<table> </table> LINCOLN, Neb. | He made the most famous two-point conversion call in college football history, and the decision failed.</p><p>To this day, Tom Osborne does not regret the moment that likely cost Nebraska the national championship for 1983.</p><p>&#8220;I always assumed that if you&#8217;re going to win a national championship, you play to win, not to tie,&#8221; said Osborne, today the Cornhuskers&#8217; athletic director.</p><p>It&#8217;s the 50th anniversary of the rule that gave Nebraska the opportunity to edge ahead of Miami in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2, 1984. The top-ranked Cornhuskers lost 31-30 when Osborne passed up a sure-bet extra point with 48 seconds remaining &#8212; a point that in the pre-overtime era would have likely ensured a tie and the national title. On the two-point play, quarterback Turner Gill&#8217;s pass was batted away.</p><p>&#8220;After the fact, people seemed to know with certainty how things would play out,&#8221; Osborne said. &#8220;But how would our team have felt if we settled for a tie when we could have won the game and somebody else was voted national champion?&#8221;</p><p>Nebraska had the chance because the two-point conversation entered college football in 1958. But nobody at the time considered the potential of final moment dramatics.</p><p>Instead, officials were seeking ways to increase scoring.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s become such a strategy thing, but people weren&#8217;t thinking in those terms at the time,&#8221; said John Adams, the former NCAA secretary-rules editor.</p><p>In 1957, the average team&#8217;s scoring in a game had fallen to 15.6 points, the lowest since 1941. At the rules committee meeting in 1958, the first suggestion to punch up scoring involved field-goal kicking.</p><p>&#8220;Teams weren&#8217;t kicking them,&#8221; Adams said. &#8220;So we talked about moving the goalposts from the end line to the goal line.&#8221;</p><p>But that was nixed for safety issues. Remember, goalposts used to rise from the field like metal corn stalks.</p><p>&#8220;Widening the goalposts was considered, but sentiment started to grow for the two-point conversion,&#8221; Adams said.</p><p>The committee talked about placing the ball at the 5, but agreed a try for two should start at the same place as an extra-point kick snap &#8212; halfway between the 2 and 3.</p><p>Among those on the committee who liked the idea and were part of the unanimous approval were Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson and former Alabama and Duke coach Wallace Wade.</p><p>But the leading proponent was Michigan coach Fritz Crisler. He said after the rules committee meeting that the two-point play &#8220;will add drama to what has been the dullest, most stupid play in the game.&#8221;</p><p>There were concerns.</p><p>Texas coach Darrell Royal called himself a purist and didn&#8217;t like the change. But he changed his tune that season. The Longhorns had lost six straight to Wilkinson&#8217;s Sooners, but when they scored the game&#8217;s first touchdown, Royal went for two and got it. Texas went on to win 15-14. The game changed the series, as Texas won 12 of 13.</p><p>Others believed the play would only make the strong stronger.</p><p>&#8220;The Illinois folks thought Woody Hayes would go for two and make it every time from that short of distance,&#8221; Adams said.</p><p>After all, Hayes, the legendary Ohio State coach, perfected what opponents called a &#8220;3 yards and a cloud of dust&#8221; ground game.</p><p>If he did, it wouldn&#8217;t have been unusual. In 1958, teams quickly became infatuated with the opportunity to score more points. That season, there were more two-point conversation attempts than extra-point kicking tries.