| 1991 Federal Express Orange Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 57th Orange Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Orange Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Miami,Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Charles Johnson[a] (CU QB) Chris Zorich (Notre Dame NG) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Pick[1][2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Frank Shepard (SWC) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 77,062 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Dick Enberg (Play by Play) Bill Walsh (Color) O.J. Simpson andBob Trumpy (Sideline) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1991 Orange Bowl was the 57thedition of thecollege footballbowl game, played at theOrange Bowl inMiami,Florida, on Tuesday, January 1. Part of the1990–91 bowl game season, it matched theindependent andfifth-rankedNotre Dame Fighting Irish and the #1Colorado Buffaloes of theBig Eight Conference.
It was a rematch of theprevious year, in which #4Notre Dame defeated #1Colorado, 21–6. This time, Colorado won by a point, 10–9,[3][4][5][6] and won a share of thenational championship.
The Fighting Irish were9–2; both losses occurred when they were first in the polls, and at home. The first was a36–31 loss to1–3Stanford on October 6. The second was toPenn State on November 17, as Craig Fayak kicked a 34-yard field goal to hand the Irish a24–21 loss,[7] which resulted in Notre Dame's No. 1 ranking falling to Colorado. Sophomore quarterbackRick Mirer passed for 1,824 yards and eight touchdowns, whileRaghib Ismail accounted for 1,726 all-purpose yards, putting him on theAll-American team as a wide receiver.
Colorado compiled a10–1–1 record in the regular season. In the opener at thePigskin Classic inAnaheim, California,#8Tennessee rallied from 21 points down and chose to kick an extra point for a31–31 tie with less than three minutes remaining, and there was no additionalscoring.[8] More than a month later, Colorado quarterback Charles Johnson[a] scored a touchdown to beatMissouri33–31, in a very controversial game in which Colorado was mistakenly given an extra down. The winning touchdown was scored on that play, and it was allowed to stand. That game is often referred to as the "5th down game." One reason for the Buffaloes No. 1 ranking was that they had the toughest schedule of any team. Another was quarterbackDarian Hagan and half backEric Bieniemy, who finished third in theHeisman Trophyvoting. A victory seemed likely guarantee at least a share of the championship, but theGeorgia Tech Yellow Jackets weren't far behind, second in both polls, and won theCitrus Bowl45–21 overNebraska earlier in the day to finish undefeated at11–0–1.[9][10]
After a scoreless first quarter, Colorado's Jim Harper kicked a 22-yard field goal for the game's first points. A few minutes later, on 2nd and goal, tailbackRicky Watters plunged in from two yards to give the Fighting Irish the lead. But whenRonnie Bradford blockedCraig Hentrich's PAT attempt, the score remained6–3. This cost Hentrich his 73 straight successful PAT attempts, a school record. Things would turn sour for the Buffaloes, however, as Hagan ruptured his tendon in his left knee just before the half, where the score remained the same.
This bowl is also remembered for a controversial finish. Ismail returned a punt 92 yards for a likely game-winning touchdown with 43 seconds left. This could have sealed the victory for Notre Dame and cost Colorado a share of the national championship. However, the touchdown was called back on a dubiousclipping penalty, and Colorado held on for the10–9 victory.[4][6]
| Statistics | Notre Dame | Colorado |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 18 | 19 |
| Rushes–yards | 36–123 | 54–186 |
| Passing yards | 141 | 109 |
| Passes (C–A–I) | 13–31–3 | 9–19–0 |
| Total Offense | 67–265 | 73–295 |
| Return yards | 68 | 50 |
| Punts–average | 3–51 | 7–40 |
| Fumbles–lost | 2–2 | 2–1 |
| Turnovers | 5 | 1 |
| Penalties–yards | 3–45 | 6–50 |
| Time of possession | 24:24 | 35:36 |
The win gave the Buffaloes their first and (to date) only national championship, shared withGeorgia Tech.[11][12][13][14] Notre Dame fell one spot to sixth in thefinal AP poll.