TEMPE, Ariz. -- On New Year's Day 1988, Peter Tom Willis watched from the sidelines as his Florida State teammate, Danny McManus, set Fiesta Bowl passing records.
Two years later, Willis left his own mark on the Fiesta Bowl, leading the No. 5 Seminoles Monday to a 41-17 rout of No. 6 Nebraska.
Willis, named the game's top offensive player, set bowl records with five touchdown passes, breaking the mark of three shared by McManus and two others, and passing yardage with 422 yards, smashing McManus' record of 375 yards.
It was the seventh time Willis, a fifth-year senior, surpassed the 300-yard mark in passing in a season in which he set or tied 15 school records.
Willis completed 25 of 40 passes and broke McManus' yardage record after three quarters.
'We feel we have the best receivers in the country and that if we could get the ball up high they'd catch it,' Willis said. 'I don't think this is my best game. They truly made some great catches. I'm glad we had them on my team.'
His coach, Bobby Bowden, said Willis 'just got better and better and better. I just could not be more proud of a quarterback than I am of Peter Tom Willis.'
Defensive honors went to Florida State nose guard Odell Haggins, who played a vital part in holding Nebraska's vaunted ground game to 115 yards on 46 attempts.
Quickness was the key to Florida State's defensive success, said Haggins, a 268-pound senior.
'We got off the ball quick and got into the backfield,' Haggins said. 'We would just outquick them. Their linemen would try to block me and I would just touch them and go around them.'
