1976 Orange Bowl

1976 Orange Bowl
Michigan Wolverines Oklahoma Sooners (8–1–2) (10–1) 6 14 Head coach:  Bo Schembechler Head coach:  Barry Switzer AP Coaches 5 5 AP Coaches 3 3
1 2 3 4 Total Michigan 0 0 0 6 6 Oklahoma 7 0 0 7 14
Date	January 1, 1976
Season	1975
Stadium	Orange Bowl
Location	Miami, Florida
MVP	Steve Davis (Oklahoma QB) and Lee Roy Selmon (Oklahoma DT)
Referee	R. Pete Williams (Southeastern Conference)
Attendance	80,307
United States TV coverage
Network	NBC
Announcers	Jim Simpson, John Brodie

The 1976 Orange Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1976. The Oklahoma Sooners, champions of the Big Eight Conference, defeated the Michigan Wolverines, second-place finishers in the Big Ten Conference, 14–6. This was the first meeting between these two teams.

This was the sixth and final Orange Bowl played on artificial turf. Poly-Turf, similar to AstroTurf, was installed before the 1970 season and lasted six seasons. It was removed in early 1976, following Super Bowl X, and replaced with natural grass.

Teams

Michigan Wolverines

The Wolverines finished 2nd in the Big Ten Conference after losing to Ohio State in the annual The Game in Ann Arbor, 21-14. Michigan started 1-0-2, while ending 7-1-0.

Oklahoma Sooners

The Sooners were co-champion in the Big Eight Conference to Nebraska. Oklahoma started the season with 8 straight victories before a loss to Kansas made them fall from #2 to #6. They rose back up to #3 after two straight wins over Missouri and Nebraska.

Scoring summary

First quarter

• Oklahoma - Billy Brooks, 39-yard run (Tony DiRienzo kick)

Second quarter

• No score

Third quarter

• No score

Fourth quarter

• Oklahoma - Steve Davis, 9-yard run (Tony DiRienzo kick)
• Michigan - Gordon Bell, 2-yard run (Rick Leach run failed)

External links

• Summary at Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan Athletics History