This Day in Sports History - 1/2/1984

Miami (Florida) edges Nebraska, 31 - 30, in a thrilling Orange Bowl. Trailing 17 - 0, the Cornhuskers record their first TD in the second quarter on a trick play known as the "fumblerooskie." RG Dean Steinkuhler picks up the center's intentional fumble, and runs 19 yards for the score. With 48 seconds left in the game, Nebraska RB Jeff Smith races 24 yards for a TD on a 4th-and-8 play to make the score 31 - 30. Coach Tom Osborne is worried a tie will cost his team a National Championship. (College Football will have no overtime until the 1995 bowl season.) So he calls for a two-point conversion, which fails, and Miami takes the National Title.