VOTE - Who would have won the 1994 CFP?

[OrangeAfroMan]

If they played 100 times, how often would the score be that lopsided?  5 maybe?  
The embarrassing thing for Spurrier is that what the Huskers did wasn't a learning experience.  It took losing @ FSU in '96 for him to finally change his blocking schemes and utilize the shotgun.  

[FearlessF]

did he ever learn to keep a back or TE in to pick up a blitz?

almost every time they went empty backfield the Blackshirts blitzed

poor Wuerffel

[Hoss]

Of course we are, because in this exercise, the Fiesta Bowl didn't happen.  Yes, it's rare that the #2 team beat #3 and #4 in the regular season, but hey, maybe FSU would be a bad matchup for Nebraska.  You never know.  

Good luck with that.

[MarqHusker]

There's a piece out there (guessing in SI vault) or somewhere about that Fiesta Bowl, and I recall a yarn in it about Skippy Neuheisal going to visit Spurrier in the offseason before '95, and watching Spurrier's formations, and Neuheisal questioning Spurrier's scheme ('who's gonna block 'that guy'?),  Spurrier retorts: Oh he won't be coming, and the ball will be gone by then anyways.

[FearlessF]

Danny Wuerffel and the Florida Gators never saw it coming.

Blitzing linebacker Jamel Williams blindsided Wuerffel for a safety early in the second quarter, and Florida’s flashy passing game never regained its zip Tuesday night in a 62-24 loss to Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl.

Sure his team could throw at will on Nebraska, and Florida coach Steve Spurrier showed no fear. Even after a near safety left the Gators facing a second-and-31 hole at its 1, Spurrier had them line up in a formation with five wide receivers and no one back to block.

Big mistake.

Williams rushed in untouched from the right side, bearhugged Wuerffel and buried him in the end zone to give the Cornhuskers a 15-10 lead 2:18 into the second quarter.

“They motioned to five wide. I started to get excited when I saw no one back there,” Williams said. “I had a clear shot at him. No one was there to stop me.”

The sad sack of Wuerffel marked the first time since 1991 a Florida player had been tackled for a safety. More than that, it seemed to rob Wuerffel and the Gators’ razzle-dazzle passing plan of their confidence.

“My thinking was it was a good play,” Spurrier said. “We only gave up two (points). If we punt from our end zone, they get the ball around the 30.

“We got some protections messed up. We got out of sync.”

From then on, Wuerffel never had the touch that made No. 2 Florida the second-best passing team in the nation. Skittish, he missed open receivers, threw three interceptions and was sacked a career-high seven times.

And from that point on, No. 1 Nebraska became more tenacious on defense. It took away the slant patterns that Wuerffel completed in the first quarter, rushed him with blitzes and shut down Florida receivers with physical, man-to-man coverage in winning its second straight national championship.

“When you’re back at your one-foot line, it was worth a try to go deep,” Wuerffel said. “I had a guy open, I just couldn’t get it to him. It was only two points. We were still in the game.”

Until the safety, Florida had accumulated 124 yards. But from that play until midway through the third quarter, the Gators were held to minus yardage.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/1996/jan/03/wuerffel-gators-blindsided/

[Kris60]

A new report suggests that Tom Osborne tried to plan a Penn State vs. Nebraska bowl matchup in 1994, when both the Nittany Lions and the Cornhuskers were undefeated, but Joe Paterno stopped Osborne in his tracks.

https://pittsburgh.sbnation.com/penn-st-nittany-lions/2012/6/6/3068366/joe-paterno-tom-osborne-penn-state-vs-nebraska-1994

I believe this, because Tom was tired of playing Miami on their home field

I can see that.  I’m sure Joe Pa would have liked to have played Nebraska but he was just in his second year in the Big Ten and had just won his first conference title.  He wasn’t really in position to start raising hell about the Big Ten/Rose Bowl alliance that early in his tenure.

[Hoss]

FL was moving the ball early by going to Chris Doering the slot. I think he caught 5 passes on their first 3 possessions, when McBride swapped coverage to put Tyrone Williams on him from his usual field corner positon...and then Chris Doering was lost to the forgotten annals of history.

[FearlessF]

I can see that.  I’m sure Joe Pa would have liked to have played Nebraska but he was just in his second year in the Big Ten and had just won his first conference title.  He wasn’t really in position to start raising hell about the Big Ten/Rose Bowl alliance that early in his tenure.

I understand.  UNL wasn't about to start rocking Delany's boat in their 2nd year in the B1G
but, it's a damn shame the Big Ten couldn't allow it to happen in 94 and 97.  I bit too full of themselves and seem to be that way yet today.

[ELA]

I understand.  UNL wasn't about to start rocking Delany's boat in their 2nd year in the B1G
but, it's a damn shame the Big Ten couldn't allow it to happen in 94 and 97.  I bit too full of themselves and seem to be that way yet today.

I'm not sure it's being full of themselves, it's just valuing different things.  I wouldn't trade MSUs 2014 Rose Bowl for a shot at the national title.  Most of us we're just raised to believe the Rose Bowl was the goal, and a national title was a nice other thing some people voted on.

[FearlessF]

I agree with that.  I value tradition.

but, it did change quickly when Michigan got a share in 97.

thoughts can change in two years and they did

[ELA]

I agree with that.  I value tradition.

but, it did change quickly when Michigan got a share in 97.

thoughts can change in two years and they did

The powers that be realized the money they were leaving on the table.
As for the fans?  As a UM fan at the time, I wanted a national title, but I wouldn't have traded the Rose Bowl for a shot at Nebraska.

[Kris60]

I'm not sure it's being full of themselves, it's just valuing different things.  I wouldn't trade MSUs 2014 Rose Bowl for a shot at the national title.  Most of us we're just raised to believe the Rose Bowl was the goal, and a national title was a nice other thing some people voted on.

I could buy that more if there were a bunch of 75-80 year old guys on here.  You are in your 30s.  During your formative years as a fan the race for#1 was front and center and a very debated topic.  There was plenty of clamoring by the time you were a fan that the bowl tie-ins should be reevaluated in order to allow more flexibility for attractive matchups.
It’s just hard to believe that as a kid in high school you were so enamored with Rose Bowl tradition that it meant more to you than your favorite team finishing first in the polls.

[GopherRock]

The Rose Bowl still means a lot to teams that don't regularly play for national championships. 

[ELA]

I could buy that more if there were a bunch of 75-80 year old guys on here.  You are in your 30s.  During your formative years as a fan the race for#1 was front and center and a very debated topic.  There was plenty of clamoring by the time you were a fan that the bowl tie-ins should be reevaluated in order to allow more flexibility for attractive matchups.
It’s just hard to believe that as a kid in high school you were so enamored with Rose Bowl tradition that it meant more to you than your favorite team finishing first in the polls.

The Rose Bowl was a family holiday for my entire life.  My mom made a big meal, we had extended family over for it.  I've celebrated the Rose Bowl more in my life than I have New Years Eve.  Until that first BCS title game between Tennessee-Florida State, I'm not sure how many "national championship games" I actually even watched, let alone made appointment viewing.  So yes, seeing MSU on that stage, one time, was far more valuable to me than winning a national title.  Like I've always said, I prefer college football because of what makes it different.  If I didn't, I would just watch the NFL, it's the better product.