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1970 Orange Bowl
Reference material by Wikipedia contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
American college football game
August 2023
December 2025
Orange Bowl
36th Orange Bowl
January 1 File:Miami orange bowl stadium cropped.jpg The Miami Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, hosted the Orange Bowl.
1970
1969
Missouri
Tigers
9–1
Dan Devine
Big Eight
6
6
0
3
0
0
Chuck Burkhart (PSU QB)Mike Reid (PSU DT)
Bryce Wetwiski
Penn State
Nittany Lions
10–0
Joe Paterno
Independent
2
2
10
0
0
0
NBC
Jim Simpson, Al DeRogatis
27.3
Missouri by 3 points
bg
Paul Bertha (ECAC)(split crew betweenECAC and Big Eight)
Orange Bowl
Miami, Florida
77,282
The 1970 Orange Bowl was the 36th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Thursday, January 1. The final game of the 1969–70 bowl game season, it matched the independent and second-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions and the #6 Missouri Tigers of the Big Eight Conference.
A slight underdog,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QttPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ewgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7327%2C69170 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press Lion string in jeopardy January 1, 1970 13 Penn State scored early and won, 10–3.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DCxUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NToNAAAAIBAJ&pg=7100%2C260846 Lawrence Daily Journal-World Kansas Associated Press Penn State whips toothless Tigers, 10-3 January 2, 1970 14https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=G0wqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UVAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7049%2C135339 Pittsburgh Press Musick Phil Burkhart has last laugh on Mizzou January 2, 1970 28https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hptRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2mwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4810%2C588374 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Abrams Al Penn State wins 10-3 thriller January 2, 1970 15
Teams
1969 NCAA University Division football season
Penn State
1969 Penn State Nittany Lions football team
The Nittany Lions entered the game on a 21-game winning streak, and were unbeaten in their last 29 games. This was Penn State's second straight Orange Bowl appearance, after they declined an invitation to play top-ranked Texas in the Cotton Bowl.
Missouri
1969 Missouri Tigers football team
Missouri was co-champion of the Big Eight for the first time since 1960; through 2021, this remains their most recent conference championship. This was Missouri's third Orange Bowl appearance in ten years; the most recent was nine years earlier.
Game summary
This was the sixth straight year for a night kickoff at the Orange Bowl, following the Rose Bowl.
A field goal by Mike Reitz gave the Nittany Lions an early lead. After the ensuing kickoff, the Tigers' Joe Moore was hit in the backfield and fumbled on the first play and Penn State recovered. On the next play, quarterback Chuck Burkhart threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to halfback Lydell Mitchell, giving them a 10–0 lead in the first quarter. Missouri had more turnovers (nine, including seven interceptions) than points (a field goal from 33 yards by Henry Brown, scored in the second quarter).
The second half was scoreless and it rained in the fourth quarter. Missouri threatened late, with a first down at the Penn State fifteen with less than two minutes remaining, but resulted in the seventh interception on third down, returned from the two to across midfield. Penn State clinched their second straight undefeated season, but due to Texas' victory in the Cotton Bowl earlier in the day, the Longhorns were declared Associated Press national champions.The 1970s | Orange Bowl
Scoring
First quarter
Penn State – Mike Reitz 29-yard field goal
Penn State – Lydell Mitchell 28-yard pass from Chuck Burkhart (Reitz kick);
Second quarter
Missouri – Henry Brown 33-yard field goal
Third quarter
No scoring
Fourth quarter
No scoring
Source:https://www.orangebowl.org/assets/1/7/2019_Capital_One_Orange_Bowl_Media_Guide-proof2.pdf 2019 Capital One Orange Bowl media guide Game-by-game recaps: 1970 January 2019 34 July 24, 2020 August 5, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200805235236/https://www.orangebowl.org/assets/1/7/2019_Capital_One_Orange_Bowl_Media_Guide-proof2.pdf dead
Statistics
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
! Statistics !! Penn State !! Missouri
|-
| First downs || 12|| 13
|-
| Rushes–yards|| 54–57|| 43–189
|-
| Passing yards|| 187|| 117
|-
| Passes (C–A–I) || 12–26–1 || 6–28–7
|-
| Total Offense || 80–244|| 71–306
|-
|Punts–average ||12–43.1|| 6–44.7
|-
|Fumbles–lost ||0–0|| 4–2
|-
|Turnovers|| 1|| 9
|-
|Penalties–yards ||5–40|| 3–25
|}
Source:
Aftermath
The Nittany Lions returned to the Orange Bowl four years later. Missouri head coach Dan Devine left after the following season for the NFL's Green Bay Packers, and the Tigers wouldn't appear in a major bowl until the 2023 Cotton Bowl Classic (December). (NOTE: Missouri played in the Fiesta Bowl in 1972 and the Cotton Bowl in 2008 and 2014, but those were not considered major bowls at the time played. The Fiesta achieved major bowl status by becoming part of the Bowl Coalition in 1992; the Cotton, which lost its major status in 1995 due to the dissolution of the Southwest Conference, regained major status when it became part of the College Football Playoff rotation in 2014.)
This was the last Orange Bowl played on natural grass for seven years; the stadium installed artificial turf (Poly-Turf) prior to the next season.
References
External links
YouTube – NBC telecast (edited)
Orange Bowl
Category:Orange Bowl
Category:Missouri Tigers football bowl games
Category:Penn State Nittany Lions football bowl games
Orange Bowl
Orange Bowl
Category:American football competitions in Miami