1976 Tangerine Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Date | December 18, 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Season | 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Stadium | Tangerine Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Orlando, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||
MVP | Terry Miller, Oklahoma State (offensive & overall)[1][2] Phillip Dokes, Oklahoma State (defensive)[2][3] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 37,812[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 1976 Tangerine Bowl was held on December 18, 1976, featuring the BYU Cougars and Oklahoma State Cowboys at the Tangerine Bowl stadium in Orlando, Florida. BYU represented the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in only their second bowl game as a program, and Oklahoma State represented the Big Eight Conference. The matchup pitted the two schools in the postseason for the second time in three years, following the 1974 Fiesta Bowl, a game in which the Cowboys defeated the Cougars by a score of 16–6. Oklahoma State's running back Terry Miller broke the Tangerine Bowl records for total net yards run and longest run from scrimmage as well as tying another with four touchdowns scored as OSU defeated BYU, 49–21.
It was during this game, as well a regular season matchup between Florida and Miami three weeks earlier, that the new east upper deck at the stadium severely swayed whenever fans stood up and cheered.[4][5][6] The poorly designed upper deck became a huge source of controversy, and was dismantled just over three years later.