| 1972 Orange Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 38th Orange Bowl National Championship Game[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1971 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Orange Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Miami, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Jerry Tagge (Nebraska QB) Willie Harper (Nebraska DE) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Nebraska by 6 points [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | R. Pete Williams (SEC) (split crew between SEC and Big 8) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 78,151 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Jim Simpson, Kyle Rote, and Bill Enis | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 1972 Orange Bowl was the 38th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Saturday, January 1. The final game of the 1971–72 bowl season, it matched the top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Eight Conference and the #2 Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). This was a rematch of the 1966 Orange Bowl, where Alabama defeated Nebraska to win the national championship. Both teams were undefeated; Nebraska, the defending national champion, built a large lead in the first half and won 38–6.[2][3][4][5][6]
...it was decided not to award a championship by ballot but rather to let these teams meet on the field and play for the MacArthur Bowl.