(3) NEBRASKA 31, (6) TENNESSEE 21

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - With lightning-quick Eric Crouch at the controls of a relentless option attack, the third-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers beat No. 6 Tennessee 31-21 in the Fiesta Bowl on Sunday night.

After the Volunteers rallied from a 17-0 deficit to cut it to 17-14 early in the second half behind the passing of Tee Martin, the Huskers (12-1) finished Tennessee off with second-half touchdown drives of 96 and 99 yards.

"It was an excellent performance," Nebraska coach Frank Solich said. "There were moments when things got a little rough."

Cedric Wilson's 44-yard pass touchdown pass to Donte' Stallworth, his second TD catch of the game, came on a Tennessee trick play that reduced the lead to 31-21 with 7:25 to play. But the Vols never got the ball again. Nebraska, which finished the game with 23 consecutive rushing plays for 156 yards, drove downfield and Tennessee (9-3) could do nothing to stop the clock from running out.

It was all-too-familiar for the Volunteers, who wore down in the second half two years ago in a 42-17 loss to Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. The Huskers have won their last 11 bowl matchups against SEC teams.

"They talked about playing physical against us," said Nebraska's Bobby Newcombe, who had a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown, "but we were the physical team. We pretty much dominated the whole game."

Crouch's quickness was the problem the Volunteers expected, but he did almost as much damage with his arm.

"We knew we had to mix it up a little bit. There were some play-action passes that we connected on that were very big plays for us tonight," Crouch said.

Crouch, the game's MVP, was 9-of-15 for 148 yards and a touchdown. Martin, who finished his career with a 22-3 record as a starter, was 19-of-34 for 223 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted twice.

"They really didn't stop our offense," Martin said.

But the Vols couldn't stop Nebraska, either.

"We made enough mistakes on both sides of the ball to lose the football game," Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said.

The Huskers rushed for 321 yards and had 469 yards overall. Dan Alexander gained 108 yards on 21 carries, Willie Miller added 87 yards on eight carries, and Crouch had 64 yards on 17 carries. Tennessee managed just 44 yards rushing.

"We did a good job of stopping the run," Nebraska defensive back Ralph Brown said. "We made them one dimensional. When you are one dimensional, you can't win."

Nebraska's All-America defensive back Mike Brown, playing on the same field where he won the Arizona state high school championship, intercepted a pass and was selected the game's top defensive player. Brown said defensive coordinator Charlie McBride called his players into a huddle after the game to tell them that he was retiring. McBride has coached at Nebraska for 23 years, 18 as defensive coordinator.

(3) Nebraska 31, (6) Tennessee 21
(Recap)


                   1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH  FINAL
                   --- --- --- ---  -----
Tennessee           0   7   7   7    21
Nebraska           14   3   7   7    31

First Quarter
     Neb-Alexander 7 run (Brown kick), 11:34.
     Neb-Newcombe 60 punt return (Brown kick), 3:21.
Second Quarter
     Neb-FG Brown 31, 1:37.
     Ten-Stallworth 9 pass from T.Martin (Walls kick), :18.
Third Quarter
     Ten-Henry 4 run (Walls kick), 13:03.
     Neb-Golliday 13 pass from Crouch (Brown kick), 4:44.
Fourth Quarter
     Neb-Buckhalter 2 run (Brown kick), 12:01.
     Ten-Stallworth 44 pass from C.Wilson (Walls kick), 7:25.
	
                        Ten       Neb
                        ---       ---
First downs              17        23
Rushes-yards          26-44    56-321
Passing                 267       148
Comp-Att-Int        20-35-2    9-15-0
Return Yards             64        76
Punts-Avg.           7-43.1    6-39.5
Fumbles-Lost            1-0       1-1
Penalties-Yards        5-41      8-59
Time of Possession    26:05     33:55

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Tennessee, Henry 10-31, Lewis 8-19, T.Martin 8-(minus 6).
Nebraska, Alexander 21-108, Miller 8-87, Crouch 17-64, Buckhalter
8-59, Applegate 1-5, team 1-(minus 2).
PASSING-Tennessee, T.Martin 19-34-2-223, C.Wilson 1-1-0-44.
Nebraska, Crouch 9-15-0-148.
RECEIVING-Tennessee, Stallworth 8-108, C.Wilson 7-75, Parker
3-32, D.Martin 1-49, N.Johnson 1-3. Nebraska, Davison 2-68,
Bowling 2-45, Golliday 2-25, Newcombe 2-5, Buckhalter 1-5.
MISSED FIELD GOAL-Tennessee, Walls 45 (WL).
A-71,526.