5 of the most memorable Orange Bowl games in college football history
The Orange Bowl is one of the oldest bowl games in college football. The first Orange Bowl capped off the 1934 college football season with the Bucknell Bison defeating the Miami Hurricanes 26-0 on New Year's Day. Since then, the Orange Bowl's 88 games have featured more than 50 different teams.
The Oklahoma Sooners have the most Orange Bowl appearances and wins all-time with 20 and 12, respectively. The Orange Bowl's been the designated national championship game in five college football seasons: 1993, 1994, 1997, 2000, and 2004. It's also been a College Football Playoff semifinal game three times.
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As one of the longest-running bowls, there have been many close finishes in Orange Bowl games. Here's five memorable Orange Bowls in history:
1984 Orange Bowl: Miami 31, Nebraska 30
The 1983 Nebraska Cornhuskers and their offense, dubbed "The Scoring Explosion", were widely considered one of the best college football teams of all time leading up to the game. Legendary coach Tom Osborne's team averaged 48 points per game and rolled to 12 straight wins after finishing 1982 on a 10-game winning streak. Miami made a bowl game for just the second time in the prior 15 years thanks to an 11-1 regular season. A 28-3 loss to Florida in the opener and a one-point win over Florida State bookended the regular season.
With those two results in mind and Nebraska's dominance, the Hurricanes were heavy underdogs ahead of the game. But Miami didn't play like one.
The Hurricanes jumped out to a 17-0 by the end of the first quarter. Nebraska answered in the second with two scores, including one on a "fumblerooski" trick play. A 17-14 game at halftime became a 31-17 contest in Miami's favor entering the fourth quarter.
Nebraska scored halfway through the quarter to make it 31-24 and drove down to score another touchdown with less than a minute to go. Osborne then made an incredible decision to go for a two-point conversion instead of tying extra point.
Miami held on to win and, with a few other upsets, earned the title of national champions for the first time in program history. It turned the Hurricanes into household names and began a run of five national championships over a two-decade span.
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1965 Orange Bowl: Texas 21, Alabama 17
The first Orange Bowl played at night featured legends on the sideline. Hall of Fame coach Paul "Bear" Bryant coached the Crimson Tide led by future NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath. Alabama's perfect regular season included big wins over ranked teams including Florida, LSU, and Georgia Tech. Defending champion Texas' sole loss to future national champion Arkansas by one point was the only blemish on an outstanding resume.
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A defensive battle to start, Texas broke through on a 79-yard touchdown run by Ernie Koy. The Longhorns took a 21-7 lead into halftime thanks to another Koy touchdown in the final minute of the half.
Alabama scored a touchdown in the third quarter and added a field goal early on in the fourth. Namath and the Crimson Tide offense drove down the field again in the closing minutes of regulation. Fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line saw Alabama call for a quarterback sneak. Namath dove but the Longhorns defense stood strong to win. Alabama still earned co-national championship honors with Arkansas despite the loss and Namath was the game's MVP.
2000 Orange Bowl: Michigan 35, Alabama 34
The Michigan Wolverines didn't win a stacked Big Ten conference in 1999 (seven ranked teams by the end of the season) but earned a spot in the Orange Bowl. Quarterback Tom Brady earned the team's MVP award in leading the offense. On defense, defensive tackle Rob Renes led a unit that was top-25 in the country.
SEC champion Alabama rolled to five straight wins to close the regular season, including a 34-7 drubbing of then-No. 5 Florida in the SEC title game. Crimson Tide running back Shaun Alexander was a scoring machine and the defense featured multiple future NFL draft picks.
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After zero points in the first quarter, Alabama jumped to a 14-7 lead by halftime behind two Alexander touchdowns. The teams traded scores in the third quarter and were tied 28-28 entering the fourth quarter. A scoreless final frame, thanks to a blocked Michigan field goal as time expired, led to the first overtime BCS Bowl game.
Brady connected with tight end Shawn Thompson to go up 35-28 in overtime. Alabama responded with a touchdown from quarterback Andrew Zow to Antonio Carter but kicker Ryan Pflugner missed the extra point to hand the Wolverines the win.
1968 Orange Bowl: Oklahoma 26, Tennessee 24
This Orange Bowl game featured a pair of 9-1 teams heading into the finale in Miami, Florida.
Big 8 champion Oklahoma's only loss during the regular season that year came against Texas in just the third game of the season. The Sooners won seven straight games from then on out and outscored opponents 201-59 to close the regular season. Future Heisman Trophy winner Steve Owens was a star that year for the Sooners.
On the other side, SEC champion Tennessee shook off a loss in the season opener against UCLA to win nine straight and the conference title. The Volunteers made their first Orange Bowl in more than 20 years and just missed out on playing for the national title against top-ranked USC.
Oklahoma raced out to a 19-0 lead by halftime but Tennessee marched back in the second half, cutting the lead to 19-14 by the end of the third quarter. A pick-six by Oklahoma's Bob Stephenson gave the Sooners a 26-14 lead but again, the Volunteers responded. A Karl Kremser field goal and a Dewey Warren touchdown run cut the lead to 26-24.
A turnover on downs on the ensuing drive gave the ball back to Tennessee with less than two minutes to go. With seven seconds left in the game, Kremser tried for the game-winner from 43 yards out but missed wide right. Oklahoma escaped with the program's fifth Orange Bowl win.
2016 Orange Bowl: Florida State 33, Michigan 32
A modern classic saw two elite college football programs meet in a bowl game for the first time.
Jim Harbaugh's second season in Ann Arbor saw the Wolverines race out to nine straight wins to open the season. One of the nation's best defenses featured future NFL players like Jabrill Peppers, Taco Charlton, Rashan Gary, Chris Wormley, Jourdan Lewis, and Devin Bush. But two losses in Michigan's final three games kept the Wolverines out of the College Football Playoff.
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Florida State lost former Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston to the NFL draft but weren't short on offensive firepower. Future NFL Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook scored 20 touchdowns and the defense featured future NFL stars like Brian Burns, Josh Sweat, and Derwin James.
It was all Florida State to start with the Seminoles taking a 20-6 lead into halftime. Michigan responded in the third quarter and, thanks to a pick-six from Mike McCray, the Wolverines cut the lead to 20-15 entering what would be a wild fourth quarter.
Florida State made it 27-15 with a three-yard touchdown run by quarterback Deondre Francois. Michigan wasn't fazed and scored 15 unanswered to take a 30-27 lead with just under two minutes to play. A wild kick return helped the Seminoles score a touchdown and go ahead 33-30 with just 36 seconds to go. The Wolverines' Josh Metellus returned the blocked extra point for a two-point play. Florida State's defense held on to give the program its fifth Orange Bowl victory.
The 2023 Orange Bowl
This year, the No. 4 Florida State Seminoles (13-0) will take on No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs (12-1) in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30, 2023. The game will be broadcast on ESPN at 4:00 p.m., ET and streamed on ESPN+.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Orange Bowl history: 5 of the bowl games' most unforgettable finishes
