1995-Jan Game Recap / Allstate Sugar Bowl

61st Annual Sugar Bowl Classic ~ January 2, 1995
#7 Florida State 23 (Final: 10-1-1, #4)
#5 Florida 17 (Final: 10-2-1, #7)

An improbable 31-31 tie in their regular season clash produced a rematch of intrastate rivals in the 61st USF&G Insurance Sugar Bowl. The meeting between the fifth-ranked Florida Gators and the seventh-ranked Florida State Seminoles was appropriately dubbed "Overtime" or the "Fifth Quarter in the French Quarter," and certainly lived up to its advance billing.

After the Sunshine State rivals traded a pair of field goals in the first quarter, the Seminoles tallied the game's first touchdown with a 73-yard halfback pass from Warrick Dunn, the Miller-Digby winner, to 'OMar Ellison. FSU scored again on its next possession when quarterback Danny Kanell, who completed 23-of-40 passes for 252 yards in the contest, hit receiver Kez McCorvey with a 16-yard touchdown pass to complete a 72-yard drive.

The Gators answered immediately when QB Danny Wuerffel and speedy Ike Hilliard connected on an 82-yard scoring strike that established a Sugar Bowl record. Then, just before the half, the Seminoles got a 24-yard field goal from Dan Mowrey to make the score 20-10 in FSU's favor.

Neither squad got much going on offense in the second half. FSU managed another field goal and Florida scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter when Wuerffel carried it over from the 1 to provide the final 23-17 margin. Still, the outcome was in doubt until the game's waning seconds as Florida regained possession for one more scoring try. However, FSU's All-America linebacker Derrick Brooks picked off an errant Wuerffel pass with 1:32 to play to seal the victory.

Louisiana Superdome
Att: 76,224

Florida State   3   17   3   0   -   23
Florida   3   7   0   7   -   17

SCORING SUMMARY
FSU: Mowrey 21-yard field goal
UF: Davis 22-yard field goal
FSU: Ellison 73-yard pass from Dunn (Mowrey kick)
FSU: McCorvey 16-yard pass from Kanell (Mowrey kick)
UF: Hilliard 82-yard pass from Wuerrfel (Davis kick)
FSU: Mowrey 24-yard field goal
FSU: Mowrey 45-yard field goal
UF: Wuerrfel 1-yard run (Davis kick)

   Florida State   Team Statistics   Florida
   21   First Downs   23
   76   Rushing Yards   5
   24-41-0   Passing   30-43-1
   325   Passing Yards   449
   401   Total Yards   454
   4-39.0   Punts   3-45.7
    0-0   Fumbles - Lost   2-2
   0-0   Penalties - Yards   2-2

Rushing
FSU: Dunn 14-58; Crockett 5-19
UF: Williams 10-27; Taylor 8-18

Passing
FSU: Kenell 23-40-0, 252 yards, 1 TD
UF: Wuerffel 28-39-1, 394 yards, 1 TD

Receiving
FSU: Ellison 4-102, 1 TD; McCorvey 4-84, 1 TD
UF: Jackson 6-128; Hilliard 3-119, 1 TD

Miller-Digby Award recipient: Warrick Dunn, Florida State tailback