1972 Orange Bowl
The 1972 Orange Bowl was the 38th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Saturday, January 1. The final game of the 1971–72 bowl season, it matched the top-ranked 1971 [Nebraska Cornhuskers football team|Nebraska Cornhuskers] of the Big Eight Conference and the #2 Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference. This was a rematch of the 1966 Orange Bowl, where Alabama defeated Nebraska to win the national championship. Both teams were undefeated; Nebraska, the defending national champion, built a large lead in the first half and won
Game summary
Six-point favorite Nebraska entered the game on a 31-game unbeaten streak, and scored first on a two-yard touchdown run by Jeff Kinney. Future Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers scored on a 77-yard punt return on the final play of the first quarter, as Nebraska led In the second quarter, quarterback Jerry Tagge and Gary Dixon added touchdown runs of one and two yards respectively, as Nebraska led convincingly 28–0 with over eight minutes remaining in the first half. There was no additional scoring before halftime as the Husker defense stifled the Tide's previously potent Wishbone offense with All-American running back Johnny Musso.In the third quarter, Bama's Terry Davis scored on a three–yard touchdown run making the score eliminating the shutout. Nebraska's Rich Sanger kicked a 21-yard field goal at the end of the third quarter, and a one-yard touchdown run by reserve senior QB Van Brownson made the final score
With top-ranked Nebraska's 32-point victory, the 1972 Orange Bowl was one of the most lopsided meetings of #1 vs #2, specifically in a season-ending bowl game. It was also Alabama's largest margin of defeat in a postseason game until the 2026 Rose Bowl against Indiana, which the Hoosiers won 38–3.
Scoring
;First quarter:- Nebraska – Jeff Kinney 1-yard run, 3:01
- Nebraska – Johnny Rodgers 77-yard punt return, 0:00
- Nebraska – Tagge 1-yard run, 12:43
- Nebraska – Gary Dixon 2-yard run, 8:49
- Alabama – Terry Davis 2-yard run, 5:49
- Nebraska – Sanger 21-yard field goal, 0:00
- Nebraska – Van Brownson 1-yard run, 4:45
Final polls
Nebraska was first in both major polls and was the consensus national champion, having defeated the next three teams in the final AP Poll released on January 3: Oklahoma, Colorado,The Huskers earned all 55 first-place votes in the AP poll; in the UPI coaches poll released in early December, they received 29 of the 31 first-place votes, with the other two