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Orange Bowl 1971
Nebraska 17 LSU 12
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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.
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. |
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Joe Orduna scores in the first quarter. |
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Tagge over for the national title. |
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Attendance- 80,699
Individual Statistics Rushing |
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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.
