1981 Orange Bowl

August 2023 Orange Bowl 47th Orange Bowl File:Miami orange bowl stadium cropped.jpg The Miami Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, hosted the Orange Bowl. January 1 1981 1980 Florida State Seminoles 10–1 Bobby Bowden Independent 2 2 0 7 3 7 J. C. Watts (Oklahoma QB)Jarvis Coursey (FSU DE) Oklahoma Sooners 9–2 Barry Switzer Big Eight 4 4 0 3 7 8 NBC Don Criqui and John Brodie 24.1 bg Oklahoma by 5½ points https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0-sNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8G0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6146%2C116204 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Latest line January 1, 1981 25 Gene Calhoun (Big Ten) Orange Bowl Miami, Florida 71,043 The 1981 Orange Bowl was the 47th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Thursday, January 1. Part of the 1980–81 bowl game season, it matched the fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners of the Big Eight Conference and the independent #2 Florida State Seminoles.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6TBPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lwIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6722%2C4421208 Toledo Blade Ohio Associated Press Seminoles, Oklahoma looking for opening January 1, 1981 46https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0-sNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8G0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5147%2C109491 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Axelrod Phil Layoff worries Oklahoma January 1, 1981 24 Favored Oklahoma rallied to win by a point, 18–17.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1OsNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8G0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=2696%2C241768 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Axelrod Phil Sooners nip Florida St. January 2, 1981 13https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=u_QhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=K6EFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4671%2C726672 Reading Eagle Pennsylvania Associated Press Watts rates Sooners 3rd January 2, 1981 20https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ABBWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TuIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4863%2C419049 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Sooners shock Florida State, 18-17 January 2, 1981 3Dhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6jBPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lwIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6955%2C4639023 Toledo Blade Ohio Associated Press Two-point conversion caps comeback for Oklahoma January 2, 1981 20https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jPtXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wvYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6834%2C5154114 The Bulletin Bend, Oregon UPI Eidge Frank Sooners rally to 18-17 win January 2, 1981 14 Teams 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season The game was a rematch of the previous year, and both teams were on seven-game winning streaks. Oklahoma 1980 Oklahoma Sooners football team The Sooners lost two non-conference games, to Stanford at home,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VPJVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6eEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5207%2C7729064 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Sooners find Card up their sleeve September 28, 1980 3B and rival Texas in Dallas.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oe9VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8eEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4623%2C3524728 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Sooner or later, it's Texas October 12, 1980 8C They were champions of the Big Eight Conference for the eighth consecutive year. This was Oklahoma's twelfth Orange Bowl appearance, fourth consecutive, and fifth in six seasons. Florida State 1980 Florida State Seminoles football team The Seminoles' only blemish was a one-point loss at rival Miami in late September.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VPJVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6eEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6877%2C7762929 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon wire service reports Florida State's streak blown by the Hurricanes September 28, 1980 10B This was Florida State's second major bowl appearance, after playing in last year's edition. Game summary After a scoreless first quarter, Ricky Williams put Florida State ahead with his touchdown run, and Oklahoma countered with a long field goal by Mike Keeling; the Seminoles led 7–3 at halftime. To start the second half, Oklahoma drove 78 yards on twelve plays, and halfback David Overstreet scored from four yards out to take a 10–7 lead. A short field goal by Bill Capece tied the game at ten for the last tally of the third quarter. Four minutes into the final quarter, cornerback Bobby Butler recovered a botched punt snap in the end zone to give the Seminoles a 17–10 lead. With 3:19 remaining, Oklahoma's fate laid in the hands of senior quarterback J. C. Watts, who had turned the ball over three times on fumbles. He led the Sooners on a 78-yard drive, culminating with an eleven-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Steve Rhodes with 1:33 remaining. Down by a point, Oklahoma opted for the two-point conversion attempt, and Watts completed a pass to tight end Forrest Valora in the end zone for a one-point lead. Florida State tried to counter back, but Capece's 62-yard field goal attempt fell short, and the Sooners were victorious. Scoring First quarter No scoring Second quarter Florida State – Ricky Williams 10-yard run (Bill Capece kick) Oklahoma – Mike Keeling 53-yard field goal Third quarter Oklahoma – David Overstreet 4-yard run (Keeling kick) Florida State – Capece 19-yard field goal Fourth quarter Florida State – Bobby Butler fumble recovery of punt snap (Capece kick) Oklahoma – Steve Rhodes 11-yard pass from J. C. Watts (Forrest Valora pass from Watts) 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: 1981 January 2019 38 July 27, 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 !! style="background:#841617; color:#ffffff"|  Oklahoma   !! style="background:#540115; color:#cdc092"|Florida State |- | First downs || 18|| 23 |- | Rushes–yards|| 55–156|| 60–212 |- | Passing yards || 128|| 51 |- | Passes (C–A–I) || 7–12–0|| 11–15–0 |- | Total Offense || 67–284|| 75–263 |- | Return yards || 18 || −6 |- |Punts–average ||2–37.0|| 4–42.5 |- |Fumbles–lost ||7–5|| 1–0 |- |Turnovers|| 5|| 0 |- |Penalties–yards ||4–32|| 5–58 |} Source: Aftermath Oklahoma climbed to third in the final AP poll and Florida State fell to fifth. The Sooners' next Orange Bowl was four years later, the first of four consecutive; the Seminoles did not return for twelve years. References 2 Orange Bowl Category:Orange Bowl Category:Florida State Seminoles football bowl games Category:Oklahoma Sooners football bowl games Category:January 1981 sports events in the United States Orange Category:American football competitions in Miami