photo and story by Patrick Runge

For most fans of a certain age, the Nebraska-Miami rivalry holds a very special place in history. Nebraska helped put Miami on the national stage with the Hurricanes’ amazing 31-30 victory in the 1984 Orange Bowl. Nebraska’s humblings at the hands of Miami in Orange Bowls of 1989 (23-3) and 1992 (22-0) led Tom Osborne to a wholesale change in his recruiting and defensive schemes. And that, as a result, led to Osborne’s first national championship—fittingly, against Miami in the Orange Bowl—in 1994.

Overall, Miami and Nebraska have split, playing each other ten times with each team winning five. So in looking back through history, here are the five best moments (from a scarlet and cream perspective) of the Nebraska-Miami rivalry.

No. 5: A First Bowl Victory

Nebraska’s first two bowl trips ended in defeat, to Stanford in the 1941 Rose Bowl and to Duke in the 1955 Orange Bowl. Nebraska would not get another bowl invite until 1962, when NU headed to Yankee Stadium to face Miami in the Gotham Bowl.

Played in sub-zero temperatures before a meager crowd, the 1962 Gotham Bowl was an amazing contest, with Nebraska taking a 36-27 lead in the fourth quarter, holding off a Miami rally, and sealing its first bowl win with a Bob Brown interception.

No. 4: The Fumblerooski

Nebraska was losing to upstart Miami 17-0 in the 1984 Orange Bowl, and needed a spark to turn the game around.  So the trick play was called where quarterback Turner Gill put the ball on the ground, making it a live ball, and ran off to the right.

It was then picked up by guard Dean Steinkuhler who, while the defense followed Gill to the right, ran left and rumbled into the end zone. The touchdown sparked Nebraska’s comeback, which was thwarted only by a deflected two-point conversion.

But the play, now outlawed, became a permanent part of Nebraska lore.

No. 3: Cory Schlesinger’s Second Touchdown

Most of the best Nebraska moments from this rivalry will come from Nebraska’s 24-17 win in 1994, so picking one moment from that game is tricky. But Nebraska fans should remember that Miami led most of this contest, going up 10-0 in the first quarter, leading 10-7 at the half, and leading 17-9 going into the fourth quarter.

Nebraska tied the game with 7:38 remaining on a Schlesinger trap play and a two-point conversion. But remember, college football didn’t embrace overtime until 1996—and we all remember what a tie in the Orange Bowl meant for Nebraska in years past.

So it was Schlesinger’s second touchdown, with 2:46 left to play (and with Schlesinger’s cleat firmly implanted in Warren Sapp’s chest as he rumbled into the end zone) that sealed the win and the shiny crystal football for Nebraska.

No. 2: Ken Calhoun’s Deflection

This may not be the happiest moment in Nebraska history, but it is likely the most iconic. In 1984, Nebraska was considered the best team in college football, and needed to knock off an upstart Miami team to get the monkey off Tom Osborne’s back and win a national title. The “Scoring Explosion” of Turner Gill, Mike Rozier, and Irving Fryar was ready to stake its claim to glory.

The game didn’t quite turn out according to script, though. Miami took a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and led Nebraska 31-17 going into the fourth. Nebraska scored on a one-yard Jeff Smith run to get within seven, and Smith scored again with under a minute to play.

31-30. An extra point would give Nebraska a tie, and almost certainly a vote as national champion.

Osborne would have none of a tie though, sending his offense back on to the field for a two-point conversion and the win. Gill took the snap, rolled to his right, and threw the ball to Smith. But Miami safety Ken Calhoun got a finger on the pass, tipping it away, and establishing the Hurricanes as a force in college football for the next decade.

How that decision looks in retrospect is, without question, changed by the three national titles Osborne won in the mid-nineties. But there can be no doubt that the courage of the decision, and the result, helped to define Osborne’s legacy.

No. 1: Kareem Moss’ Interception

Be honest. If you’re talking best moments of the rivalry, Kareem Moss’ interception of a wobbly Frank Costa pass on fourth down, clinching a win in the 1994 Orange Bowl and securing Tom Osborne’s first national title is the moment.

If you’re a Nebraska fan, and you’re old enough, you remember with vivid clarity that moment. The moment when the Miami dragon had finally been slain in its own lair. The moment where all those doubts, all those questions, all those near-misses were put away. The moment where, finally, you got to witness the scarlet and cream raise the national championship trophy, reaching the pinnacle of glory in college football.

At that moment, you had no idea that the next three years would see two more shiny crystal footballs on their way to the trophy cabinet in Lincoln. And it didn’t matter. On that warm Miami night, and on the cold streets at 72^nd and Dodge in Omaha where ecstatic fans gathered to celebrate, the Cornhuskers could finally—finally—stand astride the college football world in triumph.

And there’s no better moment than that.