Penn St lead by Todd Blackledge beat #1 Pitt lead by Dan Marino

Nebraska, ranked 4th, was the highest ranked team the Orange Bowl could get to face us.

#2 Georgia, whom we had already beaten in the regular season, was locked into the Sugar Bowl, where they lost against #10 Pitt.

#3 Bama was locked into the Cotton Bowl, where they lost to #6 Texas.

Nebraska had two losses, already going into bowl season at 9-2.

With both #2 and #3 losing ahead of our game being over, Nebraska knew they had a shot at the title in the fourth quarter. They came at us hard, but Homer Jordan kept the good guys ahead in the end.

Since Texas wound up 10-1-1, I would almost BET there would have been some kind of split vote championship between them and the Cornhuskers, had Nebraska won to finish 10-2. Even back then, politics did not want to see a two loss team awarded the Natty.

I say "awarded", because, like I said, due to stringent bowl tie-ins back then, you didn't get 1 vs 2 for a clearcut title winner. That is what led to the formation of the "BCS", with all its computer flaws and intrigue.

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Yep, but I've always looked at it from a different angle...

Jan 1, 2022, 11:43 AM

in a way, you had a day full of "playoffs" on 1/1/82. Several teams had a shot at the nat'l title. First of all, it was pretty much assumed that Neb would knock us off. We were lil ol Clemson, the upstarts, unaccustomed to playing on the big stage. They were By God Nebraska... a storied & elite program. So if/when we lost, that would open up the door for other teams to lay their claim...

If we lose a close game, but look pretty good... we still only have one loss and will still get some votes.

If Neb blows us out, that would carry a lot of weight, depending on how #2 & #3 fare... their losses earlier would pale compared to "how they finished strong" and crushed #1. They had a good shot at the title either way... if #2 and/or #3 lose, or even if they win, but #4 Neb wins the "eye test".

Regardless of our game, if #2 Georgia (and defending nat'l champs) wins their game handily and looks good doing it, they could possibly leapfrog either Clem or Neb...

Likewise, Bama at #3 could leapfrog into #1 if Clem & GA lose... or maybe even if Clem & GA win ugly, and Bama looks dominant and blows out Texas...

There were so many story lines that day. It was amazing how many different scenarios were possible, and how the votes might get split for #1. I mean, regional/conference bias was alive and well then, too. (LOL). Also, you could have tie games back then. Now reimagine all the games above with a TIE. Man, that just upped the confusion by a power of 10...

And of course, if Penn St hadn't pulled off a massive upset in their season-ending rivalry game vs Pitt... none of this even matters. Pitt was a unanimous #1, had Dan Marino at QB, and a 17 game winning streak. That upset opened the door for everybody else going into NYD.

I've often said, the planets had to line up perfectly for us to win the title in 1981.