Orange Bowl
1971
Nebraska 17
LSU 12
Coach Bob Devaney's Nebraska Cornhuskers won their first of two
consecutive national championships by virtue of a 17-12 win over LSU.
Earlier in the day, top-ranked Texas was upset by Notre Dame in the
Cotton Bowl and number two-ranked Ohio State was shocked by Stanford and
Jim Plunkett in the Rose. That left the door to the title wide open for
the third-ranked 'Huskers. The Huskers responded by building a 10-0
first-quarter lead on a 25-yard field goal by Paul Rogers and a 3-yard
TD run by Joe Orduna.
A pair of Mark Lumpkin FGs and a 31-yard TD pass from Buddy Lee to Al
Coffee on the last play of the third quarter gave the inspired Tigers a
12-10 lead. Nebraska showed its grit by regaining the lead with 8:50
left. On a fourth-and-one, quarterback Jerry Tagge was stopped inches
short of the goal, but he stretched the ball over the line for the
national title (video).
It will go down as the greatest drive in Nebraska football history,
capped by the greatest touchdown in Nebraska football history. Tagge
wasn't the only Cornhusker to make big plays in the Orange Bowl. Senior
Jerry Murtaugh, one of the all-time great linebackers at NU, was a
terror to LSU's offense, particularly in the final eight minutes of the
game. At the beginning of the year, Murtaugh brashly predicted that
Nebraska would win the national championship in 1970. And, sophomore
Willie Harper seemed to be in the LSU backfield more often than the
Tiger skill position players.
If any Nebraska player deserves credit for the Orange Bowl win, it is
Joe Orduna. Against a defense that allowed only 50 yards a game on the
ground, Orduna pushed, pounded, prodded and peppered his way for 63. The
Huskers as a team put up 132 yards rushing, by far the most by any team
against the powerful Bayou Bengal 'D'. Orduna's running in the fourth
quarter, along with that Jeff Kinney, set Tagge up for his triumphant
moment.
Joe Orduna scores
Tagge over for the national title
Attendance- 80,699
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
NU- FG Rogers 25
NU- Orduna 3 run (Rogers kick)
Second Quarter
LSU- FG Lumpkin 36
Third Quarter
LSU- FG Lumpkin 25
LSU- Coffee 31 pass from Lee (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
NU-Tagge 1 run (Rogers kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
LSU- Chris Dantin 20-79, Walker 5-30
NU- Joe Orduna 63
Passing
LSU- Lee 12-23-182
NU- Tagge 12-25-153
Receiving
LSU- Hamilton 9-146, Chaffee 2-39
NU- List 4-63
