their composure, that Miami would slip up and earn a costly penalty. Osborne's prediction rang true, and the physically dominant Huskers scored 15 unanswered points in the 4th quarter on two key TD runs by FB Corey Schlesinger to earn Tom Osborne his first national title, by the score of 24–17. Rankings After the season The successful season saw Nebraska lead the nation in rushing, with talented but troubled sophomore Lawrence Phillips rushing for 1,722 yards and finishing 8th in Heisman voting. The offensive line, which was arguably the best in the country as well, was affectionately known as "The Pipeline" and included Outland Trophy winner and All-American Zach Wiegert at tackle, fellow All-American Brendan Stai at guard, along with Rob Zatechka, Joel Wilks, and Aaron Graham. The vaunted 4–3 defense, led by All-American linebacker Ed Stewart, limited conference opponents to a mere 55 points. The Huskers were treated to a warm welcome, despite the freezing temperatures, when they returned to Lincoln as National Champions. An estimated 15,000 fans were on hand at the Lincoln Airport to welcome home their Big Red heroes. Awards NFL and pro players The following Nebraska players who participated in the 1994 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi-pro team as draftees or free agents. Additionally, starting junior punter Darin Erstad also played baseball for the University of Nebraska, and was selected as a First Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball. He chose to forego his college career to enter the MLB draft and was selected as the first pick overall in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft. He would go on to have a distinguished career in Major League Baseball (particularly with the Anaheim Angels). Erstad would later be the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball from 2012 to 2019. References Nebraska Nebraska Cornhuskers football seasons College football national champions Big Eight Conference football champion seasons Orange Bowl champion seasons College football undefeated seasons Nebraska Cornhuskers football