1973 Orange Bowl

The 1973 Orange Bowl was played on New Year's Day night in Miami, Florida. It featured Nebraska (8–2–1) of the Big Eight Conference and independent Notre Dame (8–2), led by their respective hall of fame coaches, Bob Devaney and Ara Parseghian.[2][3][4][5][6]

1973 Orange Bowl
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Nebraska Cornhuskers
(8–2) (8–2–1)
Independent Big Eight
6 40
Head coach: 
Ara Parseghian		 Head coach: 
Bob Devaney
APCoaches
1212
APCoaches
99
1234 Total
Notre Dame 0006 6
Nebraska 713200 40
DateJanuary 1, 1973
Season1972
StadiumOrange Bowl
LocationMiami, Florida
MVPJohnny Rodgers (IB, Nebraska)
FavoriteNebraska by 14 points[1]
Attendance80,010
United States TV coverage
NetworkNBC
AnnouncersJim Simpson and Kyle Rote

Teams

Notre Dame
See also: 1972 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

Nebraska
See also: 1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

Game summary

Ninth-ranked Nebraska was favored by two touchdowns.[1]

Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers scored on an 8-yard touchdown run as Nebraska took the lead. In the second quarter, Gary Dixon scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to increase the score to 14–0. I-back Rodgers then found split end Frosty Anderson for a 52-yard touchdown pass and the Huskers led 20–0 at halftime.[3][6]

In the third quarter, Rodgers scored on runs of four and five yards as Nebraska built a 33–0 lead. Quarterback Dave Humm threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Rodgers as Nebraska led 40–0 after three quarters. Notre Dame finally managed six points on a touchdown from Tom Clements to Pete Demmerle against the Husker reserves to avoid a shutout.[3][6]

Statistics
Statistics   Notre   
Dame		 Nebraska 
First Downs1330
Rushes–Yards44–12464–300
Passing Yards103260
Passes9–23–319–26–1
Total Yards227560
Punts-Average6–374–38
Fumbles–Lost3–01–1
Turnovers by32
Penalties–Yards1–155–68
Source:[5][7]

Aftermath

Although 1972 was a letdown season after two consecutive national championships,[8] the Huskers were the first to three-peat in the Orange Bowl and finished fourth in the final AP poll at 9–2–1. Rodgers scored four touchdowns and threw for another in his final collegiate game, and sat out the final twenty minutes. The final UPI coaches poll was 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 in 1973 to finish 11–0 and win the national championship.

References
  1. "Notre Dame underdog in Orange". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 1, 1973. p. 62.
  2. Langford, George (January 2, 1973). "Cornhuskers and Rodgers 'shuck' Notre Dame 40-6". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
  3. "Devaney goes out in style as Nebraska pounds Irish". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. January 2, 1973. p. 11.
  4. "Rodgers does it all in Orange Bowl". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. January 2, 1973. p. 29.
  5. "What happened? asks Ara". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1973. p. 3B.
  6. Eidge, Frank (January 2, 1973). "Flu-ridden Rodgers leads Nebraska romp over Irish". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. p. 6B.
  7. "Rodgers ruins Irish". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. January 2, 1973. p. 18.
  8. Jenkins, Dan (January 8, 1973). "No doubt about who's champ". Sports Illustrated. p. 20.
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