Fiesta Bowl
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Game History
Back to Game List19TH ANNUAL FIESTA BOWL
Jan. 1, 1990 |
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The Miami Hurricanes were voted the nation’s top team in 1989-90, but the Florida State Seminoles convinced many that they deserved the No. 1 ranking after a dominating 41-17 victory over sixth-ranked Nebraska in the 19th Annual Fiesta Bowl.
FSU quarterback Peter Tom Willis was nearly unstoppable, racking up a Fiesta Bowl record five TD passes and then-records for passing yardage (422) and total offense (414). Florida State outscored the Cornhuskers 41-3 in the second and third quarters, which was the difference in the game.
Willis, the offensive player of the game, threw TD strikes of 14 and 24 yards to Lawrence Dawsey, while also throwing two scoring passes to tight end Reggie Johnson.
Nebraska actually took the early lead in the game, scoring on a nine-yard pass from Gerry Gdowski to Morgan Gregory.
Then Florida State took command, scoring 41 of the game’s next 44 points. Willis threw five touchdown strikes, Paul Moore had a one-yard scoring run and Chris Drennan added a 39-yard field goal in FSU’s scoring frenzy.
Willis completed 25 of 40 passes for 422 yards and no interceptions. Eight different receivers caught a pass for the Seminoles, as Ronald Lewis led the way with five receptions for 106 yards.
Nebraska added a touchdown in the last two minutes of the game on a two-yard run by Mickey Joseph to account for the final score.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Florida State | 0 | 21 | 20 | 0 | 41 |
| Nebraska | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
HOW THEY SCORED
| NEB | FSU | |
| 7 | 0 | Morgan Gregory 9 yard pass from Gerry Gdowski (Greg Barrios kick) |
| 7 | 7 | Terry Anthony 14 yard pass from Peter Tom Willis (Richie Andrews kick) |
| 10 | 7 | Chris Drennan 39 yard field goal |
| 10 | 14 | Reggie Johnson 5 yard pass from Willis (Andrews kick) |
| 10 | 21 | Dexter Carter 10 yard pass from Willis (Andrews kick) |
| 10 | 27 | Paul Moore 1 yard run (kick failed) |
| 10 | 34 | Johnson 8 yard pass from Willis (Andrews kick) |
| 10 | 41 | Anthony 24 yard pass from Willis (Andrews kick) |
| 17 | 41 | Mickey Joseph 2 yard run (Drennan kick) |
YARDSTICK
| FSU | NEB | |
| 18 | First Downs | 18 |
| 24-72 | Rushes-Yards | 46-115 |
| 422 | Passing Yards | 207 |
| 25-41-0 | Passes | 15-26-2 |
| 42 | Return Yards | 5 |
| 3-35.7 | Punts | 3-34.3 |
| 0-0 | Fumbles-Lost | 5-3 |
| 13-135 | Penalties-Yards | 6-48 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – NEBRASKA: Ken Clark 16-86, Gerry Gdowski 12-1, Leodis Flowers 4-25, Mickey Joseph 4-(-2), Terry Rodgers 4-3, Bryan Carpenter 3-6, Richard Bell 1-2, Tyrone Hughes 1-(-2), William Washington 1-(-4). FLORIDA STATE: Dexter Carter 13-72, Paul Moore 4-3, Edgar Bennett 3-3, Amp Lee 2-6, Lawrence Dawsey 1-(-4), Peter Tom Willis 1-(-8).
PASSING – NEBRASKA: Gerry Gdowski 13-23-2-154, Mickey Joseph 1-2-0-12, Mike Stigge 1-1-0-41. FLORIDA STATE: Peter Tom Willis 25-40-0-422, Casey Weldon 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING – NEBRASKA: Morgan Gregory 4-67, Bell 3-46, Jon Bostick 3-27, Bryan Carpenter 2-6, Mark Dowse 1-41, Chris Garrett 1-15, Hughes 1-5. FLORIDA STATE: Terry Anthony 6-88, Ronald Lewis 5-106, Laurence Dawsey 4-66, Dexter Carter 3-47, Reggie Johnson 3-27, Shannon Baker 2-49, Edgar Bennett 1-30, Amp Lee 1-9.
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