Year Of The Tigers

Which was exactly what Osborne did not want. Before the game he had said, "I'd rather play against a set-up quarterback like Art Schlichter than a guy who sprints out and can run or pass like Jordan." Jordan did just that, by completing 11 of 22 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 46 yards.

The drive that gave Clemson a 12-7 halftime lead began when Defensive End Joe Glenn separated Nebraska Fullback Phil Bates from the football on the Husker 27. Seven plays later, on the two, Jordan pitched to Tailback Cliff Austin, who swept right for a touchdown.

Jordan was en route not only to victory but also to exhaustion in the humid 77� heat. In the locker room immediately after the game, which was thick with the smoke of victory cigars, Jordan nearly fainted and had to be stretched out on a training table for an hour, taking fluids intravenously in his left arm. "It's a little bit more severe than most cases of heat exhaustion," said Dr. Byron Harder, one of Clemson's team physicians. "If the game had lasted any longer, Homer wouldn't have made it."

By Saturday morning Jordan was back on his feet, showing a few "blue spots" on his arms and legs from the beating he had taken. "I'm bruised and hurt all over," he said, "but the game went just like I'd pictured it."

Which meant that Jordan had to perform his most heroic work in the fourth quarter when he was bone-tired. In the third he had completed four passes in a 75-yard, 12-play drive, finishing up with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Tuttle. "You know, at 7:30 this morning Homer came to my room and woke me up and said, 'I'm so nervous I can't sleep,' " said Tuttle. "I said, 'Homer, those big farm-boys are going to kill you.' But in the game he was so confident. I came into the huddle before the touchdown and Homer said to me, 'If they're in Coverage One [inside zone], run to the corner. If they're in Coverage Five [outside zone], hope that it doesn't get intercepted.' They were in One, I think, so I went to the corner. And there was the ball."

A moment later, after yet another shutdown by the Clemson defense, Billy Davis returned a Nebraska punt 47 yards to set up a third Igwebuike field goal, this one of 36 yards. So it was 22-7 and the Clemson players were already beginning to celebrate. But suddenly there was another factor to deal with. The Sugar Bowl final score was announced—Pitt 24, Georgia 20—and now Nebraska was playing for the championship every bit as much as Clemson was. Patiently, the Cornhuskers proceeded to mount their best drive of the game as the Clemson defense abruptly came unglued. Rozier carried four times for 37 yards before Tailback Roger Craig broke a left-end sweep for a 26-yard touchdown.

"I think we kind of relaxed a little bit then," said Jeff Davis. "It was the only time we went to sleep. We got fast, flowing linebackers, and what they were doing was running wide and cutting back inside." The effect was to set up the sweep, which went perfectly. Craig broke outside and stayed outside when Davis and Safety Tim Childers, responsible for that territory, expected him to cut back in. Now nine points down, Nebraska needed to go for a two-point conversion. But there was a mixup on the alignment. Mike McElroy, the snapper for placements, was on the field instead of Rimington, and by the time things were straightened out, Nebraska was called for delay of game. The two-point play had to be made from the eight instead of the three. Mauer was supposed to pass; instead he pitched out to Craig, who ran it down the left sideline, the same way he had for the touchdown.

Ford felt the lump in his throat tightening. "The odds for making a two-point conversion from eight yards are not good," he said. "But they did it. That was when I saw them doing it again to win the game."

Now Clemson was in trouble. On its previous possession, Jordan had twice tried to pass instead of keeping the ball on the ground to run out the clock. Now, with 9:15 remaining in the game, he was trying to pass again, into the teeth of a fierce Nebraska blitz. Four plays later the Tigers punted.

"I was sure stupid then," said Ford, "having Homer try to throw. I had been pretty smart up until then, too."