MIAMI — MIAMI -- Florida State finally had its day in the Orange Bowl yesterday. Media day, that is. And Seminoles place-kicker Dan Mowrey quickly put the occasion in perspective.
Mowrey, who missed a 39-yard field-goal try here that would have earned a 19-19 tie with Miami in October, went directly to the spot of that fateful kick and . . . spat.
"There was no need to let a chance like this get by," he said. "Ispit on the ground, rubbed it in a little bit and put it to rest."
Even as the No. 3 Seminoles (10-1) prepare to face No. 11 Nebraska (9-2) in Friday night's 59th Orange Bowl, they are reminded of the rivalry that hangs over them like a dark cloud.
Five of Florida State's nine losses since 1987 have come against Miami. This year's 19-16 defeat, the Seminoles' third loss in a row to the Hurricanes, cost them a shot at the national championship. As fate would have it, they are even practicing at Miami's practice field this week.
"I might retire if they took the Miami-Florida State series away," Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden said. "It's too big a challenge not to have. We've had some terrible lickings here, but I have the feeling one of these days things are going to even up."
Against Nebraska, Florida State figures to have the home-field advantage, though. "I like that," said Bowden. "It's been so long since we've been down here and haven't been booed."
Said Mowrey, "Maybe the aura, or luck, will rub off on us playing in this stadium."
Decision time
Junior linebacker Marvin Jones, Florida State's two-time All-American, says he's close to a decision on whether he'll vTC return for his senior year or declare himself eligible for the NFL draft.
"It's not decided yet," he said, "but in the near, near future, I'll have a decision."
Jones is the 1992 winner of the Lombardi Award (for defensive linemen and linebackers) and Butkus Award (linebackers) and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting.
On the mend
Derek Brown is expected to split time with Calvin Jones in the Cornhuskers' I-back tandem Friday after missing the & 2/3 regular-season finale with a separated shoulder.
"Calvin will start because Derek just hasn't played for a couple of games and he is still a little sore," Osborne said. "We're just hoping Derek can play maybe a third of the time and keep both of them fairly fresh. That's the main thing."
Jones (1,210 yards, 7.2 average) and Brown (1,015, 6.0) were one-two in Big Eight Conference rushing this year.