Frazier, Phillips power '95 Nebraska 
over '01 Hurricanes, 51-22

BEATRICE -- Nebraskans everywhere breathed a huge sigh of relief Saturday as Tommie Frazier ran for 196 yards and two touchdowns and Lawrence Phillips scored four times to power the 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers over the 2001 Miami Hurricanes 51-22 Saturday.

The contest, which unfolded Saturday on Travis Wichert’s EA Sports NCAA Football 2K2 game, clearly bolstered the 1995 Nebraska team’s claim as the greatest college football team ever assembled, according to the 23-year-old Beatrice High School graduate.

"These results came head-to-head. We settled it on the screen,” Wichert said following the win. “Every Husker fan can rest easy knowing that even though NU got smoked in this year’s Rose Bowl, ultimately their team is still No. 1. We're still the greatest.”

NU '95 started very quickly behind Wichert’s expert playcalling. The Cornhuskers raced to a 14-0 first-quarter lead over the Hurricanes, who were being controlled by the computer. He directed Frazier into the end zone for the first score and followed it up with a Lawrence Phillips run off left side three minutes later.

“Basically, I just run option left, option right, option left, option right, over and over again until I get a touchdown,” Wichert said. “You can gain about 10 yards a pop with that play if you do it right. The trick is to always run to the long side of the field because they made Frazier so fast on this game. I think he‘s got like a 99 speed ranking.”

Despite consistent defensive pressure orchestrated by an innovative defensive scheme (“you can kinda creep Christian Peter up between the center and the guard and sack the quarterback every other play”), 2001 Heisman Trophy runner-up Ken Dorsey managed to get the Hurricanes back into the game. He hit tight end Jeremy Shockey on a 39-yard TD pass midway through the second quarter and later found running back Clinton Portis in the flat, who raced 14 yards for the tying score two minutes before half.

“I was having some problems defensively, partly because I wanted to use Tony Veland to cover the backs, but the choads at EA Sports didn’t even put Veland on the roster," said Wichert, a part-time student at Southeast Community College. "They just made up this No. 23 guy who was supposed to be a defensive back. Who the hell is that supposed to be -- Leslie Dennis? Anyways, he kind of sucked, so I couldn’t cover all their guys very well.”

The Hurricanes’ momentum was halted, however, when Wichert summoned the “Game Options” screen, which allows players to customize the game play settings. Sensing a drastic move needed to be made in such a high-stakes contest, Wichert switched the game difficulty settings from “Heisman” to “Junior Varsity.” And the rout was on.

“I knew what was at stake, and there was no way I was going to let Miami win this game,” he said. “I would’ve reset the game if I had to.”

Moments later, Frazier, in a run reminiscent of his Fiesta Bowl scamper against Florida, broke several Hurricane tackles on a 72-yard touchdown jaunt. It prompted a 34-point flurry, and by the time the fourth quarter came around, NU ‘95 led 48-14.

The quarterback, who is now an assistant coach at Baylor and who rarely visits Nebraska any more, also finished 9 of 13 for 105 yards through the air against Miami. He did not return calls seeking comment.

The computer-controlled Dorsey, who had been sacked 17 times in the game by Peter, was able to orchestrate a final Miami touchdown drive. He hit Andre Johnson on a 2-yard TD pass with about a minute left. The two-point conversion made it 48-22.

“I hate that about this game, man,” said Wichert, who played the game with the TV volume down and a Hootie and the Blowfish tape in his nearby stereo.  “You can never really blow anybody out really bad. They always get some fluky score right toward the end. That kind of sucks.”

To show his distaste, Wichert recovered an attempted onsides kick at midfield and ran Phillips, who made several failed attempts to play in the NFL following his college days, to the 22. As time expired, he booted a Kris Brown field goal.

“That was a little in-your-face for Miami,” Wichert said. “If I could have, I would have scored 100 points on 'em."

The result overrides a previous contest between the same squads, which Wichert simulated in January by letting the computer control both teams. The Hurricanes won that game, 31-28.