Orange Bowl
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The Orange Bowl is one of the oldest bowl games in college football. The game was played for the first time in 1935 between Bucknell and Miami. The game was played at Miami Field from 1935-1937. Beginning in 1938, the game was played at the Orange Bowl. Starting in 1968, the champion of the Big Eight (now the Big XII) received an invitation to the Orange Bowl. When the Orange Bowl joined the Bowl Championship Series in 1998, the tie-in with the Big XII ended. From 1998-2005, the champion of the Big East was awarded a spot in the Orange Bowl. In 2006, the Orange Bowl was exclusively tied with the champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Several national championships have been won at the Orange Bowl. In one of the more memorable moments in college football history, Nebraska, trailing 31-30 to Miami in 1984 decided to go for the two-point conversion. They failed to convert and lost a chance at a national championship in the process.
Ten years later, Florida State, led by Heisman winning quarterback Charlie Ward defeated Nebraska to give legendary head coach Bobby Bowden his first national championship.
The following year, it was Nebraska’s turn to win a national championship at the Orange Bowl. After years of heartbreak, the Cornhuskers defeated Miami 24-17 to give coach Tom Osbourne his first national title.
The Orange Bowl game was moved to Dolphin Stadium in 1996. As a member of the BCS, the Orange Bowl hosted the championship for the first time in 2001 when the Oklahoma Sooners defeated Florida State 13-2 to capture the BCS crown.
Oklahoma returned to the BCS title game again in 2005, losing to USC 55-19 in one of the more lopsided championship games ever. The Orange Bowl has been sponsored by Federal Express since 1989 and is known as the Fed Ex Orange Bowl.
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