Best run: Miami TB Clinton Portis zig-zagged for a 39-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Portis was nearly brought down in the backfield but spun away, cut right and outran two defenders to the end zone.
Best pass: Miami QB Ken Dorsey hit Andre Johnson in stride on a sideline streak for a 45-yard gain.
Best catch: Miami TE Jeremy Shockey slipped between FS Dion Booker and LB Scott Shanle to pull down a 22-yard pass in the first quarter.
Best hit: Kellen Winslow II rocked Nebraska's Josh Davis on back-to-back kickoff returns. The first time, Davis tried to leap a pileup, but Winslow met him in midair. Then, Winslow left his feet to zip past a blocker and wrap up Davis.
Best call: Miami's coaches noticed their wideouts were easily breaking coverage against Nebraska FS Willie Amos. Dorsey picked on Amos on back-to-back plays - the only plays of a 66-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter.
Worst call: The BCS computers must have been frazzled by a leftover Y2K bug when they chose Nebraska over Oregon.
Turning point: Nebraska CB Keyou Craver picked off a pass at the 33 midway through the first half. The Huskers gained a first down, then fumbled the ball away. On the next play, Dorsey fired a 49-yard touchdown pass to Johnson for the first score of the game.
The clincher: Dorsey tossed an 8-yard touchdown to Johnson with 3:35 left in the first half. That made it 34-0.
D'uh I: On Johnson's first touchdown catch, Craver, who was in press coverage, fell down near the line of scrimmage. That left Johnson wide open, and he scored without being touched.
D'uh II: A 57-yard touchdown catch by Portis in the third quarter was wiped out by a penalty for illegal use of hands.
D'uh III: Five hours before kickoff, two buses escorted by the California Highway Patrol rumbled toward the stadium. A few hundred Nebraska fans jumped to their feet and began waving and cheering wildly. Many grabbed camcorders to capture the moment. What the tailgaters did not realize was that the buses were full of reporters, who smiled and waved at their unwitting admirers.
All in the family: Earlier in the week, Nebraska I-back Thunder Collins said he was thrilled to be playing in the "Grandmother of All Bowls," a slightly skewed reference to the Rose Bowl's nickname, "The Granddaddy of Them All." It would be easy to forgive Collins had he not grown up in Los Angeles, about a half-hour's drive from the site of the century-old bowl game.
Pasadena, Neb.: The crowd was overwhelmingly pro-Nebraska. Judging from the sea of red shirts, which made it look like a autumn Saturday afternoon in Lincoln, more than two-thirds of the fans in the bowl were cheering for the Huskers ... for a while, at least.
Hidden stat: Miami's 27 points in the second quarter tied a Rose Bowl record set by Illinois in 1952 against Stanford.
TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox.
Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)