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NCAA.com | December 21, 2023

History: Orange Bowl

Alabama heads to the national title game for the fourth straight year

After the Tournament of Roses organizers had such success with the Rose Bowl, in 1926, leaders in Miami tried to do the same thing with a "Fiesta of the American Tropics." Unlike the Rose Bowl, which was created after the Tournament of Roses Parade was started, the Fiesta was built around a New Year's Day football game.

Just one year after its inception, the festival was discontinued, but the football game remained.

In 1932, the first Fesitval of Palms Bowl -- the precursor to the Orange Bowl -- was held. In the first two instances, an at-large team was invited to take on the local team -- Miami. Technically, under the circumstances, the NCAA could not recognize it as a bowl because one team was guaranteed a spot in the game regardless of record. In 1935, the bowl was revamped, not guaranteeing a spot for anyone (although Miami did play) and renamed the Orange Bowl.

Memorable moments

• William "Refrigerator" Perry helped hold down the Nebraska offense to give Clemson a 22-15 victory -- and the national title -- in 1982.

• In 1984, Miami won its first national championship, beating Nebraska 31-30 after Ken Callhoun deflected Turner Gill's pass that would have given Nebraska a 2-point conversion.

• In 1991, with 43 seconds left, Raghib Ismail returned a punt 92 yards for what appeared to be the winning touchdown that would have cost Colorado a share of the national title. However, the touchdown was called back on a clipping penalty.

• In 1994, with Florida State leading 18-16, Nebraska's Tommie Frazier hit Trumane Bell for a 29-yard gain to the FSU 28-yard line in the final seconds. The clock ticked down to 0:00, However, referee John Soffey ruled that Bell was down with 1 second left on the clock, and ordered the field cleared, allowing Nebraska placekicker Byron Bennett a shot to kick the game-winning field goal. But the 45-yard kick sailed wide left.

• In the first overtime game of the BCS era, Alabama placekicker Ryan Pflugner missed a point after, giving Michigan a 35-34 win.

• The 2006 Orange Bowl took more than four hours and was the final meeting of coaches Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden. FSU kicker Gary Cismesia missed two field goals in three overtimes and Penn State won 26-23.

• In 2012, nine different Orange Bowl records were either tied or broken when West Virginia beat Clemson 70-33.

YEAR WINNER SCORE LOSER SCORE
1935 Bucknell 26 Miami (Fla.) 0
1936 Catholic University 20 Ole Miss 19
1937 Duquesne 13 Mississippi State 12
1938 Auburn 6 Michigan State 0
1939 Tennessee 17 Oklahoma 0
1940 Georgia Tech 21 Missouri 7
1941 Mississippi State 14 Georgetown 7
1942 Georgia 40 TCU 26
1943 Alabama 37 Boston College 21
1944 LSU 19 Texas A&M 14
1945 Tulsa 26 Georgia Tech 12
1946 Miami (Fla.) 13 Holy Cross 6
1947 Rice 8 Tennessee 0
1948 Georgia Tech 20 Kansas 14
1949 Texas 41 Georgia 28
1950 Santa Clara 21 Kentucky 13
1951 Clemson 15 Miami (Fla.) 14
1952 Georgia Tech 17 Baylor 14
1953 Alabama 61 Syracuse 6
1954 Oklahoma 7 Maryland 0
1955 Duke 34 Nebraska 7
1956 Oklahoma 20 Maryland 6
1957 Colorado 27 Clemson 21
1958 Oklahoma 48 Duke 21
1959 Oklahoma 21 Syracuse 6
1960 Georgia 14 Missouri 0
1961 Missouri 21 Navy 14
1962 LSU 25 Colorado 7
1963 Alabama 17 Oklahoma 0
1964 Nebraska 13 Auburn 7
1965 Texas 21 Alabama 17
1966 Alabama 39 Nebraska 28
1967 Florida 27 Georgia Tech 12
1968 Oklahoma 26 Tennessee 24
1969 Penn State 15 Kansas 14
1970 Penn State 10 Missouri 3
1971 Nebraska 17 LSU 12
1972 Nebraska 38 Alabama 6
1973 Nebraska 40 Notre Dame 6
1974 Penn State 16 LSU 9
1975 Notre Dame 13 Alabama 11
1976 Oklahoma 14 Michigan 6
1977 Ohio State 27 Colorado 10
1978 Arkansas 31 Oklahoma 6
1979 Oklahoma 31 Nebraska 24
1980 Oklahoma 24 Florida State 7
1981 Oklahoma 18 Florida State 17
1982 Clemson 22 Nebraska 15
1983 Nebraska 21 LSU 20
1984 Miami (Fla.) 31 Nebraska 30
1985 Washington 28 Oklahoma 17
1986 Oklahoma 25 Penn State 10
1987 Oklahoma 42 Arkansas 8
1988 Miami (Fla.) 20 Oklahoma 14
1989 Miami (Fla.) 23 Nebraska 3
1990 Notre Dame 21 Colorado 6
1991 Colorado 10 Notre Dame 9
1992 Miami (Fla.) 22 Nebraska 0
1993 Florida State 27 Nebraska 14
1994 Florida State 18 Nebraska 16
1995 Nebraska 24 Miami (Fla,) 17
1996 Florida State 31 Notre Dame 26
1996 Nebraska 41 Virginia Tech 21
1998 Nebraska 42 Tennessee 17
1999 Florida 31 Syracuse 10
2000 Michigan 35 Alabama 34
2001 Oklahoma 13 Florida State 2
2002 Florida 56 Maryland 23
2003 USC 38 Iowa 17
2004 Miami (Fla.) 16 Florida State 14
2005 USC 55 Oklahoma 19
2006 Penn State 26 Florida State 23
2007 Louisville 24 Wake Forest 13
2008 Kansas 24 Virginia Tech 21
2009 Virginia Tech 20 Cincinnati 7
2010 Iowa 24 Georgia Tech 14
2011 Stanford 40 Virginia Tech 12
2012 West Virginia 70 Clemson 33
2013 Florida State 31 Northern Illinois 10
2014 Clemson 40 Ohio State 35
2014* Georgia Tech 49 Mississippi State 34
2015** Clemson 37 Oklahoma 17
2016 Florida State 33 Michigan 32
2017 Wisconsin 34 Miami 24
2018** Alabama 45 Oklahoma 34
2019 Florida 36 Virginia 28
2021 Texas A&M 41 North Carolina 27
2021** Georgia 34 Michigan 11
2022 Tennessee 31 Clemson 14

* -- Game moved to December in 2014, ** -- College Football Playoff game

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