The 1981 Orange Bowl was the 47th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Thursday, January 1. Part of the 1980–81 bowl game season, it matched the fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners of the Big Eight Conference and the independent #2 Florida State Seminoles.[2][3]
| 1981 Orange Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 47th Orange Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1981 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1980 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Orange Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Miami, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | J. C. Watts (Oklahoma QB) Jarvis Coursey (FSU DE) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Oklahoma by 5½ points [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Gene Calhoun (Big Ten) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 71,043 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Don Criqui and John Brodie | ||||||||||||||||||||
Favored Oklahoma rallied to win by a point, 18–17.[4][5][6][7][8]
Teams
editThe game was a rematch of the previous year, and both teams were on seven-game winning streaks.[2]
Oklahoma
editThe Sooners lost two non-conference games, to Stanford at home,[9] and rival Texas in Dallas.[10] They were champions of the Big Eight Conference for the eighth consecutive year. This was Oklahoma's twelfth Orange Bowl appearance, fourth consecutive, and fifth in six seasons.
Florida State
editThe Seminoles' only blemish was a one-point loss at rival Miami in late September.[11] This was Florida State's second major bowl appearance, after playing in last year's edition.
Game summary
editAfter a scoreless first quarter, Ricky Williams put Florida State ahead with his touchdown run, and Oklahoma countered with a long field goal by Mike Keeling; the Seminoles led 7–3 at halftime.
To start the second half, Oklahoma drove 78 yards on twelve plays, and halfback David Overstreet scored from four yards out to take a 10–7 lead. A short field goal by Bill Capece tied the game at ten for the last tally of the third quarter.
Four minutes into the final quarter, cornerback Bobby Butler recovered a botched punt snap in the end zone to give the Seminoles a 17–10 lead. With 3:19 remaining, Oklahoma's fate laid in the hands of senior quarterback J. C. Watts, who had turned the ball over three times on fumbles. He led the Sooners on a 78-yard drive, culminating with an eleven-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Steve Rhodes with 1:33 remaining. Down by a point, Oklahoma opted for the two-point conversion attempt, and Watts completed a pass to tight end Forrest Valora in the end zone for a one-point lead. Florida State tried to counter back, but Capece's 62-yard field goal attempt fell short, and the Sooners were victorious.[6][8]
Scoring
edit- First quarter
- No scoring
- Second quarter
- Florida State – Ricky Williams 10-yard run (Bill Capece kick)
- Oklahoma – Mike Keeling 53-yard field goal
- Third quarter
- Oklahoma – David Overstreet 4-yard run (Keeling kick)
- Florida State – Capece 19-yard field goal
- Fourth quarter
- Florida State – Bobby Butler fumble recovery of punt snap (Capece kick)
- Oklahoma – Steve Rhodes 11-yard pass from J. C. Watts (Forrest Valora pass from Watts)
Statistics
editStatistics Oklahoma Florida State First Downs 18 23 Rushes–yards 55–156 60–212 Passing yards 128 51 Passes (C–A–I) 7–12–0 11–15–0 Total Offense 67–284 75–263 Return yards 18 −6 Punts–average 2–37.0 4–42.5 Fumbles–lost 7–5 1–0 Turnovers 5 0 Penalties–yards 4–32 5–58
Aftermath
editOklahoma climbed to third in the final AP poll and Florida State fell to fifth.
The Sooners' next Orange Bowl was four years later, the first of four consecutive; the Seminoles did not return for twelve years.
References
edit- ^ "Latest line". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 1, 1981. p. 25.
- ^ a b "Seminoles, Oklahoma looking for opening". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. January 1, 1981. p. 46.
- ^ Axelrod, Phil (January 1, 1981). "Layoff worries Oklahoma". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 24.
- ^ Axelrod, Phil (January 2, 1981). "Sooners nip Florida St". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 13.
- ^ "Watts rates Sooners 3rd". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. January 2, 1981. p. 20.
- ^ a b c d "Sooners shock Florida State, 18-17". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1981. p. 3D.
- ^ a b c "Two-point conversion caps comeback for Oklahoma". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. January 2, 1981. p. 20.
- ^ a b Eidge, Frank (January 2, 1981). "Sooners rally to 18-17 win". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. p. 14.
- ^ "Sooners find Card up their sleeve". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 28, 1980. p. 3B.
- ^ "Sooner or later, it's Texas". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). October 12, 1980. p. 8C.
- ^ "Florida State's streak blown by the Hurricanes". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. September 28, 1980. p. 10B.
- ^ a b "Game-by-game recaps: 1981" (PDF). 2019 Capital One Orange Bowl media guide. January 2019. p. 38.