| Year Game Played: | 1991 |
| Title Sponsor: | Florida Citrus Growers Association |
| Game Name: | Florida Citrus Bowl |
| Football Season: | 1990 |
| Visitor Name Short: | Georgia Tech |
| Visitor Nickname: | Yellow Jackets |
| Visitor School: | Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Home Name Short: | Nebraska |
| Home Nickname: | Cornhuskers |
| Home School: | University of Nebraska |
| Visitor Record: | 10–0–1 |
| Visitor Conference: | ACC |
| Home Record: | 9–2 |
| Home Conference: | Big 8 |
| Visitor Coach: | Bobby Ross |
| Home Coach: | Tom Osborne |
| Visitor Rank Ap: | 2 |
| Visitor Rank Coaches: | 2 |
| Home Rank Ap: | 19 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 13 |
| Visitor 1Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 17 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 14 |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 14 |
| Home 3Q: | 7 |
| Home 4Q: | 0 |
| Date Game Played: | January 1 |
| Stadium: | Florida Citrus Bowl |
| City: | Orlando, Florida |
| Mvp: | Shawn Jones (QB, Georgia Tech) |
| Odds: | Nebraska by 2 points [1] [2] |
| Referee: | Tom Quinn (Big Ten) |
| Attendance: | 73,328 |
| Us Network: | ABC |
| Us Announcers Link: | List of announcers of major college bowl games |
| Us Announcers: | Brent Musburger, Dick Vermeil and Mark Jones |
The 1991 Florida Citrus Bowl was a college football bowl game played after the 1990 regular season, with national championship implications. Played on January 1 in Orlando, Florida, the 45th edition of the Citrus Bowl featured the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Nebraska Cornhuskers of the
Georgia Tech came into the game with a record and #2 ranking, whereas Nebraska was at 9–2 with a #13 UPI coaches' poll ranking. After their win, Georgia Tech climbed to first in the Coaches' Poll, enabling the Yellow Jackets to claim their fourth national championship, shared
The Nebraska Cornhuskers were 9–2 and ranked #13 in the Coaches' poll. Though they had been in the top ten of both polls for most of the season, and as high as #3 with three games to go, two losses in their last three games plummeted them to thirteenth (and nineteenth in the AP poll). Nebraska came into the Citrus Bowl as a slight despite their inferior record and ranking.[3]
Shawn Jones, Georgia Tech's sophomore quarterback, rushed for 46 yards on the fourth play of the game which set up the first touchdown. The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a during the first half, but Nebraska responded with two touchdowns, narrowing the deficit GT was forced to punt after Nebraska's second touch down. However, Nebraska's punt returner fumbled the ball with Jay Martin of Georgia Tech recovering, which led to a 37-yard field goal by Scott Sisson and a halftime lead. GT coach Bobby Ross said after the game, "I thought the fumbled punt was the key to the game. That changed the momentum of the game...Here we were with what we thought was a comfortable lead, and they came back within a matter of a minute, ready to establish momentum. Even though we only got three points out of it, that was one of the big plays we capitalized on."[4]
After blocking a Nebraska field goal on the first possession of the second half, Georgia Tech drove for a touchdown to make the score Nebraska's final score of the game made it going into the 4th quarter. Georgia Tech's William Bell rushed for two fourth-quarter touchdowns to seal the win Jones completed 16 of 23 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns, ran for one touchdown, and was selected the game's most valuable player. Georgia Tech also played well defensively: Nebraska averaged 330 rushing yards during the season, but Georgia Tech held the Cornhuskers to only 126 rushing yards during the game.[5] [6]
The loss was Nebraska's fourth straight bowl loss, a streak which extended to seven; the Huskers slipped into a tie for 17th in the UPI coaches' poll and 24th in
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
| Statistics | Georgia Tech | Nebraska | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 19 | 14 | |
| Rushes–yards | 44–190 | 40–126 | |
| Passing yards | 277 | 209 | |
| Passes | 16–23–1 | 14–25–0 | |
| Total yards | 467 | 335 | |
| Punts–average | 6–40 | 8–39 | |
| Fumbles–lost | 2–1 | 3–2 | |
| Turnovers by | 2 | 2 | |
| Penalties-yards | 5–50 | 6–69 | |
| Time of possession | 31:30 | 28:30 |