The 1979 Orange Bowl was the 45th

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of the

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, played at 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 ...

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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 ...

, on Monday, January 1. Part of the 1978–79 bowl game season, it matched the fourth-ranked

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 Ru ...

and #6

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...

, both of the Big Eight Conference. This matchup was something of an anomaly, as it featured a rare rematch of conference rivals that played every regular season. Nebraska had upset #1 Oklahoma 17–14 on November 11 in

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, their first win in the

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since the Game of the Century and appeared headed towards a national championship showdown with Penn State. But unranked

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then stunned the #2 Huskers 35–31 in Lincoln the following dropping Nebraska into a tie with Oklahoma for the Big Eight championship and knocking them out of the national championship Penn State instead faced

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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) off the board, the Orange Bowl committee decided to set up a bowl rematch with Oklahoma to create the best possible This was the last time a non-championship postseason bowl featured two teams from the same conference until the 2015 season at the

Arizona Bowl The Arizona Bowl is a postseason college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that began play in the 2015 season. The game is held at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, and starting in 2020 has tie-ins with the Mountain West Conference and Mid-Amer ...

, and remains (as of 2019) the last non-championship bowl to be a rematch of a regular-season conference game. Despite the road loss to the Huskers in the regular season, Oklahoma was a double-digit favorite.

Teams

Oklahoma

Nebraska

Game summary

Underdog Nebraska scored first on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Tom Sorley to Tim Smith for a 7–0 lead. Oklahoma tied the score on a 3-yard scamper by Heisman Trophy

winner Winner(s) or The Winner(s) may refer to: * Champion, the victor in a game or contest *The successful social class in winner and loser culture Film * ''The Winner'' (1926 film), an American silent film starring Billy Sullivan * ''The Winner'' ...

Billy Sims Billy Ray Sims (born September 18, 1955) is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons during the 1980s. Sims played college football for the Uni ...

, and then went ahead in the second quarter when quarterback

Thomas Lott Thomas Willie Lott Jr. (born August 1, 1957) is an American former college and professional football player who was a running back and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL) and United States Football League (USFL). Lott played ...

scored on a three-yard run, and took the 14–7 lead into halftime. The revenge-minded Sooners then took control. In the third quarter, Sims scored again an eleven-yard run. Field goals were traded, then Lott scored from two yards out, increasing Oklahoma's lead to 31–10. Nebraska rallied late, with Rick Berns scoring on a one-yard run, and then Sorley threw a two-yard strike to tight end

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as time expired. Oklahoma prevailed to finish at avenging its only loss of the season. The game was televised by

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and the traditional halftime Festival of Lights show was a tribute to "the greatest entertainment phenomenon in America in 1978: Disco!" Besides dancing to recorded disco songs, there was an appearance by KC and the Sunshine Band.

Scoring

;First quarter: *Nebraska – Tim Smith 21-yard pass from Tom Sorley (Billy Todd kick), 8:29 *Oklahoma –

3-yard run (

Uwe von Schamann Uwe Detlef Walter von Schamann (born April 23, 1956) is a former professional American football placekicker. He played for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League, from 1979 to 1984. Early life Von Schamann was born in Berlin, West ...

kick), 0:01 ;Second quarter: *Oklahoma –

3-yard run (von Schamann kick), 6:22 ;Third quarter: *Oklahoma – Sims 11-yard run (von Schamann kick), 13:30 *Oklahoma – von Schamann 26-yard field goal, 9:18 *Nebraska – Todd 31-yard field goal, 4:24 *Oklahoma – Lott 2-yard run (von Schamann kick), 0:15 ;Fourth quarter: *Nebraska – Rick Berns 1-yard run (Todd kick), 9:12 *Nebraska –

2-yard pass from Sorley (Todd kick), 0:00 :

Statistics

: :

Aftermath

Oklahoma (11–1) climbed to third in the final AP poll and Nebraska (9–3) fell to eighth.

References

External links

*http://www.huskerpedia.com/games/1978/12oklahoma.html {{Oklahoma Sooners bowl game navbox

Orange Bowl Nebraska Cornhuskers football bowl games Oklahoma Sooners football bowl games January 1979 sports events in the United States