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 Armstrong threw a 99-yard touchdown pass to Enunwa in the third
quarter to give Nebraska (9-4) a 24-12 lead. Enunwa split the middle
of a cover-2 defense by the Bulldogs, eluded safety Quincy Mauger
and completed the longest scoring play in Nebraska and Gator Bowl
history.
It was Enunwa's 12th touchdown reception of the season, breaking one
of Nebraska's oldest records, set by Heisman Trophy winner Johnny
Rodgers in 1971.
"It was one of those situations where there wasn't much we could
do," Enunwa said. "I'm lucky our coaches trust us as playmakers. I
got into the hole (in Georgia's coverage) and made the best play I
could."
Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said, "Coach (Tim) Beck (Nebraska's
offensive coordinator) decided to take the shot and we liked the
call and the opportunity. (Georgia) put a lot of guys up there."
Georgia (8-5) cut the lead to five points on a 25-yard scoring pass
from quarterback Hutson Mason to running back Todd Gurley but got no
closer after coming up empty on its final two possessions.
The Bulldogs reached the Nebraska 22-yard line with a 48-yard pass
from Mason to Michael Bennett but lost the ball on downs when
Cornhuskers safety Andrew Green jarred a pass loose from Georgia's
Rantavious Wooten.
Georgia forced a punt and got to the Nebraska 23. But the Bulldogs
stalled again and tight end Arthur Lynch dropped a pass on
fourth-and-3 from the Nebraska 16 with 31 seconds left that would
have been good for a first down.
The Bulldogs could have had chip-shot field-goal attempts, but coach
Mark Richt played for the win both times.
"We really didn't think about kicking the field goal," he said. "We
knew if we made it (a first down) we could score a touchdown and
take the lead. We knew we were in four-down territory.
"We had a good back, and it was wise to give him the ball. Since we
were in four-down territory, it freed us up to run the ball a little
bit."
Armstrong completed only 6-of-14 passes, but two of those were the
touchdowns to Enunwa, who caught four passes for 129 yards.
Big Ten rushing leader Ameer Abdullah gained 122 yards on 27 carries
for Nebraska.
Mason, who was making his second career start in place of injured
Aaron Murray, completed 21-of-39 passes for 320 yards and connected
with Gurley seven times for 97 yards. Gurley added 86 yards rushing
on 21 carries.
"I felt great the whole game," Mason said. "The first couple of
drives we got some big third downs (conversions) and I didn't feel
like I came out slow. It wasn't perfect, but we weren't finishing
like we could have."
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He also refused to blame the sloppy field. "It was not great field conditions, but we weren't really
slipping out there a ton," Mason said. "I didn't see anyone
coming out of the break slipping. It was not an excuse for any
player."
A rare Gator Bowl game played in the rain resulted in a sloppy
first half for both teams. The first period was scoreless and
the second second was dominated by special-teams plays.
Georgia kicker Marshall Morgan put the first points on the board
with a 38-yard field goal, but it was a bitter consolation prize
after Mason was chased out of the pocket on a third-and-2 from
the Nebraska 10 and was then called for intentional grounding.
The Bulldogs forced the Cornhuskers to punt on the next
possession, but returner Reggie Davis fumbled after calling for
a fair catch and Nebraska's Josh Mitchell recovered at the
Georgia 14.
After a 9-yard gain by Abdullah, Armstrong Jr. lobbed a 5-yard
touchdown pass to Enunwa to give the Cornhuskers a 7-3 lead.
Georgia came up with a special-teams play of its own as J.J.
Green returned the kickoff 48 yards to the Bulldogs' 48. After
Mason completed a 37-yard pass to Brendon Douglas to the
Nebraska 15, the drive stalled when Mason misfired on two passes
and Morgan came in to kick a 28-yard field goal.
The teams then swapped field goals on the final two possessions
of the half. Nebraska kicker Pat Smith booted a season-best
46-yard field goal and Morgan drilled a 38-yarder as time
expired to cut the Cornhuskers' lead to 10-9.
NOTES: Nebraska WR Quincy Enunwa's 99-yard touchdown catch from
QB Tommy Armstrong broke two records that were set in 1965 — the Gator Bowl mark for longest touchdown pass by Oklahoma's
Ronnie Fletcher to Ben Hart in a 36-19 loss to Florida State and
the Nebraska record for longest pass play, which was a 95-yard
pass from Fred Duda to Freeman White on Oct. 23, 1965, against
Colorado. For good measure, Enunwa and Armstrong combined for
the longest scoring play in Gator Bowl history, topping Greg
Allen's 95-yard kickoff return for Florida State in a 31-12
victory over West Virginia in 1982. ... Georgia K Marshall
Morgan's four field goals gave him seven in a row at EverBank
Field and eight of nine in three games in Jacksonville. He was 3
of 3 against Florida on Nov. 2 against Florida and made 1 of 2
in 2012 against the Gators. ... The steady rain that began 30
minutes before kickoff marked the first time since the 1996
Gator Bowl between Syracuse and Clemson that it had rained
during the game.
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