The 1976 Orange Bowl was the 42nd edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Thursday, January 1. Part of the 1975–76 bowl game season, it matched the fifth-ranked Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten Conference and the #3 Oklahoma Sooners of the Big Eight Conference.[1][2] In the first meeting between these two teams, favored Oklahoma won 14–6.[3][4]
| 1976 Orange Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 42nd Orange Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1975 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Orange Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Miami, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Steve Davis (Oklahoma QB) Lee Roy Selmon (Oklahoma DT) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Oklahoma by 6 points[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | R. Pete Williams (SEC) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 80,307 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Jim Simpson, John Brodie | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 27.9 | ||||||||||||||||||||
This was the sixth and final Orange Bowl played on artificial turf; Poly-Turf, similar to AstroTurf, was installed before the 1970 season and two versions lasted six seasons. It was removed in early 1976, following Super Bowl X, and replaced with natural grass.
This was the first time the Orange Bowl used officials from a neutral conference (in this instance, the Southeastern). In previous years, a split crew consisting of officials from each team's conference (the Big Ten when independent Notre Dame participated) were put together.
Teams
editMichigan
editThe Wolverines (8–1–2) were the runner-up in the Big Ten Conference, after falling to rival Ohio State in Ann Arbor, 21–14. This was the first season that the Big Ten (and Pac-8) allowed multiple bowl teams.
Michigan was the first Big Ten team to play in the Orange Bowl. Michigan State played in the 1938 Orange Bowl, but was not a member of the Big Ten in football until 1953.
Oklahoma
editThe Sooners were co-champions in the Big Eight Conference with Nebraska. Oklahoma opened with eight wins before an unexpected 23–3 loss at home to Kansas,[5][6] which snapped a 28-game winning streak (37-game unbeaten streak) and dropped them from second to sixth in the rankings. With wins over Missouri and Nebraska, they rose to third.
Game summary
edit| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No.5 Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| No. 3 Oklahoma | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
at Orange Bowl • Miami, Florida
- Date: Thursday, January 1, 1976
- Game time: 7:45 p.m EST
- Game attendance: 80,307
- Referee: R. Pete Williams (SEC)
- TV announcers (NBC): Jim Simpson (play-by-play) and John Brodie (color)
| Game information |
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Statistics
edit| Statistics | MICH | OKLA |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 12 | 16 |
| Plays–yards | ||
| Rushes–yards | 52–169 | 65–282 |
| Passing yards | 33 | 63 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 2–20–3 | 3–5–0 |
| Time of possession |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | Passing | ||
| Rushing | |||
| Receiving | |||
| Oklahoma | Passing | ||
| Rushing | |||
| Receiving |
Aftermath
editWith top-ranked Ohio State's loss in the Rose Bowl, the Sooners were voted national champions.[7] (Since the previous poll in early December, #2 Texas A&M lost twice and fell out of the top ten.)
References
edit- ^ a b Taylor, Jim (January 1, 1976). "Big Eight down to Big One as bowl parade hits peak". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). p. 53.
- ^ "Run, run in Miami". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). UPI. January 1, 1976. p. 32.
- ^ "'We're No. 1' claims Sooner". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1976. p. 1D.
- ^ "No. 1, Sooner or...?". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. January 2, 1976. p. 25.
- ^ "Kansas rises up to dump Oklahoma". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 9, 1975. p. 77B.
- ^ "Kansas rocks Oklahoma". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. November 9, 1975. p. C5.
- ^ "No. 1: Sooners voted national champions". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 3, 1976. p. 1B.
External links
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