Score by Quarters
Miami
7
27
0
3
37
Nebraska
0
0
7
7
14
In 2002, for the first time since 1947, the Rose Bowl Game didn’t host a Big Ten-Pac 10 matchup; it hosted the national championship in the Bowl Championship Series.
And like the first Rose Bowl Game exactly 100 years earlier, the 2002 Rose Bowl Game wasn’t even a full game. In 1902, Michigan was so soundly thrashing Stanford, the game was called early. In 2002, Miami was so soundly defeating Nebraska, the game could have been called at halftime.
Yes, technically, the 2002 Rose Bowl Game was indeed a full game – they did play all 60 minutes – but if you would have asked the players, coaches, fans, referees, statisticians, hot dog vendors, program vendors and the guy who cleans the stands afterward, Miami was crowned national champion by halftime.
The Hurricanes raced out to a 34-0 lead at intermission – the highest point total in any half in Rose Bowl Game history – and finished it off in the second half for a 37-14 win, the national championship, their 22nd straight Division I win and a perfect season. And they did all this as validation of a rough stretch following severe sanctions beginning in 1996, a 5-6 record in 1997 and a 2000 season in which they believed they deserved a shot at the national championship and didn’t get it.
“For me, it smells like roses,” said senior Miami wide receiver Daryl Jones. “It is so sweet for me to go from 5-6 to 12-0.”
Added Miami Head Coach Larry Coker: “Obviously, it is a very exciting moment for us. We have a tremendous group of men. I am especially proud of them for the obstacles they have overcome. And to win it decisively makes it special. This team came back to win the national championship and to win it at the Rose Bowl, a great venue, is very special.”
Junior quarterback Ken Dorsey and sophomore wide receiver Andre Johnson led the Hurricane assault. It seemed fitting that the duo who connected for 199 yards and two touchdowns also shared Player of the Game honors. Dorsey, a Northern California native, threw for 362 yards – the fourth-best total in Rose Bowl Game history – and three touchdowns.
The story of the game was an 11-minute stretch in the second quarter when the Hurricanes scored 27 points. That stretch included a 39-yard touchdown run from Clinton Portis, a James Lewis 47-yard interception return for a touchdown, a 21-yard strike from Dorsey to Jeremy Shockey and an 8-yard throw to Johnson before the half.
Nebraska’s biggest bright spot was the 197 yards rushing they amassed in the game – helped largely by Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch’s 114. The Miami pass defense, however, held him to just five completions for 62 yards.
Attendance
93,781
Weather
High Clouds; 58 degrees
Scoring
First Quarter
Mia – Johnson, 49-yard pass from Dorsey (Sievers kick good)
Second Quarter
Mia – Portis, 39-yard run (Sievers kick good)
Mia – Lewis, 47-yard interception return (Sievers kick good)
Mia – Shockey, 21-yard pass from Dorsey (Sievers kick good)
Mia – Johnson, 8-yard pass from Dorsey (Sievers kick good)
Third Quarter
Neb – Davies, 16-yard run (Brown kick good)
Fourth Quarter
Neb – Groce, 71-yard punt return (Brown kick good)
Mia – Sievers, 37-yard field goal
Coaches
Miami: Larry Coker
Nebraska: Frank Solich
Fun Fact
In 2002, for the first time in history, the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game were held on different days.
Individual Stats
Rushing
Mia: Portis 20-104; McGahee 2-7; Gore 2-3
Neb: Crouch 22-114; Diedrick 15-47; Davies 5-16; Collins 6-10; Zajicek 1-10
Passing
Mia: Dorsey 22-35-362
Neb: Crouch 5-15-62
Receiving
Mia: Johnson 7-199; Shockey 5-85; Beard 4-41; Portis 4-26; Jones 1-7; Williams 1-4
Neb: Thomas 3-36; Wistrom 2-26
Punting
Mia: Capshaw 4-143
Neb: Larson 5-203