1973 Orange Bowl
| 1973Orange Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 39th Orange Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Orange Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Miami,Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Johnny Rodgers(Nebraska HB) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Nebraska by 14 points[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Vance Carlson (Big Eight; split crew: Big Eight,Big Ten) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 80,010 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Jim SimpsonandKyle Rote | ||||||||||||||||||||
The1973 Orange Bowlwas the 39theditionof thecollege footballbowl game,played at theOrange BowlinMiami,Florida,on Monday, January 1. The final game of the1972–73 bowl season,it matched theninth-rankedNebraska Cornhuskersof theBig Eight Conferenceand theindependent#12Notre Dame Fighting Irish,led by their respectivehall of famecoaches,Bob DevaneyandAra Parseghian.[2]Nebraska scored early and won 40–6.[3][4][5][6][7]
Teams
[edit]Notre Dame
[edit]Notre Dame opened with four wins, but lost by four points toMissouriat home. In the regular season finale, the Irish lost 45–23 atrivalUSC,the eventualnational champion.It was Notre Dame's firstappearancein the Orange Bowl.
Nebraska
[edit]The two-time defending national champion Cornhuskers started the seasontop-ranked,but were upset by a late field goal in the opener, late at night atUCLA.They later tiedIowa Stateon the road and lost 17–14 torivalOklahomaat home, their first loss onartificial turf.Nebraska wasappearingin their third consecutive Orange Bowl.[2]
Game summary
[edit]Ninth-ranked Nebraska was favored by two touchdowns.[1]The programs had last matched up over 24 years earlier, in October1948.[2]
Heisman TrophywinnerJohnny Rodgersscored on an8-yardtouchdown run as Nebraska took the lead. In the second quarter, Gary Dixon scored from a yard out to increase the score to14–0.I-back Rodgers then found split end Frosty Anderson for a52-yardtouchdown pass and the Huskers led20–0at halftime.[4][7]
In the third quarter, Rodgers scored on runs of four and five yards as Nebraska built a 33–0 lead. QuarterbackDave Hummthrew a50-yardtouchdown pass to Rodgers as Nebraska led40–0after three quarters. Notre Dame finally managed six points on a touchdown fromTom ClementstoPete Demmerleagainst the Husker reserves to avoid ashutout.[4][7]
Scoring
[edit]- First quarter
- Nebraska –Johnny Rodgers8-yard run (Rich Sanger kick), 11:19
- Second quarter
- Nebraska – Gary Dixon 1-yard run (Sanger kick), 14:29
- Nebraska – Frosty Anderson 52-yard pass from Rodgers (kick blocked), 12:20
- Third quarter
- Nebraska – Rodgers 4-yard run (pass failed), 11:17
- Nebraska – Rodgers 5-yard run (Sanger kick), 7:33
- Nebraska – Rodgers 50-yard pass fromDavid Humm(Sanger kick), 6:00
- Fourth quarter
- Notre Dame –Peter Demmerle5-yard pass fromTom Clements(pass failed), 13:51
Statistics
[edit]Statistics Notre Dame Nebraska First Downs 13 30 Rushes–yards 44–124 64–300 Passing yards 103 260 Passes (C–A–I) 9–23–3 19–26–1 Total Offense 67–227 90–560 Punts–average 6–37.2 4–38.3 Fumbles–lost 3–0 1–1 Turnovers 3 2 Penalties–yards 1–15 5–68
Aftermath
[edit]Although1972was a letdown season after two consecutivenational championships,[11]the Huskers were the first tothree-peatin theOrange Bowland vaulted to fourth in thefinal AP pollat9–2–1.Rodgers scored four touchdowns and threw for another in his final collegiate game, and sat out the final twenty minutes. Thefinal UPI coaches pollwas released in early December, prior to the bowls, and had the Huskers ninth.
The 1972 season also was the only three-loss season in Parseghian's eleven years at Notre Dame and they fell to fourteenth in the final AP poll; the Irish rebounded in1973to finish11–0and win thenational championship.
References
[edit]- ^ab"Notre Dame underdog in Orange".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.Associated Press. January 1, 1973. p. 62.
- ^abc"Devaney looks for that final win".Toledo Blade.(Ohio). Associated Press. December 31, 1972. p. B4.
- ^Langford, George (January 2, 1973)."Cornhuskers and Rodgers 'shuck' Notre Dame 40-6".Chicago Tribune.p. 1, sec. 3.
- ^abc"Devaney goes out in style as Nebraska pounds Irish".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). Associated Press. January 2, 1973. p. 11.
- ^"Rodgers does it all in Orange Bowl".Pittsburgh Press.UPI. January 2, 1973. p. 29.
- ^abc"What happened? asks Ara".Eugene Register-Guard.(Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1973. p. 3B.
- ^abcEidge, Frank (January 2, 1973)."Flu-ridden Rodgers leads Nebraska romp over Irish".Deseret News.(Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. p. 6B.
- ^ab"Rodgers ruins Irish".Spokane Daily Chronicle.(Washington). Associated Press. January 2, 1973. p. 18.
- ^ab"Game-by-game recaps: 1973"(PDF).2019 Capital One Orange Bowl media guide. January 2019. p. 35.
- ^ab"Bowl games: 1973 Orange Bowl"(PDF).2005 Nebraska Cornhuskers football media guide. (supplement). 2005. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on July 23, 2020.
- ^Jenkins, Dan(January 8, 1973)."No doubt about who's champ".Sports Illustrated.p. 20.