1973 Orange Bowl

DateJanuary 1, 1973Season1972StadiumOrange BowlLocationMiami, FloridaMVPJohnny Rodgers (Nebraska HB)FavoriteNebraska by 14 pointsRefereeVance Carlson (Big Eight;
split crew: Big Eight, Big Ten)Attendance80,010United States TV coverageNetworkNBCAnnouncersJim Simpson and Kyle RoteNielsen ratings24.5

The 1973 Orange Bowl was the 39th of the college footballbowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Monday, January 1. The final game of the 1972–73 bowl season, it matched the ninth-rankedNebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Eight Conference and the independent #12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, led by their respective hall of fame coaches, Bob Devaney and Ara Parseghian.

Two-time defending national champion Nebraska scored early and won 40–6; Notre Dame was held scoreless until the fourth quarter to avoid a shutout.