1996 Fiesta Bowl The 1996 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl game was a post - season college football bowl game in which the Nebraska Cornhuskers won the national championship for the 1995 college football season by defeating the Florida Gators , 62 - 24 . Played on January 2 , 1996 , at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe , Arizona , the game matched the # 1 and # 2 ranked teams in the nation , respectively , Nebraska and Florida . The game was part of the 1995 - 1996 Bowl Alliance . Pregame hype . The game was billed as a classic # 1 vs . # 2 matchup , featuring two completely different but equally potent offenses . Nebraska , the defending national champion , opened the season by defeating Oklahoma State by a score of 64 - 21 . During the 1995 season , no opponent came within 13 points , including three Top - 10 ranked opponents whom the Huskers defeated by a combined score of 134 - 49 . The Huskers averaged more than 53 points per game and 400 yards rushing . Florida , behind the passing of future Heisman winner Danny Wuerffel , had racked up similarly impressive offensive numbers , though mostly through the air , and had emerged through a brutal Southeastern Conference schedule unbeaten , having throttled rivals Tennessee and Florida State , and whipping Arkansas 34 - 3 in the SEC championship game . Florida , like Nebraska , had rarely been tested ; its closest margin of victory being 11 points . Oddsmakers had made Nebraska about a 3 - point favorite going into the game . However , many experts picked Florida to win , as it was thought that Nebraska ' s option attack would not succeed very well on Sun Devil Stadium ' s grass field , and that Wuerffel ' s passing arm would be too deadly for Nebraska to stop . First Quarter . Florida received the opening kickoff and drove to the Nebraska 5 , before settling for a 23 yard Edmiston field goal . Aided by good field position , the Huskers countered on their opening series with a 53 yard scoring drive , capped by a 16 - yard cross - field throwback pass from Tommie Frazier to Lawrence Phillips . The Gators blocked the Huskers ' extra point , and Nebraska led 6 - 3 . Late in the period , Florida went back ahead on a short 1 - yard sneak from Wuerffel and led 10 - 6 . As the Gators scored , the CBS announcer stated ' Nebraska better not get too far behind . ' Second Quarter . The Huskers exploded for 29 points . Phillips began the quarter with a dazzling 42 - yard touchdown run that put the Huskers back in front . On the very next possession , Florida took over at its own 22 , but was pushed back into the shadow of its own end zone . On second down , the Huskers appeared to have sacked Wuerffel in the end zone for a safety , but officials ruled his forward progress had brought him out to the 1 . On the very next play from scrimmage , Jamel Williams blitzed and sacked Wuerffel untouched in the middle of the end zone , forcing the resulting safety that had been denied from the play before , and the score was 15 - 10 . A 1 - yard dive from freshman Ahman Green and a Kris Brown field goal made the margin 15 points . Then , cornerback Michael Booker picked off a Wuerffel pass and returned it 42 yards for another Nebraska score , this one making it 32 - 10 . Nebraska quickly forced a punt and added a second Brown field goal to take a decisive 35 - 10 advantage into the locker room . Third Quarter . Florida continued to struggle against Nebraska ' s aggressive , blitzing defense . On their first possession of the second half , Wuerffel was intercepted by Eric Stokes at the NU 28 . The Huskers ' first two possessions both ventured deep into Florida territory before turning it over on an interception and on downs . Frazier then broke through the line for a blazing 35 - yard touchdown run later in the third , putting the Huskers further in front at 42 - 10 . Florida countered with a 77 - yard scoring drive , capped by a 35 - yard pass from Wuerffel to Ike Hilliard , and a 2 - point conversion made the score 42 - 18 . The Huskers took over possession at their own 20 with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter . What followed was one of the most memorable plays in Nebraska football and Fiesta Bowl history . The run . On second down from the NU 25 , Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier ran an option play to the right , and decided to keep the ball rather than pitch . He gained 11 yards before being met by a group of Florida defenders at the 36 yard line , which he then dragged approximately 10 yards before shrugging them off and breaking free , streaking 75 yards down the sideline to give Nebraska a 49 - 18 lead . Frazier had broken no less than six tackles on the play . Frazier would finish the game with 199 yards rushing . Nebraska also set records for most rushing yards in a bowl game , with 524 , and the most points in the second quarter of a bowl game , with 29 . Fourth Quarter . The fourth quarter was something of an anti - climax , with the result having more or less been decided . Nebraska backup quarterback Brook Berringer came in to relieve Frazier and led the Huskers on two more scoring drives , the latter of which he capped himself with a 3 - yard scoring run , and the Huskers led 62 - 18 . Reidel Anthony of Florida returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards to end the scoring . Florida attempted a two point conversion , but the quarterback was sacked and appeared to fumble . Nebraska defensive tackle Christian Peter recovered to return it for two points but the play had been blown dead . Third - string quarterback Matt Turman drove the Huskers to the Florida goal line before taking a knee to run out the clock . Nebraska won 62 - 24 and claimed a second consecutive national championship . They were the first team to win back - to - back titles since Alabama in 1978 - 1979 . As of 2010 , the 1994 and 1995 Nebraska teams remain the only undefeated and untied - as well as the only consensus - back - to - back national champions since Oklahoma in 1955 and 1956 . Epilogue . The 1995 Nebraska squad has been voted as the greatest college football team of all - time in many surveys , including the all - time Sagarin ratings . An ESPN poll has them at # 3 , only behind the 1971 Huskers and 1972 USC Trojans .