Nebraska 24, Georgia 19
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. and wide receiver Quincy Enunwa combined for record-setting performances and the Cornhuskers forced Georgia to turn the ball over on downs on two late trips inside the red zone in the last six minutes of their 24-19 victory on Wednesday in the 69th Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl at EverBank Field.
Armstrong threw a 99-yard touchdown pass to Enunwa in the third quarter to give Nebraska (9-4) a 24-12 lead. Georgia (8-5) cut the lead to five points on a 25-yard scoring pass from Hutson Mason to Todd Gurley but got no closer after coming up empty on its final two possessions.
The Bulldogs reached the Nebraska 22-yard line in a 48-yard pass from Mason to Michael Bennett but lost the ball on downs when Huskers safety Andrew Green jarred a pass loose from Georgia's Rantavious Wooten.
Georgia forced a punt and moved to the Nebraska 23. But the Bulldogs stalled again and tight end Arthur Lynch dropped a pass on fourth-and-3 from the Huskers' 16 with 31 seconds left that would have been good for a first down.
Armstrong completed only 6-of-14 passes, but two of those were to Enunwa, who broke Johnny Rodgers' 1971 record of 11 touchdown receptions with the 99-yard collaboration. It was the longest pass play in Nebraska history and the longest touchdown play of any kind in Gator Bowl history.
Enunwa caught four passes for 129 yards and Big Ten rushing leader Ameer Abdullah gained 122 yards on 27 carries.
Mason completed 21-of-39 passes for 320 yards in his second career start for Georgia and connected with Gurley seven times for 97 yards. Gurley added 86 yards rushing on 21 carries.
A rare Gator Bowl game played in the rain resulted in sloppy going in the first half for both teams, with a scoreless first quarter and a second quarter dominated by special-teams plays.
Georgia kicker Marshall Morgan got the first points on the board with a 38-yard field goal, but it was a bitter consolation prize. Mason, making his second career start, 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 Nebraska to punt on the next possession, but returner Reggie Davis fumbled after calling for a fair catch and the Cornhuskers' 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 Huskers 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. Pat Smith kicked a season-best 46-yard field goal for the Huskers and Morgan drilled a 38-yarder as time expired to cut Nebraska's 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.
