As South Florida gets set to serve as host to its first College Football Playoff National Championship at Hard Rock Stadium, WPTV.com takes a look back at the previous national championship games to be played in the region and the historical significance of each.
Orange Bowl
Jan. 1, 1994
Miami Orange Bowl | Miami
No. 1 Florida State (11-1) 18
No. 2 Nebraska (11-0) 16
The first true national championship game played at the Orange Bowl involved a Florida school that was in the midst of a dynastic run. The Seminoles compiled a 109-13-1 record in the 1990s, the most wins of any team during the decade. Florida State kicker Scott Bentley's field goal with 21 seconds left in the game split the uprights and Nebraska kicker Byron Bennett's last second attempt sailed wide left, giving the Seminoles an 18-16 victory over the previously undefeated Cornhuskers and their first national championship in school history. But it wasn't without controversy. Notre Dame, which finished second in both major polls, believed it should have been playing in the Orange Bowl, considering the Fighting Irish had handed the Seminoles their lone loss -- a 31-24 decision at Notre Dame Stadium -- earlier in the season. West Virginia also believed it had been unfairly passed over, but the third-ranked Mountaineers were routed in a 41-7 loss to No. 8 Florida in the Sugar Bowl. As just the second national title game since the advent of the Bowl Coalition, which was established in 1992 after co-national champions were crowned the previous two seasons, it was a step in the right direction.
Orange Bowl
Jan. 1, 1995
Miami Orange Bowl | Miami
No. 1 Nebraska (12-0) 24
No. 3 Miami (10-1) 17
Because of the tie-in with the (now defunct) Big Eight Conference champion, the Orange Bowl served as the national championship game for a second straight season. The game was a rematch of the historic 1984 Orange Bowl that gave Miami its first of four national championships (plus a split national championship with Washington in 1991). Penn State, which was undefeated and ranked No. 2, was contractually obligated to play in the Rose Bowl as the Big Ten Conference champion, allowing the Hurricanes the opportunity to stay home on New Year's Day. Miami led 10-7 at halftime and stretched the lead to 17-7 in the third quarter before the Cornhuskers answered with 17 unanswered points to claim their first national championship in school history. A pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns by Nebraska fullback Cory Schlesinger proved to be the difference.
Orange Bowl
Jan. 2, 1998
Pro Player Stadium | Miami
No. 2 Nebraska (12-0) 42
No. 3 Tennessee (11-1) 17
The final national championship game of the old Bowl Coalition had Nebraska playing for its third title in four seasons. Because top-ranked Michigan was playing in the Rose Bowl, No. 2 Nebraska was matched against No. 3 Tennessee and All-American quarterback Peyton Manning. Nebraska took a 14-3 lead at halftime and never relinquished it as quarterback Scott Frost outplayed Manning, who finished second to Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson in the Heisman Memorial Trophy voting. Frost ran for three touchdowns and Ahman Green added two more scores while rushing for an Orange Bowl-record 201 yards. It was the final game for Nebraska head coach Tom Obsorne, who retired after 25 seasons. The Cornhuskers were crowned champions by the coaches, but the voters kept Michigan No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll, paving the way for the inclusion of the Big Ten and Pacific 10 conferences in determining a bona fide champion beginning the following season.
Orange Bowl
Jan. 3, 2001
Pro Player Stadium | Miami
No. 1 Oklahoma (12-0) 13
No. 3 Florida State (11-1) 2
Florida State was playing for its third consecutive national championship in as many seasons of the Bowl Championship Series. But it wasn't without controversy. Although third-ranked FSU lost to No. 2 Miami earlier in the season, the BCS computer rankings were inversed, sending the Seminoles to the Orange Bowl and relegating the Hurricanes to the Sugar Bowl. Defense dominated the Orange Bowl, with top-ranked Oklahoma scoring the lone touchdown of the game on a 10-yard run by Quentin Griffin in the fourth quarter. The Sooners were poised for a shutout until the Seminoles got on the scoreboard thanks to a safety with under a minute left to play. A lackluster offensive showing by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Chris Weinke and the Seminoles, who were without star receiver Snoop Minnis (ruled academically ineligible), signified the end of an era in FSU football history. The game marked the end of a 14-year stretch in which the Seminoles won 10-or-more games and finished among the top four in the final AP or coaches polls. Meanwhile, Miami took out its frustrations by handling No. 7 Florida 37-20 in New Orleans.
BCS National Championship
Jan. 8, 2009
Dolphin Stadium | Miami Gardens, Fla.
No. 1 Florida (12-1) 24
No. 2 Oklahoma (12-1) 14
South Florida was once more the setting for a national championship game involving Oklahoma. Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford combined to throw four interceptions, but Tebow's two touchdown passes helped Florida outlast Oklahoma 24-14 in South Florida's first standalone national championship game. Tebow's jump pass to receiver David Nelson in the fourth quarter put away the Sooners and gave the Gators their second national title in three seasons under head coach Urban Meyer. It was in the midst of a stretch of dominance for the Southeastern Conference in which SEC teams won seven straight national championships from 2006-12 that the Gators got started, but another program was on the rise and about to emerge.
BCS National Championship
Jan. 7, 2013
Sun Life Stadium | Miami Gardens, Fla.
No. 2 Alabama (12-1) 41
No. 1 Notre Dame (12-0) 14
The final national championship game of the BCS era to be played in South Florida was all Alabama. The second-ranked Crimson Tide embarrassed top-ranked and previously undefeated Notre Dame to win their third national championship in four seasons. Alabama led 35-0 late into the third quarter after quarterback A.J. McCarron threw three of his four touchdown passes and running back Eddie Lacy ran for two touchdowns. Alabama receiver and Miami native Amari Cooper added a pair of touchdowns. Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score for the Irish's only points of the game. Alabama would go on to be selected as one of the four teams to earn a spot in the first five seasons of the College Football Playoff era, winning two more championships and playing in four straight championship games. The Tide could add to their trophy case Monday night against Ohio State.
