25 best college football bowl games in history

6. Florida State vs. Nebraska, 1994 Orange Bowl

The Seminoles were crushed by a number of crucial missed field goals in the 1990s, mostly against Miami, but also benefited from a kicker miscue in a 1994 title clash with Nebraska.

While Florida State had been a powerhouse for the better part of a decade by 1993, the program was still searching for its first national title. The Seminoles overcame a loss to Notre Dame to earn the No. 1 ranking heading into the Orange Bowl, and featured a loaded roster with the top scoring offense and defense in the country.

Despite going a perfect 11-0 in the regular season, the Cornhuskers were ranked second and were made a 17.5 point underdog against the Seminoles. Tom Osbrone led the program to an incredible period of sustained success over the prior two decades, but also was yet to win a national championship.

Neither offense could break through, with Florida State eventually going up 15-7 through the end of three. The Cournhuskers countered with a 12-yard touchdown run from hyped freshman Lawrence Phillips, who had 183 yards for the game, and went up 16-15 on a short field goal with just 1:18 to go.

Heisman winner Charlie Ward wasn’t done yet, and brought the Seminoles all the way down to the three yard line for the go-ahead field goal with 21 seconds remaining. The Cornhuskers had new life after Florida State was flagged for excessive celebration, and moved to the Seminoles’ 29 on a long pass from Tommie Frazier to Trumane Bell, only to see kicker Byron Bennett miss wide left.

Adding to the chaos was the fact that the clock originally hit 0:00 on Bell’s catch, and the field had to be cleared prior to the kick as Florida State celebrated. Osborne would at least recover with consecutive national championships in the following two years.