"Turner had to go down the line of scrimmage and look for (Fryar)," Osborne said. "When that wasn't there, he had to exercise the option of whether to pitch it or keep it. Of course, he executed the play perfectly, which gave us a chance. It's not like we ran that play very often."

Osborne recalled Gill as being a "really accurate passer." Gill completed 55.3 percent of his throws that season.

"With Turner, I think probably five out of six times, that two-point conversion throw would've been where it had to be," Osborne said. "It wasn't a really bad throw, just slightly behind. And the guy (defender Ken Calhoun) really only got a fingertip on the ball.

"That's just the way football is, you know."

I know this: The 50th Orange Bowl was a well-played classic and still elicits emotional responses from Nebraska fans. I've heard from dozens this week.

By the way, Osborne said, he never considered sending out Scott Livingston to kick the extra point to tie.

"Never really crossed my mind," said the former coach, who obviously had plenty of confidence in his veteran quarterback.