1978 Orange Bowl

The 1978 Orange Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 1978, featuring the Arkansas Razorbacks against the heavily favored Oklahoma Sooners.

The #6 ranked Razorbacks were coming off a 10–1 season, but were considered to be heavy underdogs against the #2 ranked Sooners. The #1 ranked Texas Longhorns and their Heisman Trophy winning running back Earl Campbell had just lost the 1978 Cotton Bowl to Joe Montana and the Notre Dame Irish, thus giving the Sooners an almost sure bid for the national championship title if they defeated Arkansas. Texas defeated Oklahoma and Arkansas on consecutive weekends en route to its 11-0 regular season.

To make matters worse for Arkansas, first year Arkansas coach Lou Holtz had suspended three players prior to the game for team violations. Two of those players, rushing backs Ben Cowins and Donny Bobo, had together accounted for 78% of the points scored by the Razorbacks that season.^[1] On the other hand, the Oklahoma Sooners were led offensively by their future Heisman Trophy winning running back Billy Sims and on defense by their safety Darrol Ray and linebacker Daryl Hunt.

Although the suspended Arkansas players protested, Holtz refused to back down and the suspensions stood. Already considered a heavy underdog to Oklahoma, with the loss of those starters Arkansas was expected to give little competition in the game. Arkansas was an 18-point underdog prior to the suspensions. After the suspensions they were given as 24 point underdogs by Las Vegas, Nevada odds.^[2] The 1978 Orange Bowl would in all likelihood be the game that decided the National Championship. And it did in many ways, but not in the way that most expected.^[3]

Backup running back Roland Sales started for Arkansas in the place of Ben Cowins. With Sales doing most of the running of the ball, Arkansas out-rushed Oklahoma 126 yards to 116 yards in the first half, with Billy Sims fumbling the ball early in the first quarter causing the Razorbacks to recover on the Oklahoma 9 yard line. That resulted in a Sales touchdown followed by a PAT by Arkansas kicker Steve Little. Another Oklahoma fumble by Kenny King resulted in another Arkansas touchdown rushed in by Arkansas quarterback Ron Calcagni in the first quarter. In the second half Sales would rush for another touchdown, Brian White rushed for a touchdown and Steve Little kicked a field goal. A ferocious Arkansas defense led by defensive tackle Dan Hampton held Oklahoma to a garbage time fourth-quarter touchdown but the two-point conversion attempt failed.^[1]

For Arkansas, in total Roland Sales rushed 22 times for 205 yards setting an Orange Bowl record. He also received 4 times for 52 yards and rushed for 2 touchdowns. Arkansas defeated Oklahoma 31–6. Sales' Orange Bowl rushing record stood for 20 years until broken by Ahman Green in 1998 when Green rushed for 206 yards in the Orange Bowl. Roland Sales and Arkansas teammate Reggie Freeman were named MVPs for the game. Arkansas finished the season ranked #3 in the nation behind #1 ranked Notre Dame and #2 ranked Alabama.^[4]

The halftime show was a presentation of the Main Street Electrical Parade, one of only two times the parade has taken place outside a Disney park.^[5]

References

1 2 "News Year-by-Year: 1978". OrangeBowl.org. November 24, 1978. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
↑ "eCongregate.com". Pixeltop.org. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
↑ "Holtz took a stand with suspensions when he was at Arkansas | stand, suspensions, took – Buckeyes". varsity.limaohio.com. December 29, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
↑ "1978 Orange Bowl ... Arkansas 31 Oklahoma 6". Secblitz.com. July 16, 2008. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
↑ Stayton, Wynton. "1978 Orange Bowl Halftime Show - Main Street Electrical Parade". youtube.com.

1977–78 NCAA football bowl game season

Independence (Dec. 17) Liberty (Dec. 19) Hall of Fame Classic (Dec. 22) Tangerine (Dec. 23) Fiesta (Dec. 25) Gator (Dec. 30) Peach (Dec. 31) Sun (Dec. 31) Bluebonnet (Dec. 31) Sugar (Jan. 2) Cotton (Jan. 2) Orange (Jan. 2) Rose (Jan. 2)

Orange Bowl Game

History & tie-ins	History Miami Orange Bowl Sun Life Stadium College Football Playoff Broadcasters Atlantic Coast Conference Big Ten Conference Southeastern Conference Notre Dame

Games	1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2014 2015

Notes	The game was also the national title game for either the Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, or Bowl Championship Series in 1994, 1995, 1998, 2001, and 2005. There was an Orange Bowl in January and December in 1996 and 2014. The game was a semifinal for the College Football Playoff in its 2015 edition.

Arkansas Razorbacks bowl games

Oklahoma Sooners bowl games

Pound sign (#) denotes BCS National Championship Game.

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