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Jan. 3, 2000 SportsLine wire reports |
TEMPE, Ariz. -- There were no happy returns for Tennessee in the Fiesta
Bowl. Not with an opponent like No. 3 Nebraska.
Nebraska, Crouch roll past Volunteers 31-21 Nebraska sends retiring defensive coordinator out a winner
Playing on the same field where they won the national championship last year
by beating Florida State 23-16, the No. 6 Volunteers fell to Nebraska 31-21 on
Sunday night.
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Game summary T O P N E W S
The Cornhuskers (12-1) moved the ball almost at will, clinching the victory with 96- and 99-yard touchdown drives in the second half. And, despite Tee Martin's 19-for-34, 223-yard passing game, the Huskers controlled the damage with breathtaking defensive speed.
Martin finished his career 22-3 as a starter, and is the fourth-best passer in Tennessee history in yardage (4,592) and TD passes (32).
He also ran for more scores (16) than any Tennessee quarterback. But he threw only one of two scoring passes for his team against Nebraska -- a 9-yard strike to Donte' Stallworth that cut the Huskers lead to 17-7 at halftime -- and had two passes intercepted.
"I knew it was big in their game plan to keep me in the pocket, not allow me to get outside," Martin said. "It was good on their part for a game plan. I got tripped a couple, grabbed a couple more times. Their guys just play hard, crawling, scratching, whatever they have to do."
When Stallworth made his second scoring catch, with 7:25 left in the game, it was thrown by wide receiver Cedrick Wilson after a lateral from Martin.
"First of all, we took the running game away from them, and they began passing the ball a lot" Huskers cornerback Mike Brown said. "They had good schemes where they were able to make some big plays, but we stopped some of them."
The game might have been tailback Jamal Lewis' last for Tennessee. He is considering leaving school early for the NFL.
Stallworth said Travis Henry, who had 31 yards on 10 carries, and redshirt Travis Stephens could fill in if Lewis leaves.
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| Nebraska's Ralph Brown wraps up Tennessee wide receiver Cedrick Wilson.(AP) |
"He's a great leader," Stallworth said. "I kind of consider him a brother. But If we lose him, that's where recruiting comes in. Whenever you lose someone of Jamal's caliber, you've got to have someone step up, and Travis (Henry) stepped up last year when Jamal went down."
There was disappointment for Tennessee after the 1997 season, when Nebraska won a share of the national title by beating the Vols 42-17 in the Orange Bowl.
Coach Phillip Fulmer said good things came out of the experience.
"Two years ago we took a lesson from Nebraska, came back and had an awful fine year," Fulmer said. "Maybe we can do the same thing."
Last year, a new formula for determining champions kicked in, and Martin led the Vols to a 13-0 record and the second national crown in school history.
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