1979 Orange Bowl

(10–1)

(9–2)

Head coach:
Barry Switzer

Head coach:
Tom Osborne

AP	Coaches
4	4

AP	Coaches
6	6

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oklahoma	7	7	17	0	31
Nebraska	7	0	3	14	24

Date

January 1, 1979

Stadium

Location

Ken Faulkner (Southwest Conference)

Attendance

66,365

United States TV coverage

Network

NBC

Announcers

Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

The 1979 edition of the Orange Bowl featured the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and the Oklahoma Sooners.

This matchup was something of an anomaly, as it featured a rare rematch of two conference foes that had already played during the regular season. Nebraska had upset #1 ranked Oklahoma 17–14 on November 11 in Lincoln, and appeared headed towards a national championship showdown with Penn State. But unranked Missouri then stunned the #2 ranked Huskers 35–31 the following week, dropping the Huskers into a tie with Oklahoma for the Big Eight championship and knocking them out of the national championship picture.

Penn State instead faced Alabama for the national title in the Sugar Bowl, and the Orange Bowl found itself with a selection dilemma. Nebraska earned the Big Eight's automatic Orange Bowl berth by virtue of its victory over the Sooners, but, with Penn State and Notre Dame (which accepted an invitation to the Cotton Bowl Classic) off the board, the Orange Bowl committee decided to set up a rematch with Oklahoma to create the best possible matchup. This was the last time a non-championship postseason bowl featured two teams from the same conference until the 2015 Arizona Bowl.^[1]

Nebraska scored first on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Tom Sorley to Tim Smith giving Nebraska a 7–0 lead. Oklahoma tied the score on a 3-yard scamper by Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims, and then went ahead when Thomas Lott scored on a 3-yard touchdown run to take a 14–7 lead into the locker room.

The revenge-minded Sooners then took control. In the third quarter, Sims scored his second TD on an 11-yard touchdown run. Both sides traded field goals before Lott scored on a 2-yard touchdown run, increasing Oklahoma's lead to 31–10.

Nebraska rallied late, with Rick Berns scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run, and then Sorley threw a 2-yard strike to Junior Miller, but by then the game had ticked down to its final seconds, as OU prevailed 31–24, to finish the season 11–1, avenging its only loss of the 1978 season. Nebraska finished 9–3.

References

↑ Lyell, Kelly (December 6, 2015). "Colorado State heads to Arizona Bowl to face MW foe Nevada". Fort Collins Coloradoan. Retrieved December 6, 2015.

External links

http://www.huskerpedia.com/games/1978/12oklahoma.html

1978–79 NCAA football bowl game season

Garden State (Dec. 16) Independence (Dec. 16) Hall of Fame Classic (Dec. 20) Holiday (Dec. 22) Sun (Dec. 23) Liberty (Dec. 23) Tangerine (Dec. 23) Peach (Dec. 25) Fiesta (Dec. 25) Gator (Dec. 29) Bluebonnet (Dec. 31) Sugar (Jan. 1) Cotton (Jan. 1) Orange (Jan. 1) Rose (Jan. 1)

Orange Bowl Game

History Miami Orange Bowl Sun Life Stadium College Football Playoff Broadcasters Tie-Ins Atlantic Coast Conference Big Ten Conference Southeastern Conference Notre Dame

Games	1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 (Jan) 1996 (Dec) 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 (Jan) 2014 (Dec) 2015

Notes	Bolded years indicate the game was also the national championship game for Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, or Bowl Championship Series.

Nebraska Cornhuskers bowl games

Pound sign (#) denotes national championship game.

Oklahoma Sooners bowl games

Pound sign (#) denotes BCS National Championship Game.

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