The 1970 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, part of the 1970 bowl game season took place on December 30, 1970, at the

Houston Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. The competing teams were the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

, representing the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC), and the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run ...

, representing the

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...

(Big 8). The game ended in a 24–24 tie.

Teams

Alabama

The 1970 Alabama squad finished the regular season with a 6–5 record and losses against

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

, Ole Miss,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

and

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

. During the week prior to the

Iron Bowl The Alabama–Auburn football rivalry, better known as the Iron Bowl, is an American college football rivalry game between the Auburn University Tigers and University of Alabama Crimson Tide, both charter members of the Southeastern Conferenc ...

, school officials announced the Crimson Tide accepted a bid to play in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl against Oklahoma. The appearance marked the second for Alabama in the Bluebonnet Bowl and their 24th overall bowl game appearance.

Oklahoma

The 1970 Oklahoma squad finished the regular season with a 7–4 record and losses against

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

and

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

. During the week prior to their

Bedlam Series The Bedlam Series is the name given to the Oklahoma–Oklahoma State rivalry. It refers to the athletics rivalry between Oklahoma State University Cowboys and Cowgirls and the University of Oklahoma Sooners of the Big 12 Conference. Both school ...

game against

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

, school officials announced the Sooners accepted a bid to play in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl against Alabama. The appearance marked the second for Oklahoma in the Bluebonnet Bowl and their 14th overall bowl game appearance.

Game summary

Alabama opened the scoring early in the first when Scott Hunter connected with Randy Moore for a four-yard touchdown reception and a 7–0 lead. Oklahoma responded on the ensuing possession by driving 74 yards with Joe Wylie running it in from two yards out to tie the game at 7–7. The Sooners extended their lead to 21–7 with two long touchdown runs of 58 and 25 yards by

Greg Pruitt Gregory Donald Pruitt (born August 18, 1951) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) from 1973 through 1984. He was selected to five Pro Bowls, four as a member of the Cleveland Browns and one as a member o ...

. The Tide cut the lead to seven when Hunter hit David Bailey for a five-yard touchdown with only 0:14 remaining in the half. In the third, Richard Ciemny hit a 20-yard

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

to cut the lead further to 21–17. Alabama took the lead early in the fourth on a

trick play A trick play, also known as a gadget play, gimmick play or trickeration, is a play in gridiron football that uses deception and unorthodox tactics to fool the opposing team. A trick play is often risky, offering the potential for a large gain or ...

. Hunter handed-off the ball to

Johnny Musso Johnny Musso (born March 6, 1950) is an American former football player, a running back for three seasons with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League and in the National Football League with the Chicago Bears. Early years Born and rais ...

who then threw a 25-yard touchdown pass back to Hunter to give the Crimson Tide a 24–21 lead. However, the game ended in a tie after Bruce Derr hit a 42-yard field goal late in the fourth. As Oklahoma was driving for a potential go ahead score Alabama called timeout. The Alabama Coach, Paul "Bear" Bryant called his entire defensive squad to the sidelines and rallied them to stop the drive and force the tying field goal

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, 1970 1970–71 NCAA football bowl games

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

1970 in sports in Texas December 1970 sports events in the United States