The 1976 Tangerine Bowl was held on December 18, 1976, featuring the

BYU Cougars The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the West ...

and

Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University–Stillwater, Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Stillwater. ...

at the Tangerine Bowl stadium in

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. BYU represented the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

(WAC) in only their second bowl game as a program, and Oklahoma State represented 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 ...

. The matchup pitted the two schools in the postseason for the second time in three years, following the

1974 Fiesta Bowl The 1974 Fiesta Bowl was the fourth edition of the college football bowl game, played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona on Saturday, December 28. Part of the 1974–75 bowl game season, it matched the unranked Oklahoma State Cowboy ...

, a game in which the Cowboys defeated the Cougars by a score of 16–6. Oklahoma State's running back Terry Miller broke the Tangerine Bowl records for total net yards run and longest run from scrimmage as well as tying another with four touchdowns scored as OSU defeated BYU, 49–21. It was during this game, as well a regular season matchup between

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

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three weeks earlier, that the new east upper deck at the stadium severely swayed whenever fans stood up and cheered. The poorly designed upper deck became a huge source of controversy, and was dismantled just over three years later.

Background

BYU was champion of the WAC for the third time in 11 years. The Cowboys went 3–1 against ranked opponents (beating #8 Kansas, #5 Oklahoma, and #14 Iowa State while losing to #9 Nebraska) while finishing in a three-way tie (the first and only time this occurred in conference history) in the Big Eight with Oklahoma and Colorado, with the former going to the

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been playe ...

and the latter (who beat Oklahoma State) going to the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

. The Cowboys were invited to the Tangerine Bowl, their second bowl appearance in three seasons. The two teams had met previously in the

Game summary

*Oklahoma State – Dawson 36 pass interception (Daigle kick) *BYU – Christensen 1-yard run (Taylor kick) *Oklahoma State – Weatherbie 2-yard run (Daigle kick) *Oklahoma State – Miller 3-yard run (Daigle kick) *BYU – Thompson 27-yard pass from Nielson (Taylor kick) *Oklahoma State – Miller 78-yard run (Daigle kick) *BYU – Lowry 102-yard kickoff return (Taylor kick) *Oklahoma State – R. Turner 1-yard run (kick failed) *Oklahoma State – Miller 6-yard run (Lisle pass from Weatherbie) *Oklahoma State – Miller 1-yard run (Daigle kick) Terry Miller rushed for 173 yards on 23 carries for the Cowboys, who scored 21 straight points in the third quarter to pull away from the Cougars.CougarStats: BYU Football: BYU vs. Oklahoma State 1976 Tangerine Bowl
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Aftermath

The Cougars returned to this bowl nine years later, by which time the game's name had changed and it was the

1985 Florida Citrus Bowl The 1985 Florida Citrus Bowl was the 40th held. It featured the BYU Cougars and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Background Both teams were ranked coming into the Citrus Bowl, with BYU playing in their eighth consecutive bowl game. The Cougars appeared i ...

, while the Cowboys have not returned to this bowl.

References

{{Oklahoma State Cowboys bowl game navbox Tangerine Bowl Citrus Bowl (game) BYU Cougars football bowl games Oklahoma State Cowboys football bowl games Tangerine Bowl Tangerine Bowl