship].

Teams

Clemson

Led by head coach Danny Ford, the Tigers began the season unranked, won all eleven games in the regular season, and moved up to first in the rankings in late November. Their notable wins were over 1981 [Georgia Bulldogs football team|Georgia] and 1981 [North Carolina Tar Heels football team|North Carolina]. Clemson was attempting to win its first national championship.
The Tigers were making their third Clemson Tigers bowl games|appearance] in the Orange Bowl, but the first in a quarter century.

Nebraska

The Huskers had two early losses, at Iowa Hawkeyes football team|Iowa] and to 1981 [Penn State Nittany Lions football team|Penn State], then won eight consecutive games to improve to fourth in the polls. Nebraska was making its eighth appearance in the Orange Bowl, the first in three years.

Game summary

Earlier in the day, third-ranked 1981 [Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama] lost the Cotton Bowl to #6 1981 [Texas Longhorns football team|Texas]. In the Sugar Bowl, now played at the same time as the Orange, second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs football team|Georgia] was defeated by #8 1981 [Pittsburgh Panthers football team|Pittsburgh], which opened the door for the Orange Bowl victor to claim the national title; Nebraska was favored by 3½ to 4½ points.
Clemson scored first on a 41-yard field goal by Donald Igwebuike to take a 3–0 lead. Nebraska then succeeded with a trick play, as running back Mike Rozier threw a 25-yard halfback pass to Anthony Steels for a touchdown and a Igwebuike kicked a 37-yard field goal to pull Clemson Following a Nebraska fumble, Cliff Austin scored on a two-yard touchdown run and Clemson led at halftime.
In the third quarter, Clemson quarterback Homer Jordan threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Perry Tuttle and Igwebuike added another field goal, this time a 36-yarder, and the Tigers extended their lead to fifteen points
In the fourth quarter, halfback Roger Craig scored for the Huskers on a 26-yard run. Following a Nebraska penalty on the first two-point conversion attempt, Craig then ran it in from the eight, which closed the margin with over nine minutes remaining. The Huskers got the ball back, but penalties ultimately killed the drive and forced them to punt the ball back to Clemson; the Tigers maintained possession for the bulk of the last six minutes and secured their first national championship in

Scoring

;First quarter:
  • Clemson – Donald Igwebuike 41-yard field goal, 11:39
  • Nebraska – Anthony Steels 25-yard pass from Mike Rozier, 6:43
  • Clemson – Igwebuike 37-yard field goal, 1:03
;Second quarter:
  • Clemson – Cliff Austin 2-yard run, 3:56
;Third quarter:
;Fourth quarter:

Aftermath

Clemson remained atop both final polls, while Nebraska dropped to eleventh and This would be the only time the Tigers won the national championship until 2017 [College Football Playoff National Championship|2016].
Nebraska played in the Orange Bowl in the next two seasons; Clemson returned thirty years later.