1994 Orange Bowl The 1994 Orange Bowl a 1993 – 1994 college football bowl game was played on January 1 , 1994 , for the national championship . This 60th edition to the Orange Bowl featured the Nebraska Cornhuskers , and the Florida State Seminoles . Florida State came into the game 11 - 1 , and ranked first in the nation . Nebraska came into the game undefeated at 11 - 0 , and with a number 2 ranking . Despite their unbeaten record , the Huskers were underdogs by as much as 17½ points before the game . The first quarter of play featured great defense , as no points were scored , though Nebraska had an apparent touchdown on a punt return called back due to a clip . Florida State ' s Scott Bentley provided the first points of the contest , after he kicked a 33 yard field goal to open up a 3 - 0 lead . Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier got the Huskers back on track , after he fired an errant pass that was tipped into the hands of wide receiver Reggie Baul . The touchdown gave Nebraska a 7 - 3 lead . With only 29 seconds left in the first half , Bentley drilled a 25 yard field goal to bring the Seminoles to 7 - 6 , which was the halftime score . With 12 : 30 left in the third quarter , Florida State ' s running back William Floyd gave the Seminoles a 12 - 7 lead when he scored on a 1 yard touchdown run . Florida State went for two on the ensuing PAT , but failed , and the score remained 12 - 7 . Later in the third , FSU added another Bentley field goal to increase the lead to eight . At the start of the fourth quarter , Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips scored on a 12 yard touchdown run . The Huskers attempted a 2 - point conversion which would have tied the game , but failed , and trailed 15 - 13 . The Huskers would hold the Seminoles and take over the ball late , driving to the FSU 10 yard line before stalling out . Byron Bennett kicked a 27 yard field goal with just 1 : 18 remaining on the clock to give the Huskers a slim 16 - 15 lead . Aided by a kickoff out of bounds , FSU took over with excellent field position at their own 35 yard line . FSU ' s Heisman trophy winning quarterback Charlie Ward drove the Seminoles all the way to the Nebraska 3 yard line . The Huskers held and forced Bentley to kick his fourth field goal of the night , which was good , and FSU led 18 - 16 with just 21 seconds remaining . Florida State players and coaches went wild on the sidelines , and were penalized for excessive celebration , costing them 15 yards on the ensuing kickoff . As a result , the Huskers were able to get a decent return and began their final possession at their own 43 yard line . As time ran down , Frazier hit tight end Trumane Bell for a 29 yard gain to the FSU 28 yard line . The clock ticked down to 0 : 00 , setting off more chaos on the FSU sideline , complete with the compulsory Gatorade bath given to FSU coach Bobby Bowden . However , referee John Soffey ruled that Bell was down with 1 second left on the clock , and ordered the field cleared , allowing Nebraska placekicker Byron Bennett an opportunity to kick the game winning field goal . But the 45 yard kick sailed wide left , preserving the 18 - 16 win for the Seminoles . Aftermath . Florida State had finished the season number 1 in the nation to claim their first national championship , just ahead of the only team to beat them in 1993 : Notre Dame . Notre Dame had lost on a last second field goal to # 15 Boston College in their last home game of the season , just a week after they defeated the Seminoles . B . C . ' s triumph opened the door for Florida State to challenge undefeated Nebraska for the national crown . The win was Bobby Bowden ' s first championship , and left Nebraska coach Tom Osborne still searching for his first . The Huskers had exceeded everyone ' s expectations by playing the highly - favored Seminoles right to the wire , and used the loss as motivation for their 1994 campaign , which was entitled " Unfinished Business " . During spring and fall practice prior to the 1994 season , the scoreboard at Nebraska ' s Memorial Stadium was set to show Nebraska leading Florida State 16 - 15 with 1 : 16 remaining on the clock , which was the last point at which Nebraska had taken the lead . Nebraska would defeat Miami in the Orange Bowl to win the national championship . Bobby Bowden continued to coach Florida State until the end of the 2009 season when he announced his retirement . He won a second national title in 1999 , defeating Virginia Tech in the 2000 Sugar Bowl .