The
1995 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first year of the
Bowl Alliance and was a relatively calm year compared to the early 1990s.
Tom Osborne led
Nebraska to its second straight national title with a victory over
Florida in the
Fiesta Bowl.
This match up was only possible because of the new Bowl Alliance. Under the old system, Nebraska would have been tied to the
Orange Bowl and Florida to the
Sugar Bowl. The Bowl Alliance created a national championship game which would rotate between the Orange, Sugar, and Fiesta Bowls free of conference tie-ins and featuring the #1 and #2 teams as chosen by the Bowl Alliance Poll. The
Pac 10 and
Big Ten chose not to participate, keeping their tie-ins with the
Rose Bowl.
Nebraska was showing signs of dynasty, playing in its third consecutive national title game, and became the first school to claim back to back titles since the 1970s. This was an amazingly dominant Nebraska team, averaging 52 points per game and a 39 point average margin of victory, including a 62-24 victory over Florida. Interestingly, this lopsided victory came after Florida was picked by many sportswriters to win the game.
Ohio State almost managed to create a national title controversy, going into its final regular season game against
Michigan undefeated and ranked #2. Had they finished the season #2 the Bowl Alliance would have been unable to pit #1 vs. #2 as the Big Ten champ was tied to the Rose Bowl. Fortunately for the Bowl Alliance, Michigan upset Ohio...
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