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The Perfect Storm
| |  | | Miami coach Larry Coker gets a ride after winning the national title. |
Miami silenced all the doubters -- and the 70,000 red-clad fans -- with a dominating 37-14 victory over Nebraska in the Rose Bowl to earn its fifth national title. The Hurricane defense shut down Heisman-winner Eric Crouch and the Huskers' powerful offense, and Ken Dorsey and Andre Johnson teamed up for a pair of TDs to earn co-MVP honors.
• Wojciechowski: Between the lines | We have a winner
• Bellotti: Ducks-'Canes would have been better game
• Miami's best team ever | Tops in final polls
| INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS |
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MIAMI FLA |
YDS |
NEBRASKA |
YDS |
| Passing |
Ken Dorsey |
2667 |
Eric Crouch |
1510 |
| Rushing |
Clinton Portis |
1200 |
Dahrran Diedrick |
1299 |
| Receiving |
Andre Johnson |
682 |
Wilson Thomas |
563 |
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| TEAM STATISTICAL COMPARISON |
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| Total Offense |
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416.9 | | | 
416.5 |
Passing Yards |
| | 229.3 | | |
126 |
Passing completion % |
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57.1 | | |
55.8 |
Completions |
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194 | | |
111 |
Attempts |
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340 | | |
199 |
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| Scoring Offense |
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42.7 | | |
35.6 |
Scoring Defense |
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9.8 | | |
17.4 |
Rushing Yards |
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187.6 | | |
290.5 |
Rushing attempts |
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422 | | |
672 |
Key: |
| Miami Fla | | Nebraska |
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"It hasn't hit me yet, that's for sure. Maybe tomorrow morning when AI read it in the New York Times, USA Today or the L.A. Times -- National Champions, Miami."
Miami notebook: Sweetness follows
Jarrett Payton, son of legend Walter Payton, is growing up both on and off the field.
Nebraska notebook: Coming home
Nebraska tackle Dan Vili Waldrop returns to Southern California to play for the national title.
Miami notebook: The Art of coaching the O-line
They playfully rip him, but the Miami offensive line would do just about anything for coach Art Kehoe.
More News & Features
Rose Bowl Presented by AT&T breakdown
ABC's analysts break down the matchup between Miami and Nebraska.
Brant: Rose Bowl preview
Nebraska needs to put some pressure on Ken Dorsey, writes ABC Sports' Tim Brant.
Musburger: Nebraska's chances
Nebraska has a chance to beat Miami, but it won't be easy, writes ABC Sports' Brent Musburger.
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WITH ROD GILMORE
The first thing that jumped out at me early in the first quarter of this game was how much more speed Miami had than Nebraska. The 'Canes were able to suffocate the 'Huskers early and do pretty much whatever they wanted to do when they had the ball. Miami easily took advantage of Nebraska's press defense, with Andre Johnson leading the way early on -- his size, speed and strength were too much for the 'Huskers to handle in man coverage.
The key play in the first quarter came when Nebraska had a chance to score and tie the game at seven. The 'Huskers were unable to take advantage of the opportunity given to them when penalties resulted in a short field, and the Hurricanes rolled from there.
It's tough to say Nebraska will be able to win a national championship with the style of offense they run. The formula for beating a Nebraska team has always been the same -- get up by about 17, attack them early, and it's almost impossible for the 'Huskers to find there way back into the ball game, because they can't light it up with an explosive passing game -- they only run the option. Miami followed the formula to the letter, took the 'Huskers out of their game, and that was all she wrote.
Congratulations are due to the undefeated, national champion Miami Hurricanes. While marveling at Miami's speed and talent, I found myself thinking, "why is Nebraska here?" After they gave up 62 to Colorado, then gave up 34 first-half points in the Rose Bowl, I couldn't help but think that the 'Huskers probably weren't the most deserving team to play in the national championship game.
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| IT WAS OVER WHEN |
| Miami QB Ken Dorsey lofted a perfect pass to Andre Johnson, who was streaking wide open down the sideline, for a 49-yard TD pass to make the score 7-0. It was the start of an offensive avelanche for the 'Canes as they rolled up 34 points in the first half and cruised to the national title. |
| GAME BALL GOES TO |
| How many do we get to hand out? You can give one to the defense, which neutered the Huskers' potent rushing attack, and one to coach Larry Coker, who led Miami to a title in his first season as head coach. But we give the nod to Dorsey and Johnson. Dorsey threw for 362 yards and 3 TDs while Johnson hauled in seven passes for 199 yards and two TDs. |
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MIAMI CLUBHOUSE
QB Ken Dorsey and WR Andre Johnson
are two major reasons why the Hurricanes are the national champions.
NEBRASKA CLUBHOUSE
QB Eric Crouch and the Huskers' offense couldn't get anything going in the Rose Bowl loss to Miami.
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MIAMI VS. NEBRASKA
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