Orange Bowl
1973
Nebraska 40
Notre Dame 6
MIAMI — Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers proved the award was
justified by scoring four touchdowns and passing for another as
ninth-ranked Nebraska smashed Notre Dame 40-6 in the 1973 Orange Bowl.
Although he left the game in the third period with 81 yards rushing on
15 carries, Rodgers scored on runs of eight, four and five yards,
galloped down the sidelines on a 50-yard touchdown pass play from
quarterback David Humm and tossed a 52-yard scoring aerial to Frosty
Anderson as the Cornhuskers rolled to their third consecutive Orange
Bowl conquest.
The defeat was the worst for the Irish since Ara Parseghian took over the Notre Dame coaching reins in 1964. Nebraska, a Big Eight power, bolted to a 20-0 halftime lead and added three more touchdowns, all by Rodgers, in the third period before Notre Dame managed a meaningless touchdown in the final quarter. That six-pointer, a five-yard scoring pass from Tom Clements to Pete Demmerle, kept Notre Dame’s streak of scoring in 72 straight games alive.
Rodgers scored his first touchdown in the first quarter on an
eight-yard run that capped a 76-yard drive. That march also included
scampers of 13 and 10 yards by Rodgers as well as runs of 12 and six
yards by Dave Goeller. Rick Sanger’s kick made it Nebraska 7, Notre Dame
0. In the second quarter, Gary Dixon helped the Huskers go 80 yards in
11 plays with a 36-yard burst. He then plunged over from the one-yard
line and Sanger’s kick gave Nebraska a 14-0 lead. On Nebraska’s next
possession, Humm lateraled to Rodgers on the first play from scrimmage.
Rodgers then heaved his 52-yard pass to Frosty Anderson. That put the
Irish in a 20-0 hole, and they never recovered. Notre Dame’s first-half
problems resulted mainly from its inability to take advantage of
excellent field position. During the first 30 minutes the Irish had
first downs at the Nebraska 30, 29 and 25-yard lines but couldn’t score.
On two other occasions Clements’ passes were intercepted, once at the
Husker 18 and once at the Nebraska 41.
The Rodgers extravaganza continued after intermission. He scored on
runs of four and five yards. He then took a screen pass from Humm and
dashed 50 yards down the right sideline for the final Nebraska
touchdown, its sixth of the day. Rodgers then retreated to the bench for
the rest of the game. The Huskers already had inflicted enough damage on
the Irish, who finished the year at 8-3.
Nebraska bested Notre Dame in just about every statistical category.
The Huskers rolled up 560 yards total offense to Notre Dame’s 207.
Nebraska had 300 yards on the ground and 260 through the air, while the
Irish had 104 yards rushing and 103 yards passing. Notre Dame managed
only 13 first downs to Nebraska’s 30. Humm completed 13 of 19 passes for
185 yards, while his Irish counterpart Tom Clements was successful on
nine of 22 attempts for 103. In addition to his 81 yards rushing,
Rodgers caught three passes for 71 yards.
Nebraska ended the year at 9-2-1, losing only to UCLA and Oklahoma and tying Iowa State. The victory proved a fitting end to the 11-year Nebraska career of head coach Bob Devaney.
Johnny Rodgers
Rodgers scores on 50 yard touchdown pass in the 3rd quarter.
Nebraska quarterback David Humm.
Devaney's last game
Attendance- 80,010
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
NU- Rodgers 8 run (Sanger kick)
Second Quarter
NU- Dixon 1 run (kick)
NU- Anderson 52 pass from Rodgers (kick blocked)
Third Quarter
NU- Rodgers 4 run (pass failed)
NU- Rodgers 5 run (Sanger kick)
NU- Rodgers 50 pass from Humm (Sanger kick)
Fourth Quarter
ND- Demmerle 5 pass from Clements (pass failed)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
UN- Rodgers 15-81, Dixon 9-69, Goeller 11-43, Bahe 6-27
ND- Penick 8-48, Huff 11-22, Cieszkowski 3-21, Dewan 7-18
Passing
UN- Humm 13-19-185, Rodgers 1-1-52
ND- Clements 9-22-103
Receiving
UN- Rodgers 3-71, Revelle 3-62, List 3-25, Anderson 2-67
ND- Dewan 3-46, Creaney 2-28
